Authorship Trends of Emergency Medicine Publications Over the Last Two Decades

Abstract

IntroductionWith the recent merger of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) a heightened pressure for publication may become evident. Our objective was to determine whether there was a gap in the type of both medical degree designation and advanced degree designation among authorship in three United States-based academic emergency medicine journals.MethodsWe reviewed the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Academic Emergency Medicine and Annals of Emergency Medicine for the type of degree designation that the first and senior authors had obtained for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014.ResultsA total of 2.48% of all authors held a degree in osteopathic medicine. Osteopathic physician first authors contributed to 3.26% of all publications while osteopathic physician senior authors contributed 1.53%. No statistical trend could be established for the years studied for osteopathic physicians. However, we noted an overall trend for increased publication for allopathic senior authors (p=0.001), allopathic first authors with a dual degree (p=0.003) and allopathic senior authors with a dual degree (p=0.005). For each journal studied, no statistical trend could be established for osteopathic first or senior authors but a trend was noted for allopathic first and senior authors in the Journal of Emergency Medicine (p-value=0.020 and 0.006). Of those with dual degrees, osteopathic physicians were in the minority with 1.85% of osteopathic first authors and 0.60% of osteopathic senior authors attaining a dual degree. No statistical trend could be established for increased dual degree publications for osteopathic physicians over the study period, nor could a statistical trend be established for any of the journals studied.ConclusionVery few osteopathic physicians have published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Academic Emergency Medicine or Annals of Emergency Medicine over the last two decades. Despite a trend for increased publication by allopathic physicians in certain journals, there appears to be no trend for increased publication of osteopathic physicians in emergency medicine.

Medical Degree Disparity Among Authors of Original Research in Pediatric Journals

“…Based upon the data, very few of those DOs who published research manuscripts held a dual degree. Similar data has also been seen by those DOs who have published manuscripts in emergency medicine and obstetrics and gynecology [4-5]. Current literature shows that those pediatric hospitalists who hold a dual degree are more likely to publish original research and present research abstracts at scientific conferences [7].…”

“…Much like in emergency medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, osteopathic physicians rarely published original research manuscripts in the studied three high-impact pediatric journals over the time period studied [4-5]. Data has shown that of the 57,542 active physicians in pediatrics in 2015, 71.06% held an MD degree [6].…”

“…As the transition into a single graduate medical accreditation system occurs, research has shown that the publication of manuscripts by Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) is lacking in certain specialties as compared to their allopathic Doctor of Medicine (MD) counterparts despite ACGME recommendations [4-5]. However, no data has currently been published in the specialty of pediatrics.…”

Evaluating the Diversity of Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) Grant Recipients in the Last Decade

“…9,10 Additionally very few osteopathic physicians have published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Academic Emergency Medicine, or Annals of Emergency Medicine over the last two decades despite a trend for increased publication by publication of allopathic physicians; notably, there was not a similar trend for increased publication of osteopathic physicians in emergency medicine. 11 A recent study aimed at determining if a medical degree disparity (between allopathic and osteopathic) existed between those who successfully received an EM R01 grant and those who did not. This study found that allopathic physicians comprised the majority of recipients who were awarded an R01 grant in EM over the last decade.…”

Barriers and Solutions to Advancing Emergency Medicine Simulation–based Research: A Call to Action

“…Simulation‐based research is also important to the promotion and professional development of simulation academic faculty. The ACGME, and specifically the EM Residency Review Committee, requires that residency program core faculty “establish and maintain an environment of inquiry and scholarship with an active research component” and demonstrate scholarship via “publication of original research or review articles in peer reviewed journals, or chapters in textbooks.”…”