# Characteristics and Educational Support Resources Available to Emergency Medicine Core Faculty: A National Survey

## TL;DR

This study examines how changes in medical education regulations affect the workload and support for emergency medicine faculty.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the impact of ACGME regulation revisions on core faculty resources and responsibilities.

## Key findings

- Most faculty reported no changes to clinical or non-clinical responsibilities after ACGME revisions.
- Institutional factors like program type and region significantly influence faculty support and workload.
- Academic rank and program size are linked to changes in clinical work hours post-regulation.

## Abstract

Core faculty are key to supporting the educational mission in emergency medicine (EM). Changes in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements for minimum protected time for core faculty may no longer guarantee adequate support. We sought to assess EM core faculty characteristics, support, and the impact of the 2019 revisions to ACGME regulations. We explored the influence of individual and institutional characteristics on support and the impact of the regulatory changes.

This was a cross-sectional survey study of a convenience sample of EM core faculty. Participants completed an online survey of multiple-choice and completion items between April–June 2022. We calculated descriptive and comparative statistics to assess associations between individual (e.g., sociodemographics, rank) and institutional (e.g., region, program type) factors on resources and impact of ACGME revisions.

A total of 596 individuals (57% male) from 116 residency programs participated, including 15 (3%) instructors/lecturers, 280 (47%) assistant professors, 182 (31%) associate professors, and 80 (13%) professors. Most (64%) were 36–50 years of age; 246 (41%) had completed a fellowship. Despite the change to the ACGME requirements in 2019, 417 (70%) reported no modification to their clinical work hours, and 420 (71%) reported no modification to their non-clinical responsibilities. There were statistically significant associations between number of residents per class (P < .001), duration of training program (P < .001), and type of institution (P < .001) with the number of administrative personnel. We also observed statistically significant associations between academic rank (P = .02), region (P =.01), number of residents per class (P = 0.02), and type of site (P = .01) with change to clinical work hours after changes to ACGME requirements.

A minority of participants reported a change to their clinical and non-clinical expectations after revisions to the ACGME regulations with disproportionate impact across faculty and program type.