Analysis of academic publishing output among 1634 successful applicants in the 2011-2018 neurosurgery residency match

John P Sheppard; Carlito Lagman; Thien Nguyen; Hana Yokoi; Stacy H Jeong; Peter Luong; Cheng Hao Jacky Chen; Vera Ong; Alexis French; Alyssa M Franks; Isabelle Kwan; Mahlet Mekonnen; Edwin Ng; Audree Evans; Komal Preet; Methma Udawatta; Isaac Yang

doi:10.1016/j.jns.2020.117186

Analysis of academic publishing output among 1634 successful applicants in the 2011-2018 neurosurgery residency match

J Neurol Sci. 2021 Jan 15:420:117186. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117186. Epub 2020 Oct 22.

Authors

John P Sheppard¹, Carlito Lagman², Thien Nguyen¹, Hana Yokoi², Stacy H Jeong², Peter Luong², Cheng Hao Jacky Chen¹, Vera Ong¹, Alexis French¹, Alyssa M Franks¹, Isabelle Kwan¹, Mahlet Mekonnen¹, Edwin Ng¹, Audree Evans¹, Komal Preet¹, Methma Udawatta¹, Isaac Yang³

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
³ Departments of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States; Departments of Head and Neck Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States; Departments of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States; Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States; Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States; Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States. Electronic address: iyang@mednet.ucla.edu.

PMID: 33223149
DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117186

Abstract

Background: Research productivity is a key criterion for applicant selection reported by residency program directors. Research volume reported on neurosurgery residency applications has risen steadily over the past decade.

Objective: Perform retrospective bibliographic searches of successful applicants who matched into U.S. neurosurgery residency programs from 2011 to 2018, and assess the relationship between academic publishing and residency placement.

Methods: Gender, MD/PhD status, U.S. News research ranking of medical school, and international medical graduate status (IMG) were determined for 1634 successful applicants from 2011 to 2018. Indexed publications before and after the start of residency were tabulated by Scopus®. Publication counts were stratified by first author, basic/clinical science, case reports, reviews, or other research. We then compared publishing trends across demographic variables and match cohorts.

Results: Average pre-residency publications increased from 2.6 [1.7, 3.4] in 2011 to 6.5 [5.1, 7.9] in 2018. Men, PhD-holders, Top 20 and Top 40 U.S. medical school graduates, and IMGs had higher pre-residency publication counts overall. After stratifying by match cohort, however, there was no significant effect of gender on pre-residency publications. Applicants matching into residency programs with highly ranked affiliated hospitals had significantly higher pre-residency publications.

Conclusion: Publishing volume of successful neurosurgery applicants in the U.S. has risen recently and is associated with the stature of matched residency programs. Given the gap between verifiable and claimed research on residency applications, attention is needed to objectively evaluate research credentials in the selection process. The impending phase out of USMLE step 1 scores may increase emphasis on academic productivity.

Keywords: Match; Neurosurgery; Publication; Residency.

MeSH terms

Humans
Internship and Residency*
Male
Neurosurgery* / education
Neurosurgical Procedures
Publishing
Retrospective Studies
United States