An innovative approach to career development and promotion of diverse faculty

Women and persons from racial and ethnic populations underrepresented in medicine (URiM) comprise a substantially lower proportion of academic internal medicine faculty, particularly at senior ranks (associate professors and professors). Numerous factors lead to this inequity which has broad implications for medical education and healthcare. The Emory University Division of General Internal Medicine Grady Section (GIMG) formed the Faculty Review Committee (FRC) in 2013 to address low promotion rates to senior ranks as part of a strategy to foster a more inclusive, equitable environment. The FRC systematically and proactively reviews all GIMG faculty years prior to possible promotion to provide tailored recommendations to bolster professional development and with a goal to expedite successful advancement to senior ranks. Deidentified GIMG academic rank data was compared with aggregate data from Emory University School of Medicine and the American Association of Medical Colleges. In 2020, GIMG had significantly more senior faculty compared with pre-FRC intervention (odds ratio [OR]: 3.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.65-9.42). Subgroup analyses of non-URiM women GIMG senior faculty compared with preintervention (OR: 11.6, 95% CI: 2.52-53.7), showed a significant increase. A trend toward increased URiM women faculty was also seen. Descriptive analysis suggests that the GIMG group had a higher promotion to senior ranks among women and URiM compared with national and institutional comparators. The FRC is associated with significant increases in the promotion of all faculty and non-URiM women faculty, and an increasing trend of URiM women faculty, effects which help contribute to an equitable academic medicine environment, fostering a more diverse workforce and improved patient outcomes.