Tenure track in emergency medicine

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Academic Medicine

Background:

• Tenure provides academic freedom and job security, crucial for research.
• Traditional academic criteria for tenure favor basic sciences over clinical specialties.
• Emergency medicine faculty may face unique challenges in achieving tenure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the status of tenure and tenure-track positions for academic emergency medicine faculty.
• To compare tenure rates in emergency medicine with other medical specialties.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to directors of all US emergency medicine residency programs.
• Data collected included program affiliation, faculty numbers, and tenure status.
• The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) database was used for comparative analysis.

Main Results:

• Only 36% of emergency medicine faculty were tenured or on the tenure track.
• Among programs offering tenure, 45% had no tenured faculty.
• Tenure rates for emergency medicine faculty were approximately one-third of other specialties, though tenure-track proportions were similar.

Conclusions:

• A significant majority of eligible emergency medicine faculty are not tenured or on a tenure track.
• Emergency medicine faculty have lower tenure rates compared to traditional specialties.
• Limited access to tenure may hinder the perception of emergency medicine as a fully academic field.