Current Trends of Research Productivity among Students Matching at Top Ophthalmology Programs

Importance  San Francisco Match publishes no data on the research output of matched applicants to an ophthalmology residency. Objective  The aim of this study was to examine the temporal trends in publication volume by medical students who successfully matched into a top ophthalmology residency. Methods  This retrospective case series compared all residents in the top 30 ophthalmology residency programs from the class of 2022 and 2017. Publication volume from before September 15th of the residents' fourth year of medical school was recorded using PubMed and Google Scholar. We recorded total number of publications (any authorship), first/second author publications, and ophthalmology-specific publications. Using Welch's t -test, publication volumes were statistically compared against all others. Results  One-hundred sixty-one residents from the class of 2022 and 145 residents from the class of 2017 were included. Total publications per matched applicant (mean ± standard deviation) were 3.04 ± 0.35 for the class of 2022 and 1.67 ± 0.23 for the class of 2017. Mean publications in ophthalmology journals were 1.07 ± 0.20 (2022) and 0.58 ± 0.13 (2017); mean first author publications were 1.00 ± 0.13 (2022) and 0.64 ± 0.11 (2017) and mean second author publications were 0.70 ± 0.10 (2022) and 0.37 ± 0.06 (2017). Research productivity in all four metrics (total, ophthalmology journals, first author, and second author publications) was significantly higher for the class of 2022 than the class of 2017 ( p  = 0.001; p  = 0.03; p  = 0.03; p  = 0.02, respectively) supporting the trend of increasing research output among students. Applicants with PhD degrees had statistically more total and first author publications in 2017 ( p  = 0.01; p  = 0.045), but only more first author publications in 2022 ( p  = 0.01). International applicants produced significantly more total publications in 2022 ( p  < 0.001). Conclusions  Overall, after a 5-year period, the authors found matched applicants had significantly increased publications compared with those at the beginning of the period. We also identified several applicant factors that may have variable effects on research publication. This analysis emphasizes the growing importance of research in the match process and can help future applicants navigate the ophthalmology match.