Editor’s Note: This is a disturbing account of intolerance toward young faculty members by the department chairman and the resulting adverse effects on their much-anticipated careers.
“After finishing my fellowship, I was coveted as a female” in my orthopaedic subspecialty. “I ended up being bullied” by the chairman who hired me. How can this happen?
Post-fellowship, I had a number of job offers. I considered the position I chose to be the best pathway to a gratifying and fulfilling academic career. In the early days, I found satisfaction in my work and had support from the chairman. I made an effort to improve resource equity for female faculty and also worked to promote inclusion rights. Eventually, I was named Diversity Chair.
Surprisingly, when it came time for reappointment, I was denied a tenure track and was eventually placed on probation. When asked why, my chairman told me that my clinical and operative skills were fine. He described the problem as: “You disagreed with me in an open forum.” I was then granted a “conditional reappointment.” But he made me fully aware that he had the power to derail my career.
Now I have some insight as to why nine junior faculty members have left, six of them in the past three years. Two were women. In their own words, the remaining younger faculty feel “strung out.”
I experienced a supportive chairman during my residency and imagined my experience in practice would be the similar. To my amazement, that has not been the case.
Due to current personal medical reasons, I am not in the position to “jump ship” like the others. To cope, I am working with a “life coach.” She is helping me get my voice back.
The question remains, shall I wait for the chairman “to be gone” to restore the joy in my work environment or shall I move on and take a chance elsewhere for my family and me?