Family Medicine Program Director Tenure: 2011 Through 2017

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The program director (PD) position is challenging. PDs are faced with many competing priorities and risk of burnout. Short PD tenure may contribute to training program challenges. The tenure of family medicine residency directors has not been rigorously studied. Our objective was to study family medicine program director tenure and change in tenure over time, and compare these to available Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) data. Methods: We analyzed the 11 Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance PD surveys from 2011 through 2017. We calculated mean and median responses to the question “How long have you been program director at your current program?” We compared these results to data from the ACGME Data Resource Book for all specialty programs. Results: Of 2,577 responses in 11 PD surveys over 7 years, mean family medicine PD tenure was 6.5 years and median tenure was 4.5 years. Tenure did not change significantly from 2011-2017, and 30.5% of PDs have been in their position 0, 1, or 2 years. The right skew in our data (ie, median substantially less than mean), is similar to that seen in other specialties. Conclusions: Mean family medicine PD tenure is 6.5 years and median tenure is 4.5 years. The short tenure and large number of new PDs annually may impact program quality and suggests more resources and support may be needed for PDs new in their position.