The Role of Advanced Academic Degrees in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Faculty

Abstract

Background: Limited knowledge exists on the role of advanced academic degrees within faculty positions in orthopaedic sports medicine. Purpose: To 1) provide an assessment of the baseline demographics of advanced degrees among orthopaedic sports medicine faculty and 2) examine the impact of advanced degrees on research productivity and career attainment of orthopaedic sports medicine faculty. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Orthopaedic sports medicine academics were identified using faculty listings on websites of the 200 orthopaedic surgery residency programs during the 2020-2021 academic year. Advanced degrees were defined as those additional to the primary medical degree (Doctor of Medicine [MD] or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine [DO]). Outcome measures included timing of advanced degree obtainment, residency program rankings, research productivity, and current academic rank and leadership roles. Statistical analysis was performed using chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests to determine the association of advanced degrees on outcome measures. Results: In total, 911 orthopaedic sports medicine faculty members were identified, of whom 100 had an advanced degree. The most common advanced degrees were Master of Science (MS/MSc; 38%), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD; 23%), and Master of Business Administration (MBA; 13%). The presence of an advanced degree was associated with greater research productivity, including higher h-index and number of publications, as well as more editorial board positions on orthopaedics journals ( P < .001). Advanced degrees were not significantly associated with attending a higher ranked orthopaedic surgery residency program, current academic rank, or leadership roles. At the institutional level, orthopaedic sports medicine programs that employed faculty with an advanced degree had a higher residency program ranking and the presence of a sports medicine fellowship was more likely ( P < .05). Conclusion: Advanced degrees in orthopaedic sports medicine were associated with greater faculty research engagement and employment at a higher ranked institution; they were not associated with matching to a highly ranked orthopaedic surgery residency program, higher faculty rank, or academic leadership roles.

Location, location, location: How does residency program leadership vary according to geographic region?

“…Master's degrees have been shown to be one of the most common additional degrees among orthopaedic faculty, 22,23 which is in line with the results of the present study. In a previous study, 7.1% of faculty across the US held an additional academic degree, while 12.5% of matched residents in 2018 had an additional degree.…”

“…23 Programs with faculty with advanced degrees were also correlated with a higher program ranking. 23 The overall scarcity of additional degrees in orthopaedics and the apparent benefits to the field that they can provide, present an opportunity for improvement.…”

“…Compared to other competitive specialties, orthopaedic surgery had the second lowest percentage of matched students with additional degrees, as well as only recruiting only 1.6% of all MD-PhD applicants 22 . Among orthopaedic sports medicine faculty it has been shown that those with an advanced degree were associated with a higher h-index, publications, and journal editorial board positions 23 . Programs with faculty with advanced degrees were also correlated with a higher program ranking 23 .…”

Substantial influence of psychological factors on return to sports after anterior shoulder instability surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Specifically, psychological factors were identified as the primary reason for failure to RTSA in 55.9% of the athletes analysed in this review. These findings are consistent with previous elbow and knee research, which identified psychological factors as one of the main obstacles for athletes to RTS after medial ulnar collateral ligament or anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction [7, 27]. In those studies, an important proportion of patients (40.4 and 64.7%, respectively) attributed their failure to RTS to psychological factors [7, 27].…”

“…Psychological factors have a well‐recognised impact on determining an athlete's ability to RTS, particularly after knee or elbow reconstructive surgery [2, 7, 27, 45, 47]. Kinesiophobia is an excessive fear of movement that can lead to avoidance of physical activity [9].…”