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Concerns exist that neurosurgery might fail to lead the field of endovascular surgical neuroradiology (ESN), as other specialties are allowed to train and practice ESN. This study aimed to assess the current breakdown of specialties and their relative academic productivity in accredited ESN fellowship programs. A list of fellowship programs was obtained from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training directories. Primary specialty (i.e., residency) training for each faculty member in these programs was determined using information provided by the programs. A bibliometric search was performed for each member using Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). Cumulative and ESN-specific h indices were calculated; h indices were compared between each specialty group and between international medical graduates and US medical graduates, regardless of specialty training. Thirty-one ESN fellowship programs with 88 faculty members were included. Neurosurgeons constituted 61.4% (n = 54) of the total ESN faculty, followed by radiologists with 30.7% (n = 27), and neurologists with 7.9% (n = 7). The mean ESN-specific h index for neurosurgery-trained ESN faculty was 16.2 ± 14.6 compared with 14.4 ± 10.9 for radiologists and 13.0 ± 12.6 for neurologists (P = 0.76). There were 12 IMGs and 76 USMGs. The mean ESN-specific h index was greater for IMGs than USMGs, 24.7 ± 14.3 versus 14.0 ± 12.7 (P = 0.008), respectively. Neurosurgery is leading the ESN field in numbers; however, the h index is not significantly different among ESN faculty based on primary training. The number of IMGs is relatively small, yet IMGs have significantly higher mean h indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Spinal surgery is taught and practiced within 2 different surgical disciplines, neurological surgery and orthopedic surgery. We have provided a unified analysis of academic productivity measured using the h -index attributable to spine-focused faculty at U.S. residency programs. Methods A total of 278 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education training programs were assessed to identify 923 full-time faculty members with a spinal surgery designation, as defined by spine fellowship training or case volume >75% in spine surgery. The faculty were assessed with respect to academic rank, duration of practice in years, and academic productivity (h -index). Results The comparison showed a significantly greater mean h -index for neurological spine surgeons. The mean h -index for both disciplines increased significantly as faculty rank increased. Within the academic ranks of assistant and associate professor, neurological spine surgeons had significantly greater mean h -indexes. Neurological spine surgeons had a significantly lower practice duration. At all ranks except for assistant professor, the mean practice duration was not significantly different statistically between the neurological spine and orthopedic spine surgeons. A positive correlation between the h -index and practice duration was found for both spine surgical disciplines. The proportional odds models for neurological and orthopedic spine surgeons were moderately successful at predicting faculty rank according to the h -index. Conclusions We present a unified view of academic productivity as measured by the h -index among neurosurgical and orthopedic surgery spine faculty, with some noticeable differences. These results can be used for benchmark purposes to assess the relative productivity of its faculty and could be of interest to those pursuing academic opportunities in spine surgery. Highlights • Within spine surgery, neurosurgeons have a greater mean h -index. • For the rank of assistant and associate professor, neurosurgeons have a greater h -index. • The duration of practice was lower for neurosurgeons at the rank of assistant professor only. • The duration of practice and the h -index correlated positively for both specialties. • Faculty rank can be predicted for both specialties using the h -index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]