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Impact of International Medical Graduates in Academic Plastic Surgery
Francesco M. Egro
Julia Lai
Brandon T. Smith
Nallammai Muthiah
Edward H. Davidson
Vu T. Nguyen
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2020-01-25
Presenter: Julia Lai
Affidavit:
The conception and design of the present study is attributed to myself as well as Francesco and Edward, our two resident authors. Data collection was primarily obtained by two of our medical students, Julia and Nallammai. Analysis was performed by our other medical student, Brandon. The entire team contributed to writing and revision of the final abstract.
Director Name: Vu T. Nguyen
Author Category: Medical Student
Presentation Category: Clinical
Abstract Category: General Reconstruction
International medical graduates (IMGs) represent a significant proportion of US healthcare workforce. In plastic surgery, long-term career outcomes of IMG faculty have not been investigated. We aimed to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and academic productivity of plastic surgery IMG faculty.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to compare characteristics of IMGs against US medical graduates (USMGs) including demographics, training background, academic ranks, leadership positions, number of publications and citations, and h-index.
A total of 930 academic plastic surgeons were identified, of which 13.5% were IMGs. IMGs were more likely to be work at smaller programs (number of faculty = 13.5 vs 15.6, p=0.039) and in smaller cities (population =0.9×106 vs 1.25×106, p=0.0037). IMGs had comparable h-index (9.5 vs 9, p=NS), number of publications (25 vs 22, p=NS) and citations (348 vs 321, p=NS), and NIH funding dollar amount (1.59×105 vs 1.39×105, p=0.83).
IMGs in the positions of associate professor (12 vs 13 years, p=NS), full professor (22 vs 26.5 years, p=NS), fellowship director (13 vs 14 years, p=NS), and chair (19 vs 24 years, p=NS), did not require significantly more post-residency years to reach these positions than USMGs. Programs led by IMG chairs employed significantly more IMGs (2.68% versus 0.81%; p<0.0001) than those led by USMG chairs.
Academic IMG plastic surgeons are predominantly located in smaller programs and smaller cities. Their contribution to the field was evident as shown by their research productivity, academic ranks, and leadership positions. This study provides information that may guide aspiring IMG academics in career development.
