Integrated Plastic Surgery Match: Trends in Research Productivity of Successful Candidates

INTRODUCTION:Plastic surgery continues to be one of the most competitive specialties in the residency match. Research productivity is a key component of the selection process. Yet, potential applicants have a poor understanding of the strength of their research credentials in comparison to other applicants. METHODS:We identified successful applicants from 2012 to 2017 integrated plastic surgery residency application cycles. We performed a bibliometric analysis of these residents utilising Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar to identify published articles at the time of application. We then calculated the h-index of each applicant at the time of application. RESULTS:We included 829 integrated residents. The median h-index was 0 (IQR0 - 3), median number of publications was 2 (IQR0 - 5) for all applicants. The proportion of applicants with at least one publication at the point of application significantly increased over time (60% in 2012 vs 76% in 2017, p=0.0072). Additionally, the number of publications per applicant increased over time (1 in 2012 vs 2 in 2017, p=0.0005), as did h-index (0 in 2012 vs 1 in 2017, p=0.0015). Strikingly, the number and percentage of review articles amongst applicants significantly increased over this time frame (9% vs 14%, p=0.0299). CONCLUSION:The increasing level of academic productivity amongst applicants may reflect the increasing competitiveness of the integrated plastic surgery residency application process. As the pressure to compete for a training position increases, students may seek faster-to-publish articles to gain an edge.