A First Look at the Research Landscape of the Neurosurgery Match in a Pass/Fail Step 1 Era: A 2024 Match Analysis

Objective The 2024 Residency Match was the first in recent history where most applicants did not report a numerical United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 score. This study will quantify the effects the scoring change had on the research productivity of successfully matched neurosurgery applicants. Methods Data on sex, MD/PhD status, medical school attended, and residency program were collected. Articles were categorized based on authorship, relation to neurosurgery, type of article, and the h5-index of the journal. Differences were evaluated based on sex, top 40 National Institutes of Health-funded medical school status, and acceptance at a top 30 residency program. Results This study evaluated the publications of 181 out of 241 matched students. They produced 2,002 articles, 85% of which were related to neurosurgery. Clinical studies were the most frequently published. The mean and median total publications were 11.1±12.8 and 8.0, respectively. On average, first-author publications accounted for 2.9±4.0 (median=2.0) of publications. Significant differences in publication metrics were found when comparing based on sex and matching into a top 30 residency program. Conclusions The transition of the Step 1 scoring system to Pass/Fail amplified the emphasis successful applicants placed on research. The need for an extensive research portfolio has only become greater. Results of this study may also suggest that the change to Step 1 scoring may not have lessened the burden on medical students but rather shifted it elsewhere.