Social network analysis of publication collaboration of accelerating change in MedEd consortium

Abstract

Introduction The American Medical Association formed the Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium through grants to effect change in medical education. The dissemination of educational innovations through scholarship was a priority. The objective of this study was to explore the patterns of collaboration of educational innovation through the consortium’s publications. Method Publications were identified from grantee schools’ semi-annual reports. Each publication was coded for the number of citations, Altmetric score, domain of scholarship, and collaboration with other institutions. Social network analysis explored relationships at the midpoint and end of the grant. Results Over five years, the 32 Consortium institutions produced 168 publications, ranging from 38 papers from one institution to no manuscripts from another. The two most common domains focused on health system science (92 papers) and competency-based medical education (30 papers). Articles were published in 54 different journals. Forty percent of publications involved more than one institution. Social network analysis demonstrated rich publishing relationships within the Consortium members as well as beyond the Consortium schools. In addition, there was growth of the network connections and density over time. Conclusion The Consortium fostered a scholarship network disseminating a broad range of educational innovations through publications of individual school projects and collaborations.