Impact of resident research publication on early-career publication success

Abstract

Purpose: The impact of resident research publication on early-career publication success is evaluated.

Methods: This study included a retrospective cohort of pharmacy residents' abstracts presented at the Great Lakes Pharmacy Resident Conference (GLPRC). Published residency research projects at GLPRC (n = 76) were matched 1:1 to unpublished projects. Residents were followed forward for five years to identify early-career publications (postresidency publication positive) versus no publications (postresidency publication negative). The following characteristics of postresidency publication-positive and publication-negative residents were compared: publication of residency project, university-affiliated residencies, median number and interquartile range of coinvestigators, presence of a physician coinvestigator, highest nonphysician H-index of coinvestigators, and nonphysician H-index of ≥1 for any coinvestigator (indicating that a coinvestigator has previously published and been cited).

Results: A total of 152 abstracts were reviewed (76 published and 76 unpublished projects). Using a predefined systematic search strategy, 55 former residents had a postresidency publication within five years after presenting their project at the GLPRC. Of the former residents who published their residency project, 38 (50%) were postresidency publication positive, while 17 former residents (22.4%) who did not publish resident research projects were postresidency publication positive. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that publication of the pharmacy resident research project and a university-affiliated residency program was positively associated with postresidency publication success.

Conclusion: Pharmacy residents who published their residency research project after its presentation at the GLPRC were twice as likely to have publication success within five years compared with residents who did not publish their residency research project. A university-affiliated residency was associated with postresidency publication success within five years after project presentation.