Development of Junior Faculty in Resource-Poor Departments of Psychiatry

Junior faculty are required to develop steady, productive academic and research programs in order to stay on an academic track and be promoted. In departments that are not research centers, quite often new, aspiring faculty do not have the time, skills, training, and the encouraging environment necessary to meet these demands. Quantitatively, research-poor departments provide clinical services to the majority of patients in the United States and psychiatric training to a large number of medical students and residents. It is quite widely accepted that enhancement of academic education in these departments is needed. Currently, however, most suggestions to increase research in such departments have been initiated from the research center’s perspective. In this study, the problem is illuminated from the faculty’s perspective in resource-poor departments. Solutions are discussed and new approaches are suggested.