Mary Ellen Stoykov1, Kimberly A Skarupski2, Kharma Foucher3, Susan Chubinskaya4. 1. Mary Ellen Stoykov, PhD, MS, OTR/L, is Assistant Professor, Rush University, Chicago, IL; mary_stoykov@rush.edu. 2. Kimberly A. Skarupski, PhD, MPH, is Associate Dean for Faculty Development; Associate Professor, Department of Medicine (Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology); and Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. 3. Kharma Foucher, MD, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago. 4. Susan Chubinskaya, PhD, is Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs, Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Pediatrics, Rush University, Chicago, IL.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Junior tenure-track faculty report high levels of stress and low satisfaction; the increasingly competitive funding environment compounds this discontent. We examined factors associated with junior investigators who were thinking about quitting research. METHOD: Data were collected as part of a program evaluation of an interdisciplinary research mentoring program in an academic medical center. RESULTS: Of the 62 mentees, 44 responded to the survey (71%). When asked "In the past year, have you considered quitting research?" 39 mentees answered the question; 17 (44%) answered in the affirmative. Those who had considered quitting had lower scores on the Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory-12 (CRAI-12) and job satisfaction and higher scores on burnout. In a regression model, we found that only CRAI-12 scores were significantly, inversely associated with thinking about quitting. CONCLUSION: Factors associated with thinking about quitting included lower confidence in research skills, reduced job satisfaction, and higher levels of burnout.
OBJECTIVE: Junior tenure-track faculty report high levels of stress and low satisfaction; the increasingly competitive funding environment compounds this discontent. We examined factors associated with junior investigators who were thinking about quitting research. METHOD: Data were collected as part of a program evaluation of an interdisciplinary research mentoring program in an academic medical center. RESULTS: Of the 62 mentees, 44 responded to the survey (71%). When asked "In the past year, have you considered quitting research?" 39 mentees answered the question; 17 (44%) answered in the affirmative. Those who had considered quitting had lower scores on the Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory-12 (CRAI-12) and job satisfaction and higher scores on burnout. In a regression model, we found that only CRAI-12 scores were significantly, inversely associated with thinking about quitting. CONCLUSION: Factors associated with thinking about quitting included lower confidence in research skills, reduced job satisfaction, and higher levels of burnout.