Incentive to Publish in Plastic Surgery: Does It Continue After the Match?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Specialties
• Research Productivity

Background:

• Plastic surgery is highly competitive, with research productivity a known factor for match success.
• The persistence of research productivity throughout residency is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate publication trends among plastic surgery residents before and during training.
• To identify factors predicting sustained research productivity during residency.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of US integrated plastic surgery residents (2019-2024 match cycles).
• PubMed data used to categorize publications as prematch or postmatch.
• Multivariate regression assessed program characteristics and prematch publications' influence on residency research output.

Main Results:

• Prematch publications increased significantly from 2019 to 2024.
• First-author publications also showed substantial growth.
• Training at top-ranked, NIH-funded programs and prematch first-author publications predicted higher residency research productivity.

Conclusions:

• Prematch first-author publications are crucial for sustained academic productivity in plastic surgery residency.
• Training at well-funded, highly-ranked programs enhances research output.
• Findings aid programs in identifying candidates with long-term research potential.