7. Recommendation 2

Associate program directors and core faculty may be part-time employees, at the discretion of the program director. These individuals must meet the minimum FTE requirements as stipulated by these guidelines.
Justification

Part time faculty demonstrate similar clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction levels when compared with full-time colleagues (Fairchild et al, Parkerton et al, McMurray et al, Darbar et al, Pannatoni et al).  One study indicates that department chairs generally approve of faculty choosing to work part-time as well (Socolar and Kelman).  Although patients are generally satisfied with part-time clinicians, it should be noted that, as would be assumed, patients experience longer wait times prior to an appointment (Margolius et al, Pannatoni et al).  Academic productivity is difficult to measure and literature comparing academic productivity of part-time faculty to full-time faculty is limited; however, part-time clinicians often have lower academic rank and place less emphasis on national recognition (Levine et al, Darbar et al). These findings may serve as surrogate measures suggesting part-time clinicians have lower academic productivity.  Higher-quality studies are needed to evaluate whether full-time faculty status correlates with higher academic productivity.