• Paula Marincola Smith, Amy Martinez, Rebecca Irlmeier, Carmen C Solórzano, Deepa Magge, Fei Ye, and James R Goldenring.
• Section of Surgical Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.
• Ann. Surg. 2024 Feb 29.

ObjectiveTo identify factors related to research success for academic surgeons.Summary Background DataMany recognize mounting barriers to scientific success for academic surgeons, but little is known about factors that predict success for individual surgeons.MethodsA phase 1 survey was emailed to department chairpersons at highly funded US departments of surgery. Participating chairpersons distributed a phase 2 survey to their faculty surgeons. Training- and faculty-stage exposures and demographic data were collected and compared with participant-reported measures of research productivity. Five primary measures of productivity were assessed including number of grants applied for, grants funded, papers published, first/senior author papers published, and satisfaction in research.ResultsTwenty chairpersons and 464 faculty surgeons completed the survey, and 444 faculty responses were included in the final analysis. Having a research-focused degree was significantly associated with more grants applied for (PhD, incidence rate ratio (IRR)=6.93; masters, IRR=4.34) and funded (PhD, IRR=4.74; masters, IRR=4.01) compared to surgeons with only clinical degrees (all P<0.01). Having a formal research mentor was significantly associated with more grants applied for (IRR=1.57, P=0.03) and higher satisfaction in research (IRR=2.22, P<0.01). Contractually protected research time was significantly associated with more grants applied for (IRR=3.73), grants funded (IRR=2.14), papers published (IRR=2.12), first/senior authors published (IRR=1.72), and research satisfaction (Odds ratio=2.15) (all P<0.01). The primary surgeon-identified barrier to research productivity was lack of protection from clinical burden.ConclusionsSurgeons pursuing research-focused careers should consider the benefits of attaining a research-focused degree, negotiating for contractually protected research time, and obtaining formal research mentorship.Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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