Trends in types of graduate degrees and research output for academic general surgeons in Canada

Abstract

SummaryThe proportion of general surgeons with graduate degrees in Canada is increasing. We sought to evaluate the types of graduate degree held by surgeons in Canada, and whether differences in publication capacity exist. We evaluated all general surgeons working at English-speaking Canadian academic hospitals to determine the types of degrees achieved, changes over time and research output associated with each degree. We identified 357 surgeons, of whom 163 (45.7 %) had master's degrees and 49 (13.7 %) had PhDs. Achievement of graduate degrees increased over time, with more surgeons earning master's degrees in public health (MPH), clinical epidemiology and education (MEd), and fewer master's degrees in science (MSc) or PhDs. Most publication metrics were similar by degree type, but surgeons with PhDs published more basic science research than those with clinical epidemiology, MEd or MPH degrees (2.0 v. 0.0, p < 0.05); surgeons with clinical epidemiology degrees published more first-author articles than surgeons with MSc degrees (2.0 v. 0.0, p = 0.007). An increasing number of general surgeons hold graduate degrees, with fewer pursuing MSc and PhD degrees, and more holding MPH or clinical epidemiology degrees. Research productivity is similar for all groups. Support to pursue diverse graduate degrees could enable a greater breadth of research.

Fig. 1

Graduate degree achievement for academic surgeons in Canada over time. (A) Rate of graduate degree achievement over time. (B) Type of graduate degrees held by surgeons over time (excluding surgeons with graduate degrees categorized as “other” as they represented < 10% of population at all time points).

Fig. 2

Timing of graduate degree achievement for academic surgeons in Canada over time. We cluded 18 surgeons owing to uncertainty regarding timing of their graduate degree training (n = 5) or because they held dual graduate degrees (n = 13).

Fig. 3

Research productivity of general surgeons in Canada with graduate degrees, stratified by degree type, including (A) number of publications per year, (B) number of first authorships, (C) number of last authorships, (D) number of middle authorships, (E) citations, (F) CiteScore (G) number of basic science manuscripts and (H) number of clinical manuscripts. Statistical significance indicated by *(p < 0.05) and **(p < 0.01). IQR = interquartile range; MClinEpi = master’s of clinical epidemiology; MEd = master’s of education; MPH = master’s of public health; MSc = master’s of science.