Promotion Rates for Assistant and Associate Professors in Obstetrics and Gynecology

OBJECTIVE:To estimate promotion rates of physician faculty members in obstetrics and gynecology during the past 30 years METHODS:Data were collected annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges from every school between 1980 and 2009 for first-time assistant and associate professors to determine whether and when they were promoted. Data for full-time physician faculty were aggregated by decade (1980–1989, 1990–1999, 2000–2009). Faculty were included if they remained in academia for 10 years after beginning in rank. Data were analyzed by constructing estimated promotion curves and extracting 6-year and 10-year promotion rates. RESULTS:The 10-year promotion rates (adjusted for attrition) declined significantly for assistant professors from 35% in 1980–1989 to 32% in 1990–1999 to 26% in 2000–2009 (P