Trends in Leadership Among Neurosurgical Oncology Fellowships

Abstract

To examine current neurosurgical oncology leadership trends and provide a guide for those interested in obtaining fellowship directorship, we investigated fellowship director (FD) demographic, educational, and leadership characteristics. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons Academic Fellowship Directory and Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training websites were reviewed for current U.S. program FDs for which data were collected using online resources and surveys. In total, 23 FDs (20 male and 3 female) were represented whose mean age was 52.4 years (standard deviation= 8.7). Our analysis found 65% of current neurosurgical oncology FDs to be singularly trained in neurosurgical oncology, with 8.7% possessing multiple fellowships and 34.8% possessing additional degrees. Fellowship programs producing the most FDs were University of Texas MD Anderson (4), Memorial Sloan Kettering (3), and University of Miami (2). FDs possessed an average of 148 publications, 6423 citations, and an h-index of 33.9. H-index had a high-positive correlation with age and time from residency graduation but not duration of FD appointment. Among survey respondents, 91.7% reported membership and 75% reported leadership positions among national academic societies, whereas 66.7% reported holding journal-editorial positions. The mean age of FD appointment was 46.8 years, with a mean time from fellowship completion to FD appointment of 10.0 years. Through the characterization of current leaders in the field, we provide valuable information with regards to training location trends, research productivity goals, career timelines, and target journal/national academic society involvement worth consideration among young trainees when making career decisions and plans.