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The following is a summary of “A new era of ophthalmology leadership? A descriptive and comparative analysis of ophthalmology department chairs in 2024,” published in the September 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Cohen et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study analyzing current department chairs’ demographics and scholarly achievements and explored emerging trends in recently hired chairs’ academic and demographic profiles.
They searched publicly available resources online till January 1, 2024, focusing on demographic and academic data of 107 ophthalmology department chairs from accredited US institutions. Key measures included the chairs’ demographics and academic achievements.
The results showed that out of 107 chairs, 83% (89/107) are male, with a mean age of 60.9 years and appointment age of 51.9 years. Nearly 44% (47/107) were appointed in the past 7 years, and 40% (41/107) trained at their current institution. Around 31% (33/107) hold additional degrees, mainly PhDs (16%), MBAs (8%), or MSs (4%). Over 96% (103/107) completed fellowships, most often in vitreoretinal surgery (28%), cornea (25%), or glaucoma (22%). The average number of publications is 214.9, with a mean h-index of 35. Newly appointed chairs are older at appointment (54 vs. 50 years, P=0.008).
Investigators concluded that ophthalmology chairs are still primarily male and fellowship-trained, often having trained at their current institution. Newly hired chairs are older and more experienced, though females remain underrepresented despite an increase in recent appointments.
Source: ajo.com/article/S0002-9394(24)00447-1/abstract
