Why Is Academic Promotion So Challenging for Clinicians?

Despite its significance for career advancement, many clinical faculty members have negative perceptions of academic promotion and opt out of the process. The reasons for this paradoxical situation are complex and vary among institutions, but a central issue is the awkward adaptation of university promotion systems to modern academic medical centers. The values, priorities, and roles of clinical faculty members are very different from those of other university faculty members. Despite many significant changes, especially the introduction of nontenure tracks, the system for academic promotion is widely perceived as poorly correlated with the roles and values of clinical faculty in both design and implementation. With escalating demands for clinical and educational activities, the time and effort required to secure an academic promotion appear to have low value for many clinical faculty members.