Evaluation of Sports Medicine Fellowships in the United States Based on Academic Productivity

Abstract

Background: Institutional academic productivity remains an influential factor in an applicant's selection of fellowship training. This study aimed to determine the quality and quantity of research in the United States orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship programs and identify those with highest productivity. Methods: The Arthroscopy Association of North America Fellowship Directory was used to evaluate 88 fellowships in the United States. Publication data and Hirschberg indices (h-index) were collected from the Scopus database. Subanalysis was performed based on the number of publications and mean h-index. Results: Total number of publications per faculty member ranged from 0 to 866, with a median of 20. The median h-index per faculty member was 9. The number of fellows was correlated with a higher mean average h-index of faculty members ( P = 0.05). The five programs with the highest number of publications included Hospital for Special Surgery, Rush University, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and Boston Children's Hospital. Conclusions: Most academic productivity in sports medicine is produced by a relatively small number of fellowship programs in the United States. Of interest, the number of fellows or faculty does not affect significantly the quality or quantity of research productivity at top institutions.

Program and Faculty Reputation Are Valued Most by Applicants to Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowships

“…Mayfield et al. 24 sought to rank orthopaedic sports medicine fellowships in the United States based on academic productivity. The authors found the top-5 programs to be (1) HSS, (2) RUMC, (3) University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), (4) Mayo Clinic (Rochester), and (5) Boston Children’s Hospital.…”

Decreased Case Volume for Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellows During the Early Stages of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

“…Moreover, orthopaedic surgery residencies have been altered by increased work-hour restrictions and operative supervision, and therefore the vast majority of residents participate in a postgraduate fellowship year to enhance their technical skills and experience. 1 Thus, COVID-19erelated operating room shutdowns were a specific concern for orthopaedic fellowship training programs, as these are only 1 year in length and the class of 2019-2020 was only two-thirds of the way through their program when the pandemic began. Orthopaedic sports medicine is a field with a particularly high elective caseload and had potential to be markedly affected by the canceling of elective cases.…”