Training Characteristics, Academic Accomplishments, and Motivation of Current Chairs in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Objective The aim of the study was to report the training characteristics, academic accomplishments, and motivation of current United States academic physical medicine and rehabilitation chairs. Design The authors developed a 23-question survey that was disseminated via e-mail to 86 current chairs who were members of the Chairs Council from the Association of Academic Physiatrists in May 2020. Follow-up e-mails were sent 2 and 4 wks after the initial distribution, and the survey closed after 6 wks in June 2020. The data collected were deidentified. Descriptive analysis was performed. Results Forty-nine chair responses were received, which had a response rate of 60%. A total of 69.4% of the chairs (32 of 49) were men and 30.6% (17 of 49) were women. A total of 75.5% (37 of 49) were White/Caucasian, 12.2% (6 of 49) Hispanic/Latinx, 10.2% (5 of 49) Asian, and 2% (1 of 49) were Black/African American. A total of 8.2% of the chairs (4 of 49) reported having a disability. Sixty-seven percent of the female chairs (10 of 15) reported experiencing gender discrimination in the workplace versus 3% of male chairs (1 of 34). Twenty-nine percent of the chairs were full professors in physical medicine and rehabilitation when first appointed, 57.1% associate professors, and 6% assistant professors. A total of 73.5% of the chairs had served as a reviewer for a peer-reviewed publication. Fifty-Two percent of the chairs had a leadership role in a national physical medicine and rehabilitation organization. Fifty-eight percent of the chairs had at least 16 peer-reviewed publications when first appointed. Conclusions This survey provides insight to the training characteristics, accomplishments, and motivation of current chairs for physiatrists aspiring to enter these ranks. It also highlights the underrepresentation of women and minorities among leadership positions in physical medicine and rehabilitation.