Education Research in Orthopaedic Surgery: A 6-Year Analysis

Abstract

With the ever-changing dynamics of surgical training, it is essential for the content of educational research to evolve simultaneously. This study aimed to assess the current state of scholarly work in orthopaedic training education and to identify particular educational topics that are trending in the literature.

Methods: A PubMed search string was used to identify literature on orthopaedic surgery education from 2016 to 2021. Publications on orthopaedic surgery education were divided into 8 education-based categories: (1) operative training and simulation, (2) curriculum and career development, (3) diversity, (4) wellness and burnout, (5) program evaluation and match data, (6) trainee assessments, (7) social media, and (8) other. Univariate analysis and linear regression were used to determine trends.

Results: A total of 383 orthopaedic surgery education publications met inclusion criteria. Orthopaedic surgery education publications accounted for 0.47% of the total publications from all 54 journals. Fifteen journals provided 85% of all orthopaedic education publications (N = 325). The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery produced the most orthopaedic surgery education publications (76, 20%), followed by the Journal of Surgical Education (62, 16%) and the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (58, 15%). Publications on curriculum and career development were the most common (21.9%). The following most frequent topics were program evaluation and match data (20.9%) and operative training and simulation (18%), respectively. Over the study period, the total amount of orthopaedic surgery education articles increased significantly (R² = 0.86, p = 0.008). Articles included all levels of training, with resident education accounting for the majority, with 269 articles (70.2%).

Conclusion: Recent trends in orthopaedic literature indicate an increased emphasis on education as the number of publications has increased, but are still sparse in orthopaedic literature. As the field of orthopaedics continues to advance, we recommend that academic institutions and organizations continue to evaluate and promote evidence-based educational research to ensure that orthopaedic education meets the ever-increasing demands that residents and practicing surgeons will face in the present and future.

Level of evidence: III.

Fig. 1

Trend in orthopaedic surgery educational publications from 2016 to 2021 (R² = 0.86, p = 0.008).

Fig. 2

Normalized number of publications: orthopaedic education vs. overall number of publications in the 54 journals

Fig. 3

The percentage of orthopaedic surgery education topics published between 2016 and 2021.