Predictors of Career Choice in Academic Medicine Among Orthopaedic Surgery Residents

Abstract

In 2013, 1038 applicants, 833 of whom were U.S. graduates, applied for 693 orthopaedic residency spots. Orthopaedic residency program directors thoroughly screen applicant data, selecting those applicants who will be most successful during the residency. Although the most important consideration for program directors is choosing residents who will obtain competence and will pass the orthopaedic board examinations, many applicants are chosen also for their ability to contribute to the field through leadership, research, and teaching.Previous studies have analyzed attitudes of orthopaedic residents toward research and university-based careers 1 . Primary authorship of a publication and past research experience were associated with a greater interest in future research 1 . However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has been done to identify predictors of orthopaedic residents who actually obtain faculty positions in a university-based setting.We hypothesized that predictive factors exist for orthopaedic surgery residents who choose a university-based career. This study looked at both academic and socioeconomic criteria to identify factors that predict residents becoming assistant professors, associate professors, full professors, program directors, or program chairs.

Residency Specialty and National Resident Matching Program Outcomes as Predictors of Academic vs Non-Academic Position as an Attending Physician

“…Fan et al's study looked at 60 orthopedic resident graduates, exploring the factors of clerkship honors, Step 1 score, Step 2 score, number of publications prior to residency, number of publications during residency, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) honor society membership, additional doctorates or masters degrees, and orthopedic board examination scores in relationship to academic career. They found that the residents who went into academics had, on average, 2.36 publications compared to 0.38 publications for those who went into non-academic careers (p = 0.019) [1].…”

“…Their research and accomplishments promote novel and improved treatments and procedures, as well as discoveries for both common and rare diseases, thereby improving the health and care of their patients. There are many factors that go into choosing between an academic versus a non-academic medical career [1,2]. A previous study of radiation oncology physicians has shown that they are twice as likely to choose an academic career if they had published at least one peer-reviewed paper during medical school [3].…”

“…A previous study of radiation oncology physicians has shown that they are twice as likely to choose an academic career if they had published at least one peer-reviewed paper during medical school [3]. Studies performed in orthopedic surgery, diagnostic radiology, and one performed that encompassed all specialties have likewise shown a positive correlation between research and an academic career [1,2,4]. Another study has found no such correlation to exist [5].…”

Mezuniyet merkezlerinin Türkiye'deki ortopedi cerrahlarinin akademik kariyerine etkisi

“…Park et al reported that; completion of a research fellowship, graduation from a top-20 medical school, and desire to become an academic surgeon were mostly associated with the choice of academic career 2 . Fan et al investigated the academic career of their department's past residents via "Google", and authors observed that orthopedics residents choosing academic career had increased number of publications during residency 3 . In their study, Ahn et al sent a survey to orthopedics and traumatology residents and chairs about future research activity; the authors found that having primary authorship of a study was the main predictive of future research activity 4 .…”

“…Several factors influencing the decision for academic career after graduation have been investigated previously in the literature [2][3][4] . However, no study could be found reporting the effect of the training centre on the future academic career of orthopedic residents.…”