Aim: To characterise the 5 year (2011-2015) published peer-reviewed journal article output of vocational registered plastic and reconstructive surgeons practising in NZ.
Background: RACS aims to facilitate safe, comprehensive surgical care of the highest standard. To meet this standard, College training and development programs aspire to certify specialist surgeons in 9 competencies, including "Scholarship and Teaching" and “Communication”. These contain sub-categories: “contribute to the development, dissemination, application, and translation of new medical knowledge and practices” and “accurately convey relevant information and explanations to … colleagues and other professionals.”
Methods: Practising (as of April 2016) surgeons with vocational scope of plastic and reconstructive surgery were identified on the NZ Medical Register. A Medline search for journal articles by each practitioner for publication dates 2011 through 2015 was conducted. Print publications from these years was included, even if epub had occurred prior to 2011. Any epub dated 2015 was included, even if the print version was dated 2016 or had not yet occurred. “Reply to Letter” was also included. Practitioner name variants were used to capture all publications (jonathan/jon/john; first and second given names if no publication found for the first; hyphenated or multiple surnames in combination and separately; previous and current surnames). When it was uncertain if an author was the targeted practitioner, author affiliation and article topic were used to adjudicate.
Results: Of 65 practitioners, 36 (55%) published 101 unique articles in 42 different journals. This poster presents these publications by journal, year, impact factor, practitioner and year practitioner was conferred surgical fellowship.
Discussion: There is more to ongoing “Scholarship” and “Communication” competencies than just article publication. The RACS Continuing Professional Development Program reflects this. However, it is interesting to consider the contribution NZ practitioners make to the international literature.