Measuring the Startup Journey and Academic Productivity of New Research Faculty through Systems Engagement, Project Efficiency, and Scientific Publication

Little is known about the process of tracking the activity and days-to-productivity of new research faculty in pediatric academic medical centers in the United States. The purpose of this study was to design a quantitative technique for measuring the startup journey and academic productivity of new research faculty at an established research academic medical center. Three measures, (1) engagement, (2) efficiency, and (3) publication, were used to identify the total number of days that it takes for a new research faculty member to move from the discovery phase (value-consumed) into the engagement phase (value-created) after accepting a new position. General findings were that the typical research faculty member hired from 2014 to 2018 at Children's Mercy was male, submitted his first research project within the first three months of employment and averaged one new research submission per year. He would collaborate on a publication as a co-author within the first six months of employment, his first primary author publication would be published near his first employment anniversary, and he would average 2.9 publications per year in the first few years. The current study hopes to fill a gap in existing literature regarding the best practices for tracking, reporting and comparing the startup journey and academic productivity of new research faculty in pediatric academic medical centers.
Research faculty represent a core resource for research academic medical centers (AMCs). The intellectual capital incurred in education and research training, heightened reputation from sustained scholarship and impact of discovery, [...]