FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017
Contact: Leah C. Payne, Director of Public Affairs, Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, 304-691-1713

Marshall faculty member part of team reviewing academic burnout at medical schools
Perspective published in national medical education journal

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Darshana T. Shah, Ph.D., professor of pathology and associate dean for faculty affairs and professional development at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, and a team of co-authors recently published an article in Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American of Medical Colleges (AAMC), on the topic of faculty burnout.

The article, “Restoring Faculty Vitality in Academic Medicine When Burnout Threatens,” is a perspective piece that offers a different lens to avoid faculty burnout by fostering faculty vitality. The authors propose that understanding and fostering what contributes to faculty and institutional vitality is central to preventing burnout during times of change. 

“Vitality of any academic institution is dependent on its faculty,” Shah said. “Creating and sustaining an institutional environment that nurtures faculty who remain vibrant, engaged and motivated to help achieve the tripartite mission of training medical students and emerging physicians, while advancing research and delivering patient care is essential.  Creating such an environment does not happen by itself, but requires vigor, foresight and will.”

Shah and the co-authors are all past steering committee chairs of the AAMC’s Group on Faculty Affairs, a section of the AAMC focused on building and sustaining faculty vitality in medical schools and teaching hospitals.

According to a growing body of research, faculty burnout at academic medical centers has reached an all-time high. Institutions across the country are working to implement wellness initiatives to combat the issue.

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Date Posted: Thursday, November 30, 2017