Demographics and Characteristics of Vice Chairs in Academic Orthopaedic Surgery Programs: A Descriptive Study.

INTRODUCTION

The Vice-chair (VC) position is gaining popularity in academic orthopaedic surgery departments; however, there is a paucity of information regarding qualifications and career advancements associated with this role. The purpose of this study was to define the characteristics of current orthopaedic surgery department VCs.

DESIGN

Descriptive study following a retrospective web-based search utilizing the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) database and orthopaedic surgery residency program websites.

SETTING

200 ACGME-accredited orthopaedic surgery residency programs across the United States.

PARTICIPANTS

Program name and hospital affiliations were collected from the FREIDA database to account for all ACGME-accredited programs. The following information was derived from publicly available program websites: title, role description, previously trained institutions, academic rank, and concurrent roles of VCs. Research productivity was measured using the H-index. The previous roles of current Department Chairs (DC) were also evaluated.

RESULTS

Of the 178 VCs identified, VC of Research (n = 36; 20%), Education (n = 25; 14%), and Clinical Operations/Affairs (n = 21; 12%) were the most common titles. Women made up 17% (n = 30) of the VCs. Trauma (n = 36; 20%) was the most common fellowship subspecialty among VCs. The average H-index for VCs was 25. Among VCs, 94 (53%) were professors, 78 were also Chiefs/Heads/Directors (44%), 7 (4%) were Fellowship Directors, and 18 (10%) were Residency Directors. Twenty-six of 95 (27%) current DC had VC experience.

CONCLUSION

The findings can facilitate effective leadership development, promotion of diversity and inclusion in these roles, and guidance for those who seek such leadership positions.