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First Job and Promotion: Is There An Internal Bias in Academic Plastic Surgery Employment?
Francesco M. Egro, MBChB MSc MRCS, Justin Beiriger, BSE; Eva Roy, BS, Vu. T. Nguyen, MD.
University of Pittsburgh
2020-01-31
Presenter: Francesco M. Egro
Affidavit:
I affirm that this project represents the authentic work of the authors as written and presented.
Director Name: Vu Nguyen
Author Category: Resident Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Clinical
Abstract Category: General Reconstruction
Background: Following completion of training, a physician's training institution has a lasting impact on career trajectory. Training program influence on first job placement and academic promotions remain uncertain in academic plastic surgery. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of training and internal bias in academic plastic surgery employment and promotion.
Methods: Academic plastic surgery faculty were identified through all ACGME-accredited residency training programs. Online faculty profiles and other public websites were used to gather faculty demographics. Analysis examined the impact of internal recruitment bias on first job employment, training history on institutional leadership promotion, and alumni effect on academic employment.
Results: 931 academic plastic surgeons were identified. For assistant professors that graduated in the past 3 years, 38.6% practice at their training institution. Of the 229 institutional leaders, 31.5% of Chairs, 39.6% of Residency Directors, and 37.5% of Fellowship Directors were internal hires. The top 5 programs that have the most faculty who trained there are Harvard, USC, UCLA, University of Michigan and Albert Einstein. Overall, 54% of plastic surgery departments employ 2 or more faculty who share a common external training program. Those top 5 programs are Methodist Houston, Hofstra, Stanford, Wisconsin, USC.
Conclusion: The study highlights that limited internal bias exists in the recruitment for first jobs and leadership promotions. However, a clear bias of internal hiring exists at several institutions. In addition, an alumni effect was identified, where some programs have a bias of hiring faculty who trained at the same external institution.
