Careers in Skull Base and Open Cerebrovascular Surgery: Factors Associated with Academic Job Placement

Fellowship training has become increasingly sought after by neurosurgeons aiming for academic careers over the last two decades. This study assesses American Board of Neurological Surgeons board-certified neurosurgeons specializing in skull base or open cerebrovascular surgery between 2013 and 2023, focusing on identifying academic career predictors through demographic and academic outputs.

The study utilized the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Neurosurgical Fellowship Training Program Directory to identify neurosurgeons certified from 2013 to 2023, gathering demographic details and academic productivity from Scopus.

Among 173 neurosurgeons, 87.86% were male, 36.36% were graduates from top 40 National Institutes of Health-funded medical schools, and 49.42% completed their residency in highly ranked departments. In univariate analysis, predictors for an academic career included publishing in the field before residency ( p  = 0.03054), a higher h-index before and after residency ( p  = 0.03976 and 0.0003101), and increased publication volume during and up to 3 years post-fellowship (2.284e-06). Multivariate analysis found that publication volume during and up to 3 years post-fellowship (odds ratio [OR] = 4.98, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.07-11.9, p  = 0.0003) and basic science publications (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.05-5.49, p  = 0.038) were the most significant predictors of academic career placement.

The study underscores the strong link between the academic career success of neurosurgeons trained in skull base and open cerebrovascular surgery and their research productivity, particularly publication volume during key career stages and involvement in basic science research. This highlight sustained research activity as a critical determinant of academic career achievement, surpassing the influence of training institution prestige.