Analysis of Research Output by 2024 Matriculants to Top 30 Integrated Plastic Surgery Programs

This study aimed to characterize the quality and quantity of the research output of matriculants in the top 30 Integrated Plastic Surgery residency programs.

PubMed-indexed publications co-authored by students who successfully matched at the top 30 integrated plastic surgery programs were collected. Publication metrics were compared between sexes and between students matching at top 10 programs and those matching into programs ranked 11 through 30. The metrics that were compared between groups were total, 1st author, top 3 author, plastic surgery-related, plastic surgery-related 1st author, basic science, and clinical publications.

The mean number of publications was 7.3 ± 6.6 of which 4.2 ± 5.3 were related to plastic surgery. No significant differences were found when comparing students based on the rank of the program in which they matched. However, there were sex differences as males (M = 9.4 ± 7.7) published significantly more total papers than females (M = 5.8 ± 5.3), P = 0.015. Males (M = 6.9 ± 5.8) also appeared as a top 3 author more frequently than females (M = 4.3 ± 4.3), P = 0.018. Lastly, males (M = 1.2 ± 1.5) published more basic science papers than females (M = 0.5 ± 1.4), P = 0.030.

With the transition to United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 pass/fail grading, research productivity within the field of plastic surgery has increased among medical student applicants seeking to match into an Integrated Plastic Surgery residency program.