The Economics of Academic Advancement Within Surgery

Publication date: Available online 1 September 2017
Source:Journal of Surgical Education
Author(s): Maria Baimas-George, Brian Fleischer, James R. Korndorffer, Douglas Slakey, Christopher DuCoin
BackgroundThe success of an academic surgeon's career is often viewed as directly related to academic appointment; therefore, the sequence of promotion is a demanding, rigorous process. This paper seeks to define the financial implication of academic advancement across different surgical subspecialties.Study DesignData was collected from the Association of American Medical College's 2015 report of average annual salaries. Assumptions included 30 years of practice, 5 years as assistant professor, and 10 years as associate professor before advancement. The base formula used was: (average annual salary) × (years of practice [30 years − fellowship/research years]) + ($50,000 × years of fellowship/research) = total adjusted lifetime salary income.ResultsThere was a significant increase in lifetime salary income with advancement from assistant to associate professor in all subspecialties when compared to an increase from associate to full professor. The greatest increase in income from assistant to associate professor was seen in transplant and cardiothoracic surgery (35% and 27%, respectively). Trauma surgery and surgical oncology had the smallest increases of 8% and 9%, respectively. With advancement to full professor, the increase in lifetime salary income was significantly less across all subspecialties, ranging from 1% in plastic surgery to 8% in pediatric surgery.ConclusionWhen analyzing the economics of career advancement in academic surgery, there is a substantial financial benefit in lifetime income to becoming an associate professor in all fields; whereas, advancement to full professor is associated with a drastically reduced economic benefit.



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