An Assessment of Rewards and Faculty Development Opportunities Provided to Pediatric Community Faculty

Objective: Many medical schools in the US are experiencing difficulty maintaining sufficient ambulatory pediatric training sites for their students. The goals of this study were to assess the incentives, rewards, and faculty development opportunities provided for pediatricians serving as community faculty teaching in pediatric clerkships in the US. Methods: A 10 question prospective survey of the membership of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics incorporated into the organization's 2014 annual survey. Results: Representatives from 92% % (111 /121) of U.S. medical schools responded to the study. Seventy-nine percent of medical schools utilize community faculty to teach pediatrics. Eighty-two percent of respondents were having difficulty recruiting and retaining pediatricians to teach students. Thirty-nine percent of medical schools provided monetary stipends for teaching. Sixty-eight percent of schools provided faculty development for their community faculty. Conclusion: The majority of schools rely on non-monetary incentives to recruit and retain their community faculty. As compared to previous studies, more medical schools are offering financial stipends. Most schools, but not all, offer some form of faculty development training for their community faculty. There is a wide variation in the scope of faculty development training provided to community physicians that teach medical students.