Authorship patterns of surgical chairs

Background The purpose of this study was to determine if there was an increase in the average number of articles published per year for surgery department chairs and if there was an association of publication patterns during their academic careers to authorship position and types and quality of articles written. Methods Computerized literature searches were performed for 299 chairs of departments of surgery between 1950 and 2004. We compiled data on time as chair, number of publications per year, article types, authorship positions, and impact factors of the journals. Nonparametric tests allowed identification of differences between groups, and regression analyses were used to analyze publication trends over time. Results There was a significant increase in the number of articles published per year from the beginning to the end of the study ( P < .01). Articles were more likely to be clinical than nonclinical ( P < .01), and more review articles were written for nonclinical publications ( P < .01). Individuals overall were most likely to be last authors than first or contributing authors ( P < .01). More papers were published prior to becoming chairs compared to during tenure as chair or post-chair ( P < .01). As post-chairs, individuals were most likely to be contributing authors ( P < .01). There was no difference in the quality of the journals to which chairs’ submitted their manuscripts during their academic careers. Conclusions These findings provide valuable insight into the publication patterns of chairs of surgery departments. Individuals publish fewer articles as chairs and post-chairs, most likely due to the greater emphasis on administration and leadership duties during these career stages. Nevertheless, surgical department chairs tend to publish prolifically throughout their careers.