Training-Stage Research Output as a Predictor of Long-Term Academic Productivity Among Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship Faculty.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between research productivity during training and subsequent academic output as a practicing orthopedic sports medicine surgeon remains poorly understood. Although prior studies have evaluated this association in other subspecialties, it has not been examined in orthopedic sports medicine. This study evaluated the correlation between academic productivity during each stage of training and future academic productivity. It also assessed whether the geographic region of training or practice impacts long-term research output. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 2021-2022 American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) directory was queried to identify fellowship faculty and associated institutions. Surgeons' publications were counted across defined intervals: before residency, during residency, during fellowship, and after fellowship. Publication counts were compared by region of residency training and current practice location. A multivariable linear regression model identified predictors of the attending publication rate. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 90 attending surgeons from 58 programs were included. The mean total publications were 97.6 ± 102, and the mean h-index was 26.3 ± 20.6. The mean attending publication rate was 5.00 ± 6.42 publications per year. Multivariable regression demonstrated that attending publication rate correlated with pre-residency (β = 0.327, p = 0.042), residency (β = 0.236, p = 0.001), and fellowship publications (β = 0.448, p < 0.001). No regional differences were observed based on residency training (p = 0.30). By practice location, the Northeast had the highest mean publication count, followed by the Midwest, West, and Southeast; differences were not significant (p > 0.29). CONCLUSIONS: Residency and fellowship publications significantly predicted long-term academic productivity, while pre-residency output showed a weaker association. Geographic location of training or practice did not significantly influence attending publication rate or h-index. These findings may inform evaluation of candidates for academic sports medicine positions.