Research productivity among trainee anaesthetists in Ireland: a cross-sectional study

Objective measures of research performance are necessary to facilitate academic advancement of trainee physicians. In this cross-sectional study, all anaesthetists (n = 98) in higher specialist training in Ireland were surveyed to determine bibliometrics of their scientific publications and individual and institutional characteristics that can influence research productivity. For trainees with publications, the median (range) h-index was 1 (0–4). There was a positive correlation between participation in a formal research program and increased research productivity using mean citations per publication (r 2 = 0.26, P = 0.006) and h-index (r 2 = 0.26, P = 0.006). There was a positive correlation between formal mentorship and mean citations per publication (r 2 = 0.15, P = 0.04) and h-index (r 2 = 0.17, P = 0.03).