LAUSR

BACKGROUND Scholarship remains the principal currency for faculty promotion in academic medicine. Reference points for scholarly growth and productivity at academic medical centers (AMCs) are lacking. METHODS We identified hospital medicine full professors (HMFPs) at AMCs ranked in research by US News & World Report. Scopus was used to identify each HMFP's publications, citations, and Hirsch-index (H-index). Publications; citations; and first, middle, and senior author papers were measured in 3-year intervals postresidency. Scholarly productivity was analyzed by quintile based on publications, AMC research ranking, years postresidency, and grant funding. RESULTS Data were extracted for 128 HMFPs from 54 AMCs. HMFPs were a mean of 20.5 (SD: 5.4) years postresidency. The median H-index was 7.0 (interquartile range [IQR]: 2.0-16.0); the median number of publications was 15.0 (IQR: 4.0-51.0). Top quintile HMFPs had a median of 175.5 (IQR: 101.5-248.0) publications, whereas fifth quintile HMFPs had a median of 0.0 (IQR: 0.0-1.0) (p < .001). HMFPs on faculty at the top 20 AMCs had a median of 35.5 (IQR: 11.0-108.0) publications, whereas HMFPs in AMCs ranked 81-122 had a median of 3.0 (IQR: 1.0-9.0) (p < .001). Grant-funded HMFPs had a median of 177.0 (IQR: 71.0-278.0) publications, while nongrant-funded HMFPs had a median of 11.0 (IQR: 3.0-25.0) (p < .001). At 3, 6, and 9 years postresidency, HMFPs had a median of 0.0 (IQR: 0.0-1.0), 1.5 (IQR: 0.0-5.0), and 3.5 (IQR: 0.0-11.0) publications. Fellowship training, additional degrees, and top 25 residency programs correlated with the top half of scholarly productivity. CONCLUSIONS Scholarly productivity among HMFPs varies considerably. At 3, 6, and 9 years postresidency, it is minimal to modest. Grant funding and AMC research rank may establish separate frames of reference for scholarly growth.