Family Medicine Academic Workforce of Medical Schools in Taiwan: A Nationwide Survey

• Main Authors: Shu-Han Chen, Hsiao-Ting Chang, Ming-Hwai Lin, Tzeng-Ji Chen, Shinn-Jang Hwang, Ming-Nan Lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: family medicine; faculty development; medical education; public administration; public policy; healthcare
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/7182
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

Little is known about family medicine academic workforce in Taiwan, and basic data on this may aid healthcare decision-makers and contribute to the limited literature. We analyzed data from 13 medical schools in Taiwan collected by the Taiwan Association of Family Medicine from June to September 2019, regarding characteristics of medical schools, and total staff, gender, age, degree, working title (adjunct/full-time), academic level, and subspecialty of each current family medicine faculty member. Total 13 medical schools in Taiwan with an undergraduate education program in family medicine, but only nine of the 13 medical schools had family medicine departments, while four still do not. A total of 116 family medicine faculty members ranging from 33–69 years. Of these, most were male (<i>n</i> = 85, 73.3%), with a mean age of 43.3 years. Most faculty members possessed a master’s degree (<i>n</i> = 49, 42.2%), were academic lecturers (<i>n</i> = 49, 42.2%), were located in northern Taiwan (<i>n</i> = 79, 68.1%), and subspecialize in gerontology and geriatrics (<i>n</i> = 55, 47.4%) and hospice palliative care (<i>n</i> = 53, 45.7%). Additionally, most family medicine faculty in medical schools were adjunct faculty (<i>n</i> = 90, 77.6%), with only about one-fourth (<i>n</i> = 26, 22.4%) working full-time. Our study provides the most holistic census to date on academic family medicine faculty from all medical schools in Taiwan. The novel information can provide educational leaders, health policy managers, and decision-makers about the current developments of the family medicine departments in Taiwan’s medical schools. The basic data will help formulate an effective medical school family medicine education plan and improve the establishment and development of the family medicine faculty workforce to help medical education and national health policy development in the future in Taiwan.