Medical Student University of Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Disclosure(s):
Vera P. Ong: No financial relationships to disclose
Introduction: Although female neurosurgery residents are increasing, women remain underrepresented in academic leadership. Since research productivity is a validated indicator for academic advancement, we aimed to assess academic productivity differences between male and female neurosurgery residents.
Methods: We used the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education records to obtain 2021-2022 recognized neurosurgery residency programs. Gender was dichotomized into male/female by male-/female-presenting status. Extracted variables include degrees/fellowships, number of pre-residency, total publications, and h-index. Residency publication number and h-indices were normalized by postgraduate year. Linear regression analyses were conducted to assess factors associated with numbers of in-residency publications. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Of 117 accredited programs, 99 had extractable data. Information from 1,406 residents (21.6% female) was successfully collected. 19,687 and 3,261 publications were evaluated for males and females, respectively. Male and female residents’ median pre-residency publication numbers did not significantly differ (M:3.00(IQR1.00-8.50) vs. F:3.00(IQR1.00-7.00), p=0.09), nor did their h-indices. However, male residents had significantly higher median residency publications than female residents (M:1.40(IQR0.57-3.00) vs. F:1.00(IQR0.50-2.00), p<0.001). On multivariable linear regression, male residents (OR2.05, 95%CI 1.68-2.50, p<0.001) and residents with more pre-residency publications (OR1.18, 95%CI 1.17-1.18, p<0.001) had higher likelihood of publishing more during residency, controlling for other covariates.
Conclusion : During neurosurgical residency, male residents publish significantly more than female counterparts. Given similar pre-residency h-indices and publication records, this is unlikely explained by differences in academic aptitude. In-residency gender barriers to academic productivity must be acknowledged and addressed to improve female representation within academic neurosurgery.
