The Year Publication Rate of Presentations from the Inaugural Medical Student Orthopedic Society Research Symposium
Authors: Mayo Kiah , Zhao Amy , Agarwal Amil , Malyavko Alisa , Gu Alex , Cannada Lisa 
Published: July 2024

Introduction

Orthopaedic surgery is one of the most competitive residencies to match in medicine, the match rate has decreased to 63.1% in 2023.<sup>1,13</sup> Aspects of the application that are most in the control of applicants are their personal and research experiences in the field and their choice of acting internships. The Medical Student Orthopaedic Society (MSOS) hosted the first national, and virtual orthopaedic research symposium for medical students. This study aimed to examine the short-term publication rate of the research presented at the 2022 MSOS Research Symposium.

Methods

The titles of the articles and the names of the presenters from the MSOS program were used to search for publications via PubMed and Google Scholar search engines. If no matching result was found, the article was considered not published. If the presentation was published in a journal within our study period, the updated title, name and gender of the medical student and senior author, name of the journal, and date of publication were recorded. Demographic variables among presenters included gender, and current training status. These were determined via a Google search. Impact factors were extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) database for the year of 2023.

Results

For the 2022 MSOS Symposium, a total of 300 presentations were given. Nineteen publications had to be excluded. Of the 281 presentations included in this study, 129 were published in a peer-reviewed journal within 18-months after the symposium (45%). Presentations were published on average 165 days (~5.5 months) after the symposium. Of the journals that had an impact factor score, the average was 2.18. Categories with over 60% publication rate were Practice Management and Health Disparities, shoulder and elbow, and medical education. Among presenters whose projects were published, 74% identified as men and 26% as women. The papers’ senior authors were 85% men and 15% women. Of those that participated and published in the 18-month period, 22% of individuals matched into orthopedics the following year, 9% matched into another residency, 38% were still medical students, 30% statuses were unknown or could not be determined. Of those schools represented, 20 schools (35 participants) did not have a home program at their institution, also known as orphan programs. The presenter was the first author in 53% (69) of the published works.

Discussion

The Medical Student Orthopaedic Society (MSOS) touted a publication rate of 45% which is comparable to the rates of publication in less time than numerous other meetings (~5.5 months). This may be due to medical students’ finite amount of time to gain the experience necessary to apply, suggesting there is a higher motivation to get research out and published. However, further research into the participation levels of presenters would need to be studied directly to give a definitive understanding as to why first authorship was not provided to the presenter. Participants that published were majority male and attended allopathic schools. Most were still in medical school, while 21% have matched into an Orthopaedics program, 9% matched into another program and 30% could not be determined at this time.

Conclusion

As the goal for a medical student is to successfully match it is highly important that opportunities are not only accessible but allow for URiM and orphan medical schools to engage in a meaningful way.<sup>11</sup> The MSOS is hopeful that this virtual symposium can be beneficial in expanding exposure to orthopaedics through research opportunities and experiences. <sup>1</sup>