Gender differences in scholarly productivity of early-career transfusion medicine physicians.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Promotion in academic medicine requires evidence of the creation and dissemination of scholarly output, primarily through peer-reviewed publications. Studies demonstrate that scholarly activity and impact are lower for women physicians than for men physicians, especially during the early stages of their academic careers. This report reviewed physicians' academic productivity after passing their Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine (BBTM) subspecialty exam to determine if gender discrepancies exist. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was designed to determine trends in scholarly activity for women physicians versus men physicians in BBTM. Indexed publications were reviewed using iCite, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Portfolio Analysis tool, from 1 January 2017 to 1 December 2021, for BBTM examinees who passed the sub-speciality fellowship exam in the years 2016 through 2018. RESULTS: Overall, women physicians had statistically significant fewer total career publications (median 6 vs. 9 cumulative papers, p = 0.03). Women published at a lower rate after passing BBTM boards, which was not statistically significant (0.7 vs. 1.3 publications per year). Other statistically significant findings include fewer early-career BBTM women physicians were first authors compared with men physicians (p = 0.03) and impact as assessed by relative citation ratio was higher for men (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that there are gender differences in scholarly productivity and impact on early-career BBTM physicians. Given that this cohort of BBTM physicians are early-career professionals, the significant difference in first authorship publications between women and men physicians is especially concerning. Publication metrics should be followed to ensure equitable research environments for early-career BBTM physicians.

Analysis of gender representation on transfusion medicine journal editorial boards: Comparison between 2019 and 2022.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A 2019 study highlighted significant gender inequities among blood banking and transfusion medicine (BBTM) journal editorial boards. We sought to assess if the representation of women has improved in the intervening 3 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed the gender composition of nine BBTM journal editorial boards as of 13 September 2022, including the seven journals studied in 2019. We compared this to the proportion of females (term used by authors) on seven BBTM journal editorial boards in 2019 to assess change in the editorial board composition. We also assessed gender composition by editorial position (editor-in-chief [EIC], associate/assistant/titled editors and editorial board members). RESULTS: Nine BBTM journals have a total of 398 editorial positions and comprise significantly more men than women (68.8%, 274/398 vs. 31.2%, 124/398; p < 0.001). Among the seven journals analysed in 2019, the proportion of women on these seven editorial boards has remained unchanged (2019: 30.1%, 81/269 vs. 2022: 31.9%, 103/323; p = 0.66) despite the addition of 54 editorial positions. CONCLUSION: Women remain inequitably represented on journal editorial boards among all journal editorial positions. Although advocacy efforts are increasing, there has been limited improvement in gender equity in 3 years, despite a 20% increase in editorial positions.

Update in Transfusion Medicine Education.

Despite the high frequency with which blood transfusions are performed, transfusion medicine education remains variable in the United States and around the world. Educating medical students and nonpathology physicians is critical for safe and evidence-based transfusion. Many innovative curricula have been published to meet the needs of physicians training in a variety of specialties. Learners' knowledge can be assessed using validated knowledge assessment tools and objective structured clinical examinations. In this review, transfusion medicine curricula and assessment tools are reviewed. Strategies for virtual teaching and learning are also introduced.

Status of Transfusion Medicine Education in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Optimal use of blood and blood components requires theoretical and practical knowledge in transfusion medicine. While the importance of education in transfusion medicine has long been recognized, a vacancy is widely felt in this regard in Iran. In this study, the current status of transfusion medicine education in Iran is evaluated using a review of studies conducted in this field. METHODS: To access articles related to transfusion medicine education in Iran, an electronic search was performed in databases, including Magiran, SID, IranMedex, Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus and the related articles were evaluated. RESULTS: Knowledge of transfusion medicine was not optimal in various medical groups and there was no effective theoretical and practical education and training for transfusion medicine in medical universities. Almost all the studies concluded that transfusion medicine curricula should be implemented for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, because of its great importance in clinical practice. CONCLUSION: Educational program of transfusion medicine is a basic need of medical education for medical students, interns, residents, nursing, and midwifery students in Iran. Considering our status and capacities and by using educational programs in the world, curricula are suggested for different educational levels. Implementation of these training programs plays a vital role in improving patients' safety and also reduces the high costs of treatment with blood products.