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Implications of Changing Institutions for Promotion in Academic Surgery
Isabelle M C Tan1, Haley Harris1, Yuqing Qiu2
1Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York.
JAMA Surgery
|December 10, 2025
Summary
Academic surgeons who change institutions have a higher likelihood of promotion. This study highlights the need for institutions to support faculty career development and internal advancement opportunities.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Surgical Sciences
- Academic Medicine
Background:
- Improving promotion and retention in academic surgery is vital for individual and institutional success.
- Limited data exists on the association between changing institutions and academic promotion for surgical faculty.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze promotion rates among academic surgeons.
- To investigate the relationship between changing institutions and faculty promotion.
Main Methods:
- A 10-year cohort study of full-time surgical faculty from 136 institutions (2000-2010 entry).
- Data sourced from the Association of American Medical Colleges faculty roster.
- Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyzed promotion likelihood based on institutional changes, rank, sex, race, and ethnicity.
Main Results:
- Changing institutions was associated with increased promotion likelihood for both assistant professors (aHR, 1.34) and associate professors (aHR, 1.58).
- 67.0% of assistant professors and 71.1% of associate professors who changed institutions were promoted within 10 years, compared to 60.3% and 56.6% respectively, who did not change institutions.
Conclusions:
- Changing academic institutions is linked to a higher probability of promotion for surgical faculty at both assistant and associate professor levels.
- Institutions should implement strategies to support faculty career progression and internal advancement.
