A Decade in Print: The Evolving Academic Benchmark of Cardiology Fellowship Applications

Research output has become an increasingly important criterion for competitive fellowship applications. While prior studies have quantified this trend in other specialties, the same has not been done for cardiology fellowships. This retrospective cohort study included cardiology fellows from two cohorts, ten years apart, at 10 of the top 25-ranked U.S. cardiology programs selected from Doximity’s reputation rankings. PubMed was utilized to quantify research output prior to fellowship entry. Primary outcomes were total publications, first-author publications, and cardiology-related (“in-specialty”) publications. Among 155 fellows (72 in 2017; 83 in 2027), the mean total number of publications increased from 2.67±3.22 in 2017 to 7.18±9.34 in 2027. First-authorships increased from 1.35±2.25 to 2.54±3.30, and in-specialty publications rose from 1.79±2.90 to 4.81±8.58. Logistic regression showed that the 2027 cohort was significantly more likely to have ≥1 publication (OR 2.3 [95% CI, 1.14–3.50]; p< 0.001). Degree type, institutional transitions, and geographic mobility were not significant predictors. Cardiology fellowship applicants in 2027 had markedly higher research output compared to the class of 2017, indicating a growing emphasis on scholarly productivity in the selection processes. These findings raise questions about equitable access to research opportunities and the potential emergence of barriers to scholarly output among aspiring cardiologists.