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A Perspective on Training for Academic Leadership in Geriatrics*
T. Franklin Williams. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1985-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Overall, these numbers amount to a goal of approximately 1,300 physician faculty members in clinical departments and 1,300 other faculty for all of our nation's medical schools. From our study, we concluded that there are presently no more than 200–300 medical school faculty members involved in aging or geriatrics research and teaching. Most medical schools, about 91 per cent, do now have some teaching in these fields, but often it is elective only; and the average amount of faculty time committed to this field is about 2.5 full-time equivalents of all physician disciplines, with little hard information available on the makeup of those equivalent positions—probably bits and pieces of time from various faculty members with limited overall leadership responsibility. A recent study based on questions sent members of the American Geriatrics Society and the Clinical Medicine Section of the Gerontological Society of America arrives at similar results.6 The same bleak picture applies and is often even worse in the other professions; overall it appears that we have no more than 5 per cent to 25 per cent of the faculty needed in any of the professions. In terms of our current productivity of investigators and teachers, our data indicate that, although we have made a start, we need to more than double our numbers of fellows being trained for academic positions in geriatrics and gerontology each year. This is a much higher rate of retention than has been true in recent years in other specialty fellowship programs. We would also expect that the trainee would participate with others committed to aging and geriatrics in the same university or academic environment, as part of the overall developmental efforts. We need overall leaders to focus and stimulate the efforts in the schools, to inform and advise public policy, and to operate major programs.
Key findings
- Overall, these numbers amount to a goal of approximately 1,300 physician faculty members in clinical departments and 1,300 other faculty for all of our nation's medical schools.
- From our study, we concluded that there are presently no more than 200–300 medical school faculty members involved in aging or geriatrics research and teaching.
- Most medical schools, about 91 per cent, do now have some teaching in these fields, but often it is elective only; and the average amount of faculty time committed to this field is about 2.5 full-time equivalents of all physician disciplines, with little hard information available on the makeup of those equivalent positions—probably bits and pieces of time from various faculty members with limited overall leadership responsibility.
- A recent study based on questions sent members of the American Geriatrics Society and the Clinical Medicine Section of the Gerontological Society of America arrives at similar results.6 The same bleak picture applies and is often even worse in the other professions; overall it appears that we have no more than 5 per cent to 25 per cent of the faculty needed in any of the professions.
- In terms of our current productivity of investigators and teachers, our data indicate that, although we have made a start, we need to more than double our numbers of fellows being trained for academic positions in geriatrics and gerontology each year.
Why it matters
This paper reports that there are far too few medical school faculty involved in aging or geriatrics research and teaching, with only 200–300 such faculty compared to a goal of about 1,300 physician faculty. It concludes that the number of fellows being trained for academic positions in geriatrics and gerontology needs to more than double.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 31/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: journal h-index 344 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1985 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 5 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.1 citations a year over 43 year(s) since 1985 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author T. Franklin Williams: h-index 32 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | National Institute on Aging: institution h-index 907 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 3973333) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 31 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Williams, T. F. (1985). A Perspective on Training for Academic Leadership in Geriatrics*. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1985.tb04885.x
Vancouver
Williams TF. A Perspective on Training for Academic Leadership in Geriatrics*. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 1985. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1985.tb04885.x. PMID: 3973333.
BibTeX
@article{williams1985-3973333,
author = {Williams, T. Franklin},
title = {{A Perspective on Training for Academic Leadership in Geriatrics*}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {1985},
doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.1985.tb04885.x},
pmid = {3973333},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1985.tb04885.x}
}
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