Osteopathic Physicians on Editorial Boards of Neurosurgical Journals: A Quantitative Analysis

Objective: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Osteopathic Association reached an agreement to form a single accreditation system for graduate medical education by 2020. As a result of this merger, new criteria may be established for academic endeavors within medical school as well as post-graduate curricula. In the present study, we analyze the number of osteopathic physicians serving on editorial boards of neurosurgical journals. Methods: Editorial members of 50 neurosurgical journals were included in the analyses. The number of allopathic and osteopathic physicians as well as other healthcare professionals serving as editor-in-chief, associate editor, editor emeritus, other editor, and editorial board members were analyzed. Results: Our data showed that of the 2826 editorial positions available, 2645 (93.6%) were held by allopathic physicians, 177 (6.3%) were held by non-physician healthcare professionals, and 4 (0.14%) were held by osteopathic physicians. Statistical significance was observed upon comparing the number of osteopathic physicians against the number of allopathic physicians serving editorial roles (p<0.00001). Osteopathic physicians held 1 (1.7%) of the 59 editor-in-chief positions and 3 (0.11%) of the 2114 editorial board member positions. Conclusion: These data establish a significant disparity in representation of allopathic physicians and osteopathic physicians on editorial boards of neurosurgical journals. Future investigation should identify causative factors for the disparity of osteopathic physicians on these editorial boards.