Exploring the impact of cardiologists expertise on publication metrics

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Academic Medicine
• Scholarly Impact

Background:

• Scholarly impact and career progression in academic cardiology are often measured by publications and citations.
• The relationship between specialized cardiology expertise and the velocity of professional growth requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if specific cardiology expertise correlates with accelerated professional growth.
• To analyze the association between different cardiology subspecialties and publication/citation peaks.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 948 faculty attendees from the 2023 European Society of Cardiology congress with an h-index >= 30.
• Categorization of expertise into six groups to explore associations with publication and citation peaks.

Main Results:

• Interventional cardiologists showed the highest annual publication peak, followed by imaging and electrophysiology experts.
• No significant differences in citation peaks were found across expertise groups.
• Acquiring multiple expertise areas delayed reaching publication and citation peaks by approximately six years.

Conclusions:

• Expertise in interventional cardiology is linked to higher publication peaks, but not necessarily faster career progression based on citations.
• Citation peaks and career progression velocity appear independent of cardiology expertise type.
• Pursuing multiple areas of expertise can decelerate the achievement of peak scholarly output and impact.