Compensation Structures, Job Satisfaction, and Retention of Facial Plastic Surgeons in Academic Practices

To understand how various compensation models are structured nationwide and to evaluate how these models impact the stability of the academic facial plastic surgeon workforce. We hypothesize that competitive compensation structure plays a critical role in retention of academic departments and aim to gain insights into financial factors at play in sustaining this workforce.

This cross-sectional survey study examined responses from a 25-item electronic questionnaire sent to American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery members from July 2023 to January 2024.

Of 59 respondents, 45 (76%) reported employment by academic medical centers, representing 19% of academic facial plastic surgeons in the US. Compensation included production-based relative value units (RVU) (n = 17, 38%), collections-based (10, 22%), salary (9, 20%), or a combination of models (9, 20%). In strict RVU models, compensation ranged from $41-91 per RVU (median $60, IQR: $58-66); 84% reported no cap on RVUs, and the median target before incentives was 7500 (IQR: 6690-9000). 56% were satisfied with their income, and 62% were unlikely to leave academia within 5 years, with satisfaction associated with lower intent to leave (p = 0.038).

Findings show that competitive compensation structures in academic facial plastic surgery are associated with greater job satisfaction as well as lower intent to leave academics. This study provides greater transparency surrounding compensation structure for academic facial plastic surgeons while providing insight into financial factors playing a role in their retention within academia.

Level 5.