Evaluating Research Productivity Trends Among Orthopaedic Adult Reconstruction Fellowship Applicants: A Bibliometric Study.

Background: The research benchmarks necessary for a successful adult reconstruction fellowship match remain unclear. This study aimed to characterize and identify trends in the academic profiles of adult reconstruction fellows in the United States. Methods: The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons fellowship directory was used to identify U.S. adult reconstruction fellowships programs that listed fellows graduating from 2019 to 2023. For each fellow, total number of publications, authorship position, number of publications with an adult reconstruction focus, and number of citations were collected using Scopus. Only publications accepted or published before the fellow's match year were compiled. Research productivity was compared across medical degree, sex, fellowship year, and residency program geographic region. Results: A total of 247 fellows from 46 programs were identified. Fellows published an average of 5.5 ± 9.7 publications during residency, with 66.6 ± 190.4 citations. There was no significant change in research productivity from 2019 to 2023. Average number of publications per fellow was significantly greater for fellows with an MD degree compared with a DO degree (5.8 ± 10.0 vs 2.1 ± 4.2; P < .05). Fellows who completed residency in the northeast had the highest average number of publications per fellow (9.9 ± 16.3) and average number of first author publications per fellow (2.6 ± 4.0) among all regions. Conclusions: There was no change in research output among adult reconstruction fellows graduating from 2019 to 2023, suggesting that research may not be driving the increased competitiveness of adult reconstruction fellowships.