Rates of unverifiable and incomplete publications in pediatric ophthalmology fellowship applications

Abstract

The publication patterns of pediatric ophthalmology fellowship applicants and in particular the rates of unverifiable and incomplete publications have not been previously reported. A 5-year retrospective cross-sectional study of fellowship candidates found 2.1% of publications listed as published were unverifiable, and only 49% of manuscripts listed as pending publication were published within 5 years. There was lower likelihood to list an incomplete publication for applicants with additional degrees or prior fellowship training and higher likelihood with more manuscripts listed as in preparation. Sex, international medical graduate status, USMLE step scores, and number of publications did not corelate with unverifiable publications.