The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Unmasked the Challenges Faced by Early-Stage Faculty in Infectious Diseases: A Call to Action

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 car...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 2023-02, Vol.76 (4), p.753-759
Main Authors: Scherer, Erin M, Backer, Martin, Carvajal, Karen, Danziger-Isakov, Lara, Frey, Sharon, Howard, Leigh M, Scaggs Huang, Felicia, Kottkamp, Angelica C, Reid, Tara, Rodriguez-Barradas, Maria C, Stankiewicz Karita, Helen C, Teoh, Zheyi, Wald, Anna, Whitaker, Jennifer, Wiley, Zanthia, Ofotokun, Igho, Edwards, Kathryn M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communicable Diseases
COVID-19
Faculty, Medical
Female
Humans
Minority Groups
Pandemics
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1093/cid/ciac779