Publication Inaccuracies Found in Applications to an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program

Professionalism is one of the core competencies required by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The purpose of this study was to determine if publication inaccuracies exist among applicants OMS residency programs.

Retrospective cohort observational study of OMS applications to the Emory University oral and maxillofacial surgery program from 2017 to 2020. Information was obtained from the ADEA PASS application portal. The primary predictor variable was the sum of peer-reviewed publications reported by each applicant. The primary outcome variable was the presence of an inaccuracy in an application and the secondary outcome variable was the severity of inaccuracy (major or minor) according to previously reported method. Major inaccuracies consist of misrepresentation of publication authorship, verifiability, peer-review status, or journal citation. Minor inaccuracies are incorrect author order or citation errors (e.g. title misspellings).

Of the applications sent, 578 applications met the inclusion criteria. One in twelve applicants was found to have at least one inaccuracy in their application. Applicants who reported more than two peer-reviewed publications or included at least one non-peer-reviewed publication were more likely to have a publication inaccuracy (p < 0.001 and p = 0.011, respectively).

Our preliminary data demonstrates publication inaccuracies occur among OMS applicants. There may be an increased association between applicants who report more than one peer-reviewed article and inaccuracies. With this data, OMS programs may consider checking details of applicants who report more publications than their peers.