Poster5 - 04: PUBLICATION PATTERNS AND THE IMPACT OF SELF-CITATION AMONG MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY FELLOWSHIPS
Christopher G Yheulon, MD, FACS, Fadi M Balla, MD, Ankit Patel, MD, FACS, Jamil Stetler, MD, FACS, Edward Lin, DO, FACS, S S Davis, MD, FACS; Emory University

Introduction: The Hirsch Index (h-index) is a widely utilized academic metric that measures both productivity and citation impact. The purpose of this study is to define the publication patterns and the impact of self-citation among minimally invasive surgery fellowship program directors and associate program directors.

Methods: Through the Fellowship Council’s website, all program directors and associate program directors from the 148 minimally invasive surgery fellowship programs were analyzed. Using the Scopus database, we calculated the number of publications, citations, self-citations, and h-index for each surgeon. We determined the number of faculty in which the h-index changed due to self-citation and the magnitude of those changes.

Results: A total of 275 surgeons were identified. The mean number ± SD of publications, citations, and h-index for the cohort were 60.5 ± 77.2, 1765 ± 4024, and 16.0 ± 15.0, respectively. The self-citation rate for the entire cohort was 3.23%. Excluding self-citations reduces the mean number of citations to 1708 ± 3887 and h-index to 15.8 ± 14.6. The h-index remained unchanged for 77% (211/275) of surgeons. Only 4% (11/275) of surgeons had a change in h-index of greater than one integer and no surgeon had a change of greater than two integers.

Conclusion: Self-citation is infrequent and has a minimal impact on the academic profile of program directors and associate program directors of minimally invasive surgery fellowships.