Faculty retirements will likely exacerbate the anatomy educator shortage

Abstract

Medical education has reported a shortage of anatomy educators since the 1960s. While the faculty pipeline has recently been explored, insights into retirement intentions, a key driver of faculty turnover, have yet to be investigated. With the mean age of anatomists rising, knowledge of retirement intentions among current educators is essential to understanding the anatomy educator shortage. This study explored the retirement intentions of current anatomy educators and their likely effects on the workforce. Surveys were distributed to department heads and the American Association for Anatomy (AAA) membership to inquire about job postings from 2018–2020 and retirement intentions, respectively. Department heads sought to fill open positions due to faculty retirements (36%, 15 of 42), faculty relocations/sabbaticals/new responsibilities (31%), and brand new positions (24%). The retirement intentions survey revealed that 61% (23 of 38) of faculty ‘55 and older’ intend to retire within five years. Based on the extrapolation of AAA membership data, estimates suggest that almost twice as many anatomy faculty could retire per year (n = 40) over the next five years compared to the estimated number of annual PhD graduates (n = 22) likely to enter the workforce. Factors driving retirement intentions were overwhelmingly age and finances, followed by job satisfaction and family. The creation of new anatomy educator positions to address increased student enrollments and new health sciences programs is likely to place even greater strain on workforce demands.

Update on the state of the anatomy educator shortage

“…In 2002, 41 years later, a national survey found that more than 80% of chairpersons anticipated difficulty in recruiting and hiring qualified anatomy educators (Holden, 2003). More recent reports, as of 2020, have explored the anatomy educator shortage from a variety of viewpoints including chairperson perspectives (Wilson et al, 2020), American Association for Anatomy (AAA) annual job posting outcomes (Wilson et al, 2020), National Science Foundation (NSF) outcomes from the Survey of Earned Doctorates (Wilson et al, 2021), and AAA membership retirement intentions (Edwards et al, 2022). Collectively, this information points to a continued and widening shortage of anatomy educators.…”

“…Duplicate postings and positions for postdoctoral trainees, chairpersons, administrators, basic science researchers, clinical positions, or adjunct/part‐time faculty were excluded from the analysis. Fewer job postings in 2020 were likely a direct consequence of the COVID‐19 pandemic (Edwards et al, 2022). The proportion of schools that have posted job openings consecutively from one year to the next has remained relatively constant over time and has not exceeded 25% of the total number of postings (Figure 2).…”

Pulling back the curtain: Exploring norms and practices among a sample of anatomy‐related departments in U.S. medical schools

“…At a time when anatomy faculty retirements are forecasted to outpace the inflowing anatomy workforce pipeline (Wilson et al, 2021; Edwards et al, 2022), it is critical for department leaders and anatomy educators to evaluate how well departmental expectations and practices align with national norms; as significant malalignment could lead to higher faculty turnover, dissatisfaction, and/or burnout. Department leaders are best positioned to advocate for workplace improvements and promote positive change when they leverage the known ties between the quality of departmental governance and faculty's overall satisfaction (Dandar & Bunton, 2014).…”

“…Specifically, this work explores: (i) faculty time allocations, (ii) faculty labor distribution models, (iii) anatomy teaching services offered, and (iv) faculty compensation practices pertaining to merit/cost-ofliving increases and bonuses. In light of newer reports emphasizing the growing anatomy educator shortage (Wilson et al, 2020(Wilson et al, , 2021Edwards et al, 2022), it is timely for anatomy-related departments across the U.S. and internationally to carefully evaluate their workload practices and competitiveness for attracting well-qualified candidates to open faculty positions. If leaders are better informed regarding national departmental trends, over time, they may be able to reduce their direct and hidden costs associated with time intensive operations, such as high faculty turnover and recruitment (Schloss et al, 2009).…”

Graduate anatomy education: How are we training the future generations of anatomy educators?

“…Like previous work (Wilson et al, 2021;Garnett et al, 2023), information uncovered during this study indicated that approximately 22 students graduate each year from anatomy doctoral programs. Previous research has identified the need for more anatomy educators (Couzin-Frankel, n.d.;Eldred & Eldred, 1961;Bird, 1979;Heylings, 2002;Holden, 2003;McCuskey et al, 2005;Memon, 2009;Schaefer et al, 2019;Wilson et al, 2020Wilson et al, , 2021Edwards et al, 2023;Garnett et al, 2023) and has given recent projections for future anatomy faculty retirements (Edwards et al, 2023). In brief, the anatomy educator shortage is expected to continue, if not worsen (Edwards et al, 2023;Garnett et al, 2023).…”