Publication Date
2-18-2023
Journal
Clinical Infectious Diseases
DOI
10.1093/cid/ciac779
PMID
36131321
PMCID
PMC9494497
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
9-22-2022
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Humans, Female, Minority Groups, Pandemics, Faculty, Medical, COVID-19, Communicable Diseases, Early-stage faculty, COVID-19, Family, Women, URiM
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated increase in family care responsibilities resulted in unsustainable personal and professional workloads for infectious diseases (ID) faculty on the front lines. This was especially true for early-stage faculty (ESF), many of whom had caregiving responsibilities. In addition, female faculty, underrepresented in medicine and science faculty and particularly ESF, experienced marked declines in research productivity, which significantly impacts career trajectories. When combined with staffing shortages due to an aging workforce and suboptimal recruitment and retention in ID, these work-life imbalances have brought the field to an inflection point. We propose actionable recommendations and call on ID leaders to act to close the gender, racial, and ethnic gaps to improve the recruitment, retention, and advancement of ESF in ID. By investing in systemic change to make the ID workforce more equitable, we can embody the shared ideals of diversity and inclusion and prepare for the next pandemic.
Included in
Clinical Epidemiology Commons, COVID-19 Commons, Diseases Commons, Infectious Disease Commons, Medical Sciences Commons