Impact of PhD Degree Versus Non‐PhD Research Fellowship on Future Research Productivity Among Academic Cardiothoracic Surgeons

Abstract

Background A PhD degree can offer significant research experience, but previous studies yielded conflicting conclusions on the relationship between a PhD degree and future research output. We compared the impact of a PhD degree versus research fellowship (RF) training on research productivity in cardiothoracic surgeons, hypothesizing that training pathways may influence potential associations. Methods CT surgeons practicing at all accredited United States CT surgery training programs in 2018 who pursued dedicated time for research (n = 597), including earning a PhD degree (n = 92) or completing a non-PhD RF (n = 505), were included. To control for training pathways, we performed subanalyses of U.S. medical school graduates (n = 466) and international medical school graduates (IMGs) (n = 131). Surgeon-specific data were obtained from publicly available sources (e.g., institutional webpages, Scopus). Results PhD surgeons published greater total papers (68.5 vs. 52.0, p = 0.0179) and total papers per year as an attending (4.6 vs. 3.0, p = 0.0150). For U.S. medical school graduates, there were 40 PhD surgeons and 426 non-PhD RF surgeons; both groups published a similar number of total papers (64.5 vs. 54.0, p = 0.3738) and total papers per year (3.2 vs. 3.0, p = 0.7909). For IMGs, there were 52 PhD surgeons and 79 non-PhD RF surgeons; the PhD surgeons published greater total papers (80.5 vs. 45.0, p = 0.0101) and total papers per year (5.7 vs. 2.7, p = 0.0037). Conclusion CT surgeons with dedicated research training are highly academically productive. Although a PhD degree may be associated with enhanced career-long research productivity for IMGs, this association was not observed for U.S. medical school graduates.

The Elusive Surgeon Scientist: The Role of PhD in Careers of Cardiothoracic Surgeons

“…The study by Bajaj et al [1] examines the association of PhD and non-PhD research fellowships with the academic productivity and advancement of cardiothoracic surgeons in the US. Those with a PhD were a minority of the cohort (92 of the 597, 15%).…”