Publication Trends and Their Relationship With Academic Success Among Dermatology Residents: Cross-sectional Analysis

J Michael Anderson; David Wenger; Austin L Johnson; Corbin Walters; Mopileola Tomi Adewumi; Lindy Esmond; Jourdan Waddell; Matt Vassar

doi:10.2196/30015

Publication Trends and Their Relationship With Academic Success Among Dermatology Residents: Cross-sectional Analysis

JMIR Dermatol. 2021 Oct 6;4(2):e30015. doi: 10.2196/30015.

Authors

J Michael Anderson¹, David Wenger¹, Austin L Johnson¹, Corbin Walters¹, Mopileola Tomi Adewumi¹, Lindy Esmond¹, Jourdan Waddell¹, Matt Vassar¹

Affiliation

¹ Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, United States.

PMID: 37632805
PMCID: PMC10334970
DOI: 10.2196/30015

Abstract

Background: Involvement in scholarly activities is considered to be one of the foundational pillars of medical education.

Objective: This study aims to investigate publication rates before, during, and after residency to determine whether research productivity throughout medical training correlates with future academic success and research involvement.

Methods: We successfully identified a list of 296 graduates from 25 US dermatology residency programs from the years 2013-2015. The publication history for each graduate was compiled using Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The Pearson correlation test and linear regression were used to assess the relationship between research productivity and continued academic success after residency graduation.

Results: Before residency, graduates published a mean of 1.9 (SD 3.5) total publications and a mean of 0.88 (SD 1.5) first-author publications. During residency, graduates published a mean of 2.7 (SD 3.6) total publications and a mean of 1.39 (SD 2.0) first-author publications. Graduates who pursued a fellowship had more total publications (t₂₉₄=-4.0; P<.001), more first-author publications (t₂₉₄=-3.9; P<.001), and a higher h-index (t₂₉₄=-3.8; P=.002). Graduates who chose to pursue careers in academic medicine had more mean total publications (t₂₉₄=-7.5; P<.001), more first-author publications (t₂₉₄=-5.9; P<.001), and a higher mean h-index (t₂₉₄=-6.9; P<.001). Graduates with one or more first-author publications before residency were 1.3 times more likely to pursue a career in academic medicine (adjusted odds ratio 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5). Graduates who pursued a fellowship were also 1.9 times more likely to pursue a career in academic medicine (adjusted odds ratio 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-3.2).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that research productivity before and during residency training are potential markers for continued academic success and research involvement after completing dermatology residency training.

Keywords: academic medicine; dermatology residency; publication trends.

©J Michael Anderson, David Wenger, Austin L Johnson, Corbin Walters, Mopileola Tomi Adewumi, Lindy Esmond, Jourdan Waddell, Matt Vassar. Originally published in JMIR Dermatology (http://derma.jmir.org), 06.10.2021.