An Academic Relative Value Unit System for Incentivizing the Academic Productivity of Surgery Faculty Members

LeMaire, Scott A.; Trautner, Barbara W.; Ramamurthy, Uma; Green, Susan Y.; Zhang, Qianzi; Fisher, William E.; Rosengart, Todd K.

doi:10.1097/sla.0000000000002921

Cited by 40 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Overall, the authors did notice a significant increase in total EVUs, primarily due to increased conference attendance and evaluation completion at the expense of productivity in other domains, concluding that application of a formal value system to education is feasible. Their work is supported by that of LeMaire et al, who demonstrated similar results using a selfreported academic RVU (aRVU) system among academic surgical faculty [14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Performance-based financial incentives are now prevalent in clinical healthcare settings where they have been associated with improved processes of care [11][12][13]. In academic medicine, we have seen the advent of relative value units (RVUs) for educational activities, with the teaching value unit (TVU) and educational value unit (EVU), but their reported use is currently limited [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of a financial incentive on the completion of educational metrics

Pugh¹,

Ford²,

Madsen³

et al. 2020

Int J Emerg Med

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Background The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires all emergency medicine (EM) training programs to evaluate resident performance and also requires core faculty to attend didactic conference. Assuring faculty participation in these activities can be challenging. Previously, our institution did not have a formal tracking program nor financial incentive for participation in these activities. In 2017, we initiated an educational dashboard which tracked and published all full-time university faculty conference attendance and participation in resident evaluations and other educational activities. Objectives We sought to determine if the implementation of a financially-incentivized educational dashboard would lead to an increase in faculty conference attendance and the number of completed resident evaluations. Methods We conducted a pre- and post-intervention observational study at our EM residency training program between July 2017 and July 2019. Participants were 17 full-time EM attendings at one training site. We compared the number of completed online resident evaluations (MedHub) and number of conference days attended (call-in verification) before and after the introduction of our financial incentive in June 2018. The incentive required 100% completion of resident evaluations and at least 25% attendance at eligible didactic conference days. We calculated pre- and post-intervention averages, and comparisons were made using a chi-square test. Results Prior to implementation of the intervention, the 90-day resident evaluation completion rate was 71.8%. This increased to 100% after implementation (p < 0.001). Conference attendance prior to implementation was 43.8%, which remained unchanged at 41.3% after implementation of the financial incentive (p = 0.920). Conclusions Attaching a financial incentive to a tracked educational dashboard increased faculty participation in resident evaluations but did not change conference attendance. This difference likely reflects the minimum thresholds required to obtain the financial incentive.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of a financial incentive on the completion of educational metrics

Pugh¹,

Ford²,

Madsen³

et al. 2020

Int J Emerg Med

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“…In Australia and New Zealand, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons introduced a thesis requirement in some surgical disciplines in 2008; time out of programme is not required, but successful thesis award by examination is expected, although the final examination continues to emphasize clinical judgement 12 . USA subspecialty certification is by specialty boards, and many surgical specialties require universal research training; although optional in general surgery 13 , time accredited must subsequently result in a peer‐reviewed journal publication to qualify for board certification.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proof of surgical publication prowess: prospective observational study of factors associated with surrogate markers of academic reach

et al. 2020

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Background: In the UK, general surgery higher surgical trainees (HSTs) must publish at least three peer-reviewed scientific articles (as first, second or corresponding author) to qualify for certification of completion of training (CCT). This study aimed to identify the factors associated with success in this arena. Methods: Deanery rosters supplemented with data from the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme, PubMed and ResearchGate were used to identify the profiles of consecutive HSTs. Primary outcomes were publication numbers at defined points in higher training (speciality training year (ST) 3-8); secondary outcomes were the Hirsch index and ResearchGate scores. Results: Fifty-nine consecutive HSTs (24 women, 35 men) were studied. The median publication number was 3 (range 0-30). At least three published articles were obtained by 30 HSTs (51 per cent), with 19 (38 per cent) of 50 HSTs achieving this by ST4 (of whom 15 (79 per cent) had undertaken out of programme for research (OOPR) time) and 24 (80 per cent) by ST6. Thirteen HSTs (22 per cent) (ST3, 6; ST4, 4; ST5, 2; ST8, 1) had yet to publish at the time of writing. OOPR was associated with achieving three publications (24 of 35 (69 per cent) versus 6 of 24 (25 per cent) with no formal research time; P = 0⋅001), higher overall number of publications (median 6 versus 1 respectively; P < 0⋅001), higher ResearchGate score (median 23⋅37 versus 5⋅27; P < 0⋅001) and higher Hirsch index (median 3 versus 1; P < 0⋅001). In multivariable analysis, training grade (odds ratio (OR) 1⋅89, 95 per cent c.i. 0⋅01 to 3⋅52; P = 0⋅045) and OOPR (OR 6⋅55, 2⋅04 to 21⋅04; P = 0⋅002) were associated with achieving three publications. Conclusion: If CCT credentials are to include publication profiles, HST programmes should incorporate research training in workforce planning.

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“…Studies have found that the use of EVUs increased faculty productivity across all areas of academic activity. In academic medicine, faculty responded to the RVU system with motivation; greater satisfaction; and an increase in clinical, research, and teaching productivity 5,9 . The number of publications per faculty member increased from 2.6 to 3.0 within 3 years 9 .…”

Section: Viewpoint 1: Academic Productivity Models Should Be Considermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…EVU points can be multiplied with conversion factors for time, complexity, role, or incentive for junior faculty members. A catalog of academic activities assigns points in the categories of research, education, innovation, academic service, and peer review 5 . Table 1 shows an example of a weighted EVU system in the categories of research, education, innovation, academic service, and peer review.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should dental school faculty be measured and compensated using academic productivity models? Two viewpoints

Hoskin

Bertone

Chun

et al. 2020

Journal of Dental Education

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Operationalizing faculty contributions in ways that align with organizational mission can be difficult, particularly when monetizing effort. Conventional compensation methods may result in faculty effort going undefined, resulting in more subjectivity in recognition and compensation. Inequities lead to faculty marginalization, fragmentation, decreased motivation, and attrition. Dental faculty retirements are expected to increase, as 81% of men and 19% of women faculty aged 60 years and older in 2015–2016. We present opposing perspectives on the use of educational value units (EVUs) in academic dentistry. The first viewpoint articulates that such models improve recruitment and retention by objectifying (a) faculty performance measurement, (b) academic productivity improvements, and (c) compensation determination. The counterpoint suggests EVUs are deterrents to faculty retention due to challenges with objectively quantifying performance measures, a potential inherent bias linked to gender, and the undervaluing of teaching quality or collaborative practices.

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An Academic Relative Value Unit System for Incentivizing the Academic Productivity of Surgery Faculty Members

Abstract: Implementing an aRVU system was associated with increases in departmental academic productivity. Although other factors undoubtedly contributed to these increases, an aRVU program may represent an important mechanism for tracking and rewarding academic productivity in surgery departments.

Cited by 40 publications

References 16 publications

Impact of a financial incentive on the completion of educational metrics

Impact of a financial incentive on the completion of educational metrics

Proof of surgical publication prowess: prospective observational study of factors associated with surrogate markers of academic reach

Should dental school faculty be measured and compensated using academic productivity models? Two viewpoints

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