Retention and Career Success of Faculty: The Case for Building a Sense of Belonging to the Academic Medicine Community

Successful retention of faculty ensures that engaged, talented, and high-performing faculty are cultivated and retained.1 Yet recent changes have thwarted retention efforts such as reduced salaries, increased clinical loads, administrative burdens, budget cuts, transitions in care models, and more.2 In fact, a 2020 study by The Chronicle and Fidelity Investments found that more than half of all faculty members surveyed were seriously considering leaving higher education by either changing careers entirely or retiring early.3 Attrition is particularly a concern for underrepresented minority (URM) faculty.4 Others have chosen to disengage from their work rather than quit outright.5 Attrition and disengagement of faculty in academic medicine are quite costly. One analysis estimated that replacing a generalist costs approximately $120,000, a subspecialist $290,000, and a surgeon $590,000.1 Faculty Affairs offices are charged with building retention programs that are effective and cost-efficient in support of faculty career success, work satisfaction, and retention.