Application of the h-Index in Academic Plastic Surgery

Abstract

The h-index of plastic surgeons seems to correlate with academic rank and has potential as a tool to measure academic productivity within plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons on faculty in integrated plastic surgery programs, those at larger programs, and male plastic surgeons tend to have higher h-indices. The difference between sexes seems to be, at least in part, due to the higher number of men in high academic positions. There does not seem to be a regional difference with regard to h-indices or a difference with regard to departmental status.

Academic Surgical Oncologists’ Productivity Correlates with Gender, Grant Funding, and Institutional NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center Affiliation

“…The h-indices of surgical oncologists appear to be higher across all academic ranks compared to neurosurgeons, otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, radiation oncologists, and orthopedic surgeons. 6–8,12,14 This aligns with a previous report that faculty from the Division of Surgical Oncology were among the most academically productive within their Departments of Surgery, as measured by total publications, citations, and NIH funding. 3 Surgical oncologists’ higher h-indices likely reflect the presence of institutional research resources (within cancer centers), more readily available external funding including federal and foundational support, and perhaps the advent of genomic technologies and personalized oncotherapeutics.…”

“…6–15 Although the h-index has been validated as a predictor of academic rank within these given fields, it varies considerably across medical specialties. 6–15 …”

Does formal research training lead to academic success in otolaryngology?

“…3 In addition to clinical productivity and educational contributions, one important factor impacting advancement in academic medicine is scholarly productivity, for which research contributions may play a significant role. 4 Important aspects of scholarly impact include the total number of research publications, the impact of said publications on current scientific knowledge, and the acquisition of research grants in order to continue to pursue more meaningful research. 5 Although each of these factors is important in determining a physician's scholarly impact, when looked at individually they do not provide a complete picture of the physician's scientific achievement.…”

Academic productivity in surgical oncology: Where is the bar set for those training the next generation?

“…9,[13][14][15][16] Table 4 provides a sample of h-index values with respect to academic rank across various surgical subspecialties. 8,10,15,17,18 While it is difficult to compare h-index values across different disciplines, 19 this table highlights the varying degrees of academic productivity necessary to achieve high academic standing within select specialties. This highlights the importance of evaluating surgical oncologists amongst their respective colleagues rather than an entire department of surgery or academic institution.…”

“…and it has also been used on a wider scale to evaluate entire departments or institutions as a whole. [7][8][9][10] In fact, the h-index has even been shown to be more predictive of future scientific achievement when compared with the number of citations or publications. 11 Within surgical oncology, little data has been published on objective benchmarks for academic promotion.…”