Trends in Specialty Training and National Institutes of Health Funding Among Surgeon-Scientists
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Purpose: To determine if dual-degree training [ie, completion of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded MD/PhD program], among other professional development and demographic variables, predicted academic productivity (eg, K-to-R conversion, number of publications, etc.) among early-career surgeon-scientists. Methods: We analyzed publicly available data from the National MD/PhD Program Outcomes Study and the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduate Medical Education Track database to identify trends in the number and proportion of MD/PhD graduates pursuing surgical specialties. NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool Expenditures and Results was interrogated to identify a cohort of early-career academic surgeon-scientists receiving K-awards from 2011 to 2021. Results: = 0.96) from 1965 to 2014. More recent residency match trends demonstrate an increase in both the proportion and number of MD/PhD graduates entering surgical specialties, with 21.5% entering surgical residency training in 2020. Among 476 early-career academic surgeon-scientists receiving K-awards at 70 institutions, 27% were faculty members at only 4 universities, suggesting that federally funded surgeon-scientists are concentrated at a small number of institutions. Although MD/PhD graduates represented only 2.3% of active surgical residents from 2011 to 2020, they constituted a much higher fraction of K-awardees (29%). Of 296 surgeon-scientists who completed K-awards, 35% successfully obtained an R01-equivalent award. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the need for comprehensive career development and institutional resources to support early-career surgeon-scientists.
Source: Annals of Surgery Open
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,000
Funders: Association of American Medical Colleges, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Eye Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
OpenAlex ID: W4404671986