Implementing a Holistic Review Toolkit for Faculty Recruitment and Retention
Toi Blakley Harris,
Michelle Shader,
Patrick O. Smith,
Amelia Challender,
Cleveland Piggott,
Norma I. Poll,
Ryan Henyard,
Jeffrey M. Lyness,
Erik D. Malmberg,
Eva K. Pressman,
Alicia D. Monroe,
Negar N. Jacobs
Affiliations
Toi Blakley Harris
Senior Vice President, Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, and Executive Director, Institute for the Advancement of Health Equity, Memorial Hermann Health System
Michelle Shader
Director, Holistic Initiatives and Learning, Academic Affairs, Association of American Medical Colleges
Patrick O. Smith
Chief Faculty Affairs Officer, Division of Academic Affairs, University of Mississippi Medical Center; Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Mississippi School of Medicine
Amelia Challender
Associate Program Director of Education, University of Colorado Family Medicine Residency, and Senior Instructor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus
Cleveland Piggott
Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus
Norma I. Poll
Senior Director, Human Capital Portfolio, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Association of American Medical Colleges
Ryan Henyard
Director of Faculty and Education Initiatives, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Association of American Medical Colleges
Jeffrey M. Lyness
President and CEO, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Erik D. Malmberg
Assistant Dean, Equity and Medical Student Engagement, and Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
Eva K. Pressman
Henry A. Thiede Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Alicia D. Monroe
Chief Integration Officer and Senior Advisor to the President, Office of the President, Old Dominion University
Negar N. Jacobs
Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine
Introduction A diverse workforce improves health care, educational outcomes, and research agendas. Currently, faculty from historically excluded groups remain underrepresented in academic medicine. Resources are needed in academic medical centers for those charged with recruiting and retaining a diverse and talented workforce. Methods Informed by the successful use of holistic review in medical student admissions, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) developed and piloted a toolkit for use in faculty recruitment and retention at five academic medical centers. Institutions led toolkit-guided holistic review workshops ranging from 2.5 to 3 hours in duration for leaders and faculty to identify and prioritize selection criteria used to modify faculty recruitment and retention materials and processes. AAMC surveys at pilot initiation and at two time points during implementation assessed satisfaction with and perceptions of the toolkit. Results At the first survey time point, the average toolkit rating across five institutions ranged from 3.2 to 4.4 (out of a maximum of 5.0) for helpfulness and from 3.5 to 4.9 for ease of use. At the second survey time point, the helpfulness of the tools received average ratings of 3.0–4.8. In respondents’ qualitative comments, we identified varying strategies for implementation and few barriers to implementation other than reluctance of some faculty to use scripted tools and concerns about anonymity in the exit interviews. Discussion The toolkit was well received and easy to implement. It will be important to study the use of these materials across other institutions, with attention to their impact on faculty diversity.
