Trends in Academic Misrepresentation in Neurological Surgery Residency Applicants: A 2-Year Analysis

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Medical Education
• Academic Integrity

Background:

• Academic misrepresentation is a documented issue in medical residency applications.
• Previous reports indicated a 45% misrepresentation rate among prospective neurosurgical residents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine current rates of academic misrepresentation in neurosurgical residency applications.
• To analyze trends in misrepresentation over two distinct application cycles.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of Electronic Residency Application Service applications for neurosurgery residency.
• Verification of reported academic works using PubMed, Google Scholar, and journal websites.
• Defined misrepresentation to include fabricated work, authorship misattribution, and improper citation of online or non-peer-reviewed publications.

Main Results:

• The rate of academic misrepresentation among applicants decreased significantly to 18.4% in 2020 from 45% in 2012.
• The number of reported citations and median peer-reviewed articles per applicant increased from 2015 to 2020.
• Higher scores on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 2 were associated with a lower likelihood of misrepresentation.

Conclusions:

• Neurosurgical residency candidates show a significant decrease in academic misrepresentation rates.
• Increased reported citations do not correlate with higher misrepresentation.
• Further reductions may be achieved through enhanced education, modified reporting standards, and rigorous screening processes.