Research productivity during residency training in Spain: Comparison among medical specialties lasting 5 years.

Objectives: To compare the quantity and quality of publications during the residency training period in Cardiology, Intensive Care Medicine, Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology in Spain.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of residents from 4 specialties lasting 5 years (2014-2019). The number and type of publications indexed in PubMed®, the names of the journals and their bibliometric indexes (impact factor and quartiles), and author's positions were evaluated.

Results: The 649 residents included in the study generated 801 publications (publication/resident ratio 1.23). Cardiology residents published significantly more (ratio 2.57) and Intensive Care Medicine residents less (ratio 0.42) than the remaining specialties (Internal Medicine, ratio 1.06; Medical Oncology, ratio 0.76; p < .001). Overall, only 44.5% of residents participated in a publication, with 27.6% participating in an original article; this latter percentage increased significantly among cardiologists (47.7%; p < .001). The predominant types of publications were original articles (47.9%) and clinical reports (36.8%). The proportion of publications in first quartile journals was higher for Cardiology residents (44.6% of total). The resident was the first or last author in only one-third of the publications. Scientific productivity was related to specialty, but not to gender or the size of the hospital in which the residency training occurred.

Conclusions: Intensive Care Medicine, Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology residents publish insufficiently, while the scientific production from Cardiology residents could be considered acceptable.