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Cohort study assessing the predictive value of a research year vs additional degree in dermatology

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Abstract

Taking a gap year to obtain an additional degree or for research is becoming increasingly popular among medical students pursuing dermatology to bolster residency application competitiveness. The purpose of this study was to determine whether doing so influences future academic achievement and career trajectory. A list of dermatologists who achieved board certification in 2010 was obtained from the American Board of Dermatology. Information regarding additional post-graduate degrees, research years, fellowship specialization, practice setting, publication number, and H-index were obtained using publicly available data. Additional degrees were associated with higher research productivity, higher H-index, and practicing at teaching hospitals while taking a research year was only associated with a higher H-index. This data can be used to further inform medical students wishing to achieve high levels of research productivity and careers at teaching institutions and residency programs wishing to recruit such applicants.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA

    Madelaine Fritsche, Jeffrey J. Miller & Charlene Lam

  2. Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA

    Tonya King

  3. Penn State Hershey Medical Center Department of Dermatology, Penn State Health, 500 University Drive, HU14, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA

    Jeffrey J. Miller & Charlene Lam

Authors
  1. Madelaine Fritsche
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  2. Tonya King
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  3. Jeffrey J. Miller
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  4. Charlene Lam
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Madelaine Fritsche and Tonya King. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Madelaine Fritsche and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charlene Lam.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.

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This study was deemed exempt from IRB approval via Penn State IRB determination (reference ID STUDY00018487).

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Fritsche, M., King, T., Miller, J.J. et al. Cohort study assessing the predictive value of a research year vs additional degree in dermatology. Arch Dermatol Res 315, 1393–1395 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-022-02430-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-022-02430-3

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