Misrepresentation of publications among radiation oncology residency applicants.
BACKGROUND
Authorship misrepresentations have been described for residency and fellowship applications for various medical specialties. This study assessed the prevalence of misrepresented publications in radiation oncology residency applications.


METHODS
The authors reviewed 117 applications to their residency program for a single 2004 position offered through the National Resident Matching Program. Publications listed on the applications were verified for accuracy, with the results and applicants' demographic information recorded.


RESULTS
A total of 49 applicants (42%) claimed authorship of published research citations. The number of published citations averaged 3.6 per applicant (range, 1-23). Of the applicants reporting citations, 22% (11 of 49) listed inaccurate citation information. Overall, 9% of the citations (15 of 174) were considered misrepresentations, with 9% of the total number of applicants (11 of 117) responsible for inaccurate bibliographies. There was a significant relationship of United States Medical Licensing Examination score with publication misrepresentation, in which those with scores of 235 or greater who listed publications were more than 7 times more likely to have inaccurately listed citations (odds ratio, 7.67; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-52.31; P = .04).


CONCLUSIONS
The misrepresentation of bibliographic citations does exist among radiation oncology residency applicants. Using a comprehensive search, the authors found that 22% of those who had listed at least 1 article had misrepresented publications on their applications.
Yang
Gary Y
GY
Department of Radiation Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA. gary.yang@roswellpark.org
Schoenwetter
Mary F
MF
Wagner
Timothy D
TD
Donohue
Kathleen A
KA
Kuettel
Michael R
MR
D001319:Authorship; D005607:Fraud / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007586:Job Application; D009518:New York; D011642:Publications / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015871:Scientific Misconduct / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000078329:Workforce