a Department of Internal Medicine , University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center , Cincinnati , Ohio , USA.
b Department of Medicine , University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine , Chicago , Illinois , USA.
Teach Learn Med. 2018 Oct-Dec;30(4):415-422. doi: 10.1080/10401334.2018.1441715. Epub 2018 Mar 22.
: Networking has positive effects on career development; however, personal characteristics of group members such as gender or diversity may foster or hinder member connectedness. Social network analysis explores interrelationships between people in groups by measuring the strength of connection between all possible pairs in a given network. Social network analysis has rarely been used to examine network connections among members in an academic medical society. This study seeks to ascertain the strength of connection between program directors in the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) and its Education Innovations Project subgroup and to examine possible associations between connectedness and characteristics of program directors and programs. : We hypothesize that connectedness will be measurable within a large academic medical society and will vary significantly for program directors with certain measurable characteristics (e.g., age, gender, rank, location, burnout levels, desire to resign). : APDIM program directors described levels of connectedness to one another on the 2012 APDIM survey. Using social network analysis, we ascertained program director connectedness by measuring out-degree centrality, in-degree centrality, and eigenvector centrality, all common measures of connectedness. : Higher centrality was associated with completion of the APDIM survey, being in a university-based program, Educational Innovations Project participation, and higher academic rank. Centrality did not vary by gender; international medical graduate status; previous chief resident status; program region; or levels of reported program director burnout, callousness, or desire to resign. : In this social network analysis of program directors within a large academic medical society, we found that connectedness was related to higher academic rank and certain program characteristics but not to other program director characteristics like gender or international medical graduate status. Further research is needed to optimize our understanding of connection in organizations such as these and to determine which strategies promote valuable connections.
网络对职业发展有积极影响；然而，小组成员的个人特征，如性别或多样性，可能促进或阻碍成员之间的联系。社会网络分析通过测量给定网络中所有可能对之间连接的强度来探索群体成员之间的相互关系。社会网络分析很少用于检查学术医学协会成员之间的网络联系。本研究旨在确定内科住院医师培训计划主任在协会（APDIM）及其教育创新项目分组中的联系强度，并检查联系强度与计划主任和计划的特征之间可能存在的关联。我们假设，在一个大型学术医学协会中，可以测量到联系的程度，并且对于具有某些可测量特征（例如年龄、性别、职级、地点、倦怠程度、辞职意愿）的计划主任来说，联系的程度会有很大的差异。APDIM 计划主任在 2012 年 APDIM 调查中描述了彼此之间的联系程度。我们使用社会网络分析，通过测量出度中心度、入度中心度和特征向量中心度来确定计划主任的联系程度，这些都是常用的联系程度衡量标准。中心度与完成 APDIM 调查、在大学为基础的项目中、参与教育创新项目以及更高的学术职级有关。中心度不因性别、国际医学研究生身份、以前的住院总医师身份、项目区域或报告的计划主任倦怠、冷漠或辞职意愿而有所不同。在这个对大型学术医学协会内的计划主任进行的社会网络分析中，我们发现，联系程度与较高的学术职级和某些项目特征有关，但与性别或国际医学研究生身份等其他计划主任特征无关。需要进一步研究，以优化我们对这些组织中联系的理解，并确定哪些策略可以促进有价值的联系。
