Life after Promotion: Self-Reported Professional Development Needs and Career Satisfaction of Associate Professors

Given the increased contributions of faculty members after their promotions and the institutional and financial costs of replacing such experienced, successful individuals, factors associated with their career satisfaction deserve attention. Earlier investigators examined the faculty life cycle through various theoretical lenses: developmental psychology, organizational development, and historical and generational influences. Among these investigators, some focused broadly on faculty across higher education, and others narrowed their focus to faculty within research-intensive universities. It is not known how generalizable findings from these earlier studies are to faculty working within the context of academic health centers. Among more recent studies of faculty within academic health centers, some address the professional development and career satisfaction of faculty across ranks and specialties and others examine these issues as they pertain to pediatric faculty. However, none of these recent studies focuses on pediatric associate professors. The purpose of this study was to assess the professional development needs and career satisfaction of pediatric associate professors in both qualitative and quantitative terms and to identify measures to increase their career satisfaction.

C-E, Clinician-educator track