A Novel Method to Characterize Medical School Research Productivity among Radiation Oncology Residents

Abstract

<h3>Purpose</h3> Altmetric score (AS) is a weighted average of the number of mentions on various websites, such as news outlets and social media, for publications. Prior studies have used h-index as a proxy for research impact, which relies on citation counts that may take years to accrue to a meaningful level. However, AS has been shown to follow social media dissemination trends, with a sharp increase in score upon publication followed by a rapid taper. The authors aim to explore research productivity of radiation oncology (RO) residents during their time in medical school using AS. <h3>Methods</h3> A PubMed search was performed for every RO resident in the class of 2024 to collect manuscripts published during medical school (January 1st, 2016 to December 31st, 2019). Extensive metadata were captured for each article, including AS and number of mentions on social media and other websites. Residents who completed a PhD or took longer than four years to graduate were excluded. Medical schools were divided into US News Top-40 and non-Top-40 schools. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 129 residents from 67 residency programs published 665 articles during medical school. Each resident published articles that accrued a mean total AS of 60.4 and an average AS of 9.9 per article. Residents who graduated from Top-40 medical schools obtained significantly higher total AS (p<0.001) and average AS (p<0.001) than those who graduated from non-Top-40 schools. While only 39.5% of residents graduated from Top-40 institutions, 55.4% of articles with the highest quartile of AS were published by those from these schools. <h3>Discussion</h3> The results of using AS to measure the impact of manuscripts published by RO residents appear to be consistent with those of traditional bibliometric studies. Residents from higher-ranked medical schools published more higher-impact articles than their counterparts from lower-ranked medical schools. Limitations of the study include possible differences in AS at time of residency application vs. current day and lack of control for possible confounders (e.g. possible increased research interest in Top-40 school students). Our data again suggests that students who attend higher-tier medical schools may have an advantage in access to potentially higher-impact research opportunities. With the recent shift of the Step 1 exam to a pass/fail format, there may be more emphasis placed on extracurricular activities such as research. Further work is needed to understand the optimal method by which holistic review can be incorporated into the RO residency selection process.