Abstract
BackgroundMany medical schools and residency programs incorporate research projects into their curriculum, however most remain unpublished. Little is known on the long-term effect of early-career publication, especially in female graduates.MethodsWe collected data on physicians 15–20 years after graduation (representing a mid-career point), and analysed data on early publication, publication volume and impact according to graduates’ gender and professional characteristics. Physicians were divided into those who never published, early-publishers (EP) who published within 2 years of graduation and late-publishers (LP). We analysed and compared the demographics, publication volume, publication quality as well as current mid-career position.ResultsOf 532 physicians, 185 were EP (34.8%), 220 were LP (41.3%), 127 (23.9%) never published, 491 (92.2%) became specialists and 122 (22.3%) achieved managerial position. Of the 405 who published, the average number of publications was 20.3 ± 33.0, and median (IQR) 9(19). H-index was significantly higher in EP, males, surgical specialists, and those holding a managerial position. Male gender was associated with higher publication rate (OR = 1.742; 95% CI 1.193–2.544; P = 0.004). Using quantile regression, female gender was negatively associated with the number of publications in Q50-Q95. Surgical specialty and managerial position were positively associated with publications in Q25 to Q75 and early publication in Q25 and Q75.ConclusionsWe found a strong association between EP and the number, impact, and quality of publications throughout their academic career. This study illuminates the need for further investigations into the causes of gender discrepancies. We should invest in support programs encouraging early high quality research projects for young physicians and female graduates.
Highlights
Research experience helps foster scientific thought and nurture evidence-based practice in clinical settings [1,2,3,4,5]
We show that early career scientific publication is associated with superior long-term achievements
The number of specialties among 491 graduates with at least one specialty did not differ between the two genders: 69.7% of female physicians had one specialty and 30.2% two or more specialties while 64.5% of male physicians had one specialty and 35.5% had two or more (p = 0.448)
Summary
Research experience helps foster scientific thought and nurture evidence-based practice in clinical settings [1,2,3,4,5]. Developing research skills is considered to be a significant learning outcome of medical education and is associated with improved short and long-term scientific productivity [6]. In some countries, such as the United States and Germany, physicians can practice medicine without completing a research thesis during their medical school training. In recent years there has been a decline in the number of physician-investigators Despite this decline, there is no uniform strategy within the medical education discipline on how to encourage physicians in training to perform and publish their research. Little is known on the long-term effect of early-career publication, especially in female graduates
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