Hitting the Books: A Nationwide Analysis of Advanced Degrees in Academic Plastic Surgery Faculty

Abstract

Objective: Plastic surgery is one of the most competitive and innovative fields in medicine. The role of the academic plastic surgeon continues to grow beyond clinical care, and many surgeons have pursued advanced degrees (AD) to expand their professional skillset. We present an analysis of ADs of academic plastic surgery faculty in the USA, with consideration of timing of AD attainment.

Methods: All academic plastic surgery faculty members were identified from plastic surgery program websites, as recognized by the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons. ADs were defined as additional degrees beyond the primary medical degree. Outcomes included timing of AD attainment, residency rankings, institutional standings, and research productivity.

Results: 949 faculty members were identified, and 167 had ADs. The most common ADs were PhD (30%), MS/MSc (18%), and MBA/EMBA (17%). Timing of AD attainment was available for 146 faculty members (84.7%). Having an AD before residency was associated with matching into higher-tiered and integrated residency programs (both p < 0.05). For attending physicians, having an AD was associated with more journal editorial board positions, more publications, higher H-index, receiving NIH funding, and median number of NIH grants (adjusted for years in practice, all p<0.05). Institutional analysis revealed that employing more faculty with an AD was associated with having an integrated residency program, higher residency research ranking, and higher tier integrated residency (all p < 0.05).

Conclusion: ADs are growing in popularity in academic plastic surgery and are temporally associated with specific advantages in terms of residency placement, research productivity, and institutional standing.

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Keywords: Academic; Advanced degree; Degrees; Faculty; Plastic surgery.