Abstract
Context: With the recent merger of the American Osteopathic Association and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, new standards may be established for scholarly activity criteria and designation for each specialty.
Objective: To determine the percentage of osteopathic physicians on editorial boards in general and specialty medical journals and to compare the participation of osteopathic vs allopathic physicians and other health care researchers in editorial activities.
Methods: The number of osteopathic and allopathic physicians and other health care professionals serving as editor in chief, associate editor, editorial board member, emeritus editor, or in other editorial positions was examined in 8 major medical journals (New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Annals of Surgery, Annals of Emergency Medicine, Annals of Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pediatrics) published during the past 30 years.
Results: The number of editorial board positions increased during the past 30 years, with Annals of Surgery adding the most positions (64). When compared with allopathic physicians in all fields of medicine, the number of osteopathic physicians serving on an editorial board of a medical journal was significantly less (P<.001). When all editorial positions were combined, osteopathic physicians occupied 0.15% of all positions.
Conclusion: A disparity exists between the numbers of osteopathic vs allopathic physicians in editorial positions in the core disciplines of medicine. Further investigation into the reasons why few osteopathic physicians serve in editorial roles is needed.
More than 130 years ago, Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO, founded osteopathic medicine. During the past 80 years, the number of osteopathic physicians has increased greatly.
1 In 1935, 8265 osteopathic physicians practiced in the United States compared with more than 87,000 in 2013.
1 Currently, more than 50% of all osteopathic physicians in American Osteopathic Association (AOA)–accredited residencies are in primary care (family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology).
1 However, little research has been devoted to how osteopathic physicians climb the academic ranks.
Advancement in the medical academic community is most notably based on one’s contribution to the medical literature and the journal responsibilities that one possesses.
2,3 Editorial board nominations are based on academic rank, research, publications, and awards, and those appointed are promoted based on the recognition that they receive.
2,3 In this study, we sought to investigate whether a disparity exists in the number of osteopathic physicians serving on editorial boards as compared with their allopathic counterparts.