Association between Graduate Degrees and Publication Productivity in Academic Neurosurgery.

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Medical Education
• Bibliometrics

Background:

• Many neurosurgeons pursue graduate degrees.
• Graduate degrees are sometimes required for academic neurosurgery positions.
• The link between graduate degrees and research output in neurosurgery is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the relationship between graduate training level and research productivity in academic Canadian neurosurgeons.
• To compare publication output among neurosurgeons with MD-only, MD-Masters, and MD-PhD degrees.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of publications from academic Canadian neurosurgeons (2012-2016).
• Quantified papers, citations, h-index, r-index, CiteScore, authorship, and paper type using Scopus.
• Compared publication metrics across MD-only, MD-Masters, and MD-PhD groups.

Main Results:

• Neurosurgeons with Master's or PhD degrees published significantly more papers (total, clinical, first/last author) than MD-only neurosurgeons.
• MD-PhD neurosurgeons also published more basic science papers in higher-impact journals.
• Results remained consistent after removing outliers and were independent of degree attainment timing or career length.

Conclusions:

• Graduate degrees are associated with increased future publication productivity in academic neurosurgery.
• These findings can inform hiring committees about the value of graduate degrees for academic positions.