Abstract
Background
Amid concerns about the pediatrician-scientist workforce, we hypothesized that declining numbers of pediatric subspecialists devote at least 25% of their professional time to research with fewer younger and female pediatricians engaged in research over the study period.
Methods
Board-certified pediatricians enrolling online in the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP’s) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program October 2009 through 2016 were invited to complete a survey with questions about the allocation of their professional time. Responses from individuals in the 14 ABP-certified subspecialties were analyzed. The number and proportions of respondents devoting 25−49% and 50% or more of professional time to research were calculated over time. Age and gender were also examined.
Results
We analyzed 21,367 responses over 8 years. A small number of pediatric subspecialists engaged in research with 5.2−6.7% devoting 25−49% and 5.6−8.4% at least 50% of their professional time to research across subspecialties. There was no discernable increase or decrease over time or pattern by age or gender.
Conclusion
Less than 10% of pediatric medical subspecialists devote at least 50% of their professional time to research. Efforts to promote research among pediatric subspecialists have not increased the size of the population that reports engaging in research at this level.
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) Foundation, a nonprofit, supporting organization to the ABP. M.L.M. and G.L.F. were contracted to lead in developing the study design; analyzing the data; and drafting, editing, and submitting the manuscript. L.K.L. is an employee of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) and received salary compensation for their role in this research, including the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; preparation of the manuscript; and the decision to submit the article for publication. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the ABP or the ABP Foundation.
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Substantial contributions to concept and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data: M.L.M., K.D.V., L.K.L., G.L.F. Drafting the article or revising it for critically important intellectual content: M.L.M., K.D.V., L.K.L., G.L.F. Final approval of the version to be published: M.L.M., K.D.V., L.K.L., G.L.F.
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Macy, M.L., Van, K.D., Leslie, L.K. et al. Engagement in research among pediatric subspecialists at the time of enrollment in maintenance of certification, 2009−2016. Pediatr Res 87, 1128–1134 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-019-0703-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-019-0703-2
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