Research productivity and gender disparities: a look at academic plastic surgery.
OBJECTIVE
The h-index has utility in examining the contributions of faculty members by quantifying both the amount and the quality of research output and as such is a metric in approximating academic productivity. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the relationship between h-index and academic rank in plastic surgery and (2) to describe the current gender representation in academic plastic surgery to assess whether there are any gender disparities in academic productivity.


METHODS
The h-index was used to evaluate the research contributions of plastic surgeons from academic departments in the United States.


RESULTS
There were 426 (84%) men and 79 (16%) women in our sample. Those in higher academic ranks had higher h-index scores (p < 0.0005). There was a significant difference in overall mean h-index by gender, where the mean scores were 9.0 and 6.0 for men and women, respectively (p = 0.0005). When analyzed by academic rank, there was a significant difference in academic productivity between men and women in assistant and associate professor positions (6.4 vs 5.1, respectively; p = 0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
The h-index is able to objectively and reliably quantify academic productivity in plastic surgery. We found that h-indices increased with higher academic rank, and men had overall higher scores than their female colleagues. Adoption of this metric as an adjunct to other objective and subjective measures by promotions committees may provide a more reliable measure of research relevance and academic productivity in academic plastic surgery.
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Angie M
AM
Paik
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Leila J
LJ
Mady
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York.
Nathaniel L
NL
Villanueva
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York.
Erden
E
Goljo
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan.
Peter F
PF
Svider
Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, New Jersey.
Frank
F
Ciminello
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey; Department of Neurological Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey; Center for Skull Base and Pituitary Surgery, Neurological Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey. Electronic address: Jean.Anderson.Eloy@gmail.com.
Jean Anderson
JA
Eloy
D015706:Bibliometrics; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011643:Publishing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States
Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; Professionalism; Systems-Based Practice; academic productivity; academic promotion; gender disparity; h-index; plastic surgery; research productivity