Research Productivity Among Applicants Matching to Top Pediatrics Residency Programs in the Post-pass/Fail Step One...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Residency Admissions
• Scholarly Activity

Background:

• The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1's shift to pass/fail scoring emphasizes alternative metrics like research for residency selection.
• Research productivity expectations are established for surgical specialties, but less is understood for pediatrics applicants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the research output of students matching into top-ranked pediatric residency programs.
• To investigate how National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding rank of medical schools and applicant gender correlate with research productivity.

Main Methods:

• Identified 450 students matching into Doximity's top 10 pediatric residency programs in 2024.
• Catalogued publications using Google Scholar, classifying them by type, authorship, relevance, and journal impact.
• Stratified applicants by medical school NIH funding rank (Top 40 vs. 41-150) and gender, using statistical analyses to compare metrics.

Main Results:

• The average matched applicant had 2.3 publications, with 40% having none.
• Clinical research was the most common type (43.6%).
• Students from higher NIH-funded institutions (Top 40) were more likely to publish (71.1% vs. 54.0%). However, publication quantity and authorship metrics did not differ by institutional rank or gender among those with research experience.

Conclusions:

• Successful applicants to elite pediatric residency programs have diverse research profiles, with many matching without prior publications.
• While institutional NIH funding influences research opportunities, research productivity metrics are comparable across institutions and genders once students participate in scholarly activities.
• Findings support holistic review processes in residency admissions, considering factors beyond publication counts.