Academic medicine plays a crucial role at the crossroads of medical practice, education, and research, influencing the future landscape of healthcare. Many physicians aspire to pursue and sustain a career in academic medicine to contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge, enhance patient care, and influence the trajectory of the medical field. Opting for a career in academic medicine can offer benefits such as increased autonomy and scheduling flexibility, which can significantly improve the quality of life. In addition, engagement in scholarly activities and working in a dynamic environment with continuous learning opportunities can help mitigate burnout.
However, embarking on an academic career can be daunting for junior faculty members who face the challenge of providing clinical care while excelling in research and dedicating time to mentorship and teaching trainees. According to a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges, 38% of physicians leave academic medicine within a decade of obtaining a faculty position. Barriers to promotion and retention within academic medicine include ineffective mentorship, unclear or inconsistent promotion criteria, and disparities in gender/ethnic representation.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. Vineet Rolston
In this article, we interview two accomplished physicians in academic medicine who have attained the rank of professors.
Interview with Sophie Balzora, MD
Dr. Balzora is a professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a practicing gastroenterologist specializing in the care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease at NYU Langone Health. She serves as the American College of Gastroenterology’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Chair, on the Advisory Board of ACG’s Leadership, Ethics, and Equity (LE&E) Center, and is president and cofounder of the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists (ABGH). Dr. Balzora was promoted to full professor 11 years after graduating from fellowship.
NYU Langone Health
Dr. Sophie Balzora
What would you identify as some of the most important factors that led to your success in achieving a promotion to professor of medicine?
Surround yourself with individuals whose professional and personal priorities align with yours. To achieve this, it is essential to gain an understanding of what is important to you, what you envision your success to look like, and establish a timeline to achieve it. The concept of personal success and how to best achieve it will absolutely change as you grow, and that is okay and expected. Connecting with those outside of your clinical interests, at other institutions, and even outside of the medical field, can help you achieve these goals and better shape how you see your career unfolding and how you want it to look.
Historically, the proportion of physicians who achieve professorship is lower among women compared with men. What do you believe are some of the barriers involved in this, and how would you counsel women who are interested in pursuing the rank of professor?
Systemic gender bias and discrimination, over-mentorship and under-sponsorship, inconsistent parental leave, and delayed parenthood are a few of the factors that contribute to the observed disparities in academic rank. Predictably, for women from underrepresented backgrounds in medicine, the chasm grows.
