Allocation of time in three academic specialties

Abstract

A survey was done to: 1) characterize the allocation and distribution of time by tenure track emergency physicians, and 2) compare the time distribution of emergency physicians to two other academic disciplines. All emergency medicine residency programs were surveyed by telephone to determine if faculty were eligible for tenure and if tenure was available, how many hours per week were spent on clinical duties, research, and administrative tasks. Similar information was compiled from cardiology and orthopedic surgery faculty at the same universities. Data from the survey revealed that a tenure track assistant professor spends 23 hours (46%) working clinical shifts in the emergency department; 11 hours (20%) doing research and 18 hours (34%) in administrative tasks. In contrast, cardiologists spend significantly more time in clinical duties (32 hours) and research (18 hours). However, cardiologists spend significantly less time in administrative duties (10 hours). Data for orthopedic surgeons show a similar pattern. Distributions within each academic discipline were also analyzed and a significant difference in research time was found between four tenure track emergency medicine programs and the other eighteen. Data from this survey may help academic emergency physicians evaluate how they are allocating their time in comparison to other busy clinical specialties.