The First-authored Papers Written by Chief Professors: Comparison before versus after Becoming a Professor

Abstract

I have long harbored the impression that professors of clinical medicine specialties tend to produce fewer first-authored papers after their professorship appointments, despite their prior output of first-authored papers. This humble experiment attempted in providing some suggestions for this issue. I identified 11 chief professors of the obstetrics and gynecology departments of Japanese medical universities who were appointed professorships during 201X − 201X + 3 (covering 4 years). The numbers of PubMed-indexed first-authored papers were retrieved: 7-4 years prior (Period 1), 3-0 years prior (Period 2), and 1-4 years after (Period 3) their professorship appointments. 1) The "total" number of papers in Periods 1, 2, and 3 was 38, 33, and 4, respectively. 2) The "median" number of papers written by an individual professor in Periods 1, 2, and 3 was 3, 2, and 0, respectively. 3) "Annual average" paper numbers per person before (Periods 1 + 2) versus after (Period 3) was 0.81 ( (38 + 33) / (11 persons × 8 years) ) and 0.09 (4/ (11 × 4) )/person/year, respectively. I did the same for "corresponding-authored papers or last-authored papers." The results were as follows: 1) the "total" was 50, 74, and 143, respectively; 2) the "median" was 4, 5, and 7, respectively; and 3) the "annual average" was 1.41 versus 3.25/person/year. Thus, immediately after professorship appointments, the number of first-authored papers markedly decreased, although that of corresponding- or last-authored papers increased. The reason for this phenomenon may be multifactorial. However, societies should create an atmosphere where professors are relieved from excessive burdens and should be encouraged to engage in first-author paper writing as before if they desire. Societies want to hear professors' own voices which enrich academic discourse. Although the present experiment targeted only Japanese obstetrics and gynecology professors for a limited time, I hope to provoke some discussion regarding paper writing and professorship.