2019 Military Poster Presentations

Robert J Conrad, MD, Dylan M Russell, MD, Clark C Benjamin, MD, Mayo S John, MD, Lim B Robert, MD, FACS, Dwight C Kellicut, MD, FACS, Christopher G Yheulon, MD, FACS; Tripler Army Medical Center

Introduction: For the few scientists who receive a Noble prize, the impact and relevance of their research is unquestionable. For the rest of us, how does one quantify the impact and relevance of an individual’s research? The Hirsch Index (H-Index) is a widely utilized academic metric that measures both productivity and citation impact. In general, a higher H-Index signifies more impactful publications. Both citation and self-citation affect H-Index. The purpose of this study is to define the publication patterns and the impact of self-citation amongst military Professors in the Department of Surgery.

Methods: Through the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), a list of all Professors in the Department of Surgery was obtained. This list included many professors at Department of Defense (DoD) hospitals and residency programs across the country. We included only “Full” Professors. Excluding, “Emeritus Professors”, “Distinguished Professors”, “Associate Professors” and “Assistant Professors”. Publication patterns of each professor were analyzed. Using the Scopus database, we calculated the number of publications, citations, self-citations, and H-Index for each professor. We determined the number of faculty in which the H-Index changed due to self-citation and the magnitude of those changes. 

Results: A total of 43 Professors of Surgery in the military were identified. The mean number ± SD of publications, citations, and H-Index for the cohort were 185.7 ± 204.9, 8479.6 ± 21551.3, and 35.1 ± 29.9, respectively. The self-citation rate for the entire cohort was 5.55%. Excluding self-citations reduces the mean number of citations to 8008.9 ± 20295.3 and H-Index to 33.8 ± 28.8. The H-Index remained unchanged for 32.6 % (14/43) of professors. However, only 4.6% (2/43) had a change in H-Index of greater than three integers.

Conclusion: Self-Citation is infrequent (5.55%) and has a minimal impact (average H-Index change of 1.3) on the academic profile of Military Professors in the Department of Surgery.