Characterization of Orthopaedic Surgery Research Fellowships: Public Availability, Compensation, and Association with Doximity Residency Rankings

Introduction Orthopaedic surgery is one of the most competitive specialties for medical students, with research experience playing a critical role in residency applications. Dedicated research fellowships before, during, or after medical school can boost an applicant’s research productivity and competitiveness. However, centralized information about these opportunities is limited. This study aimed to identify publicly available orthopaedic surgery research fellowships and analyze their availability, location, duration, financial compensation, and association with Doximity rankings of orthopaedic surgery residencies. Methods An online search of Orthogate.com and MSOS.com was performed on March 15th, 2024, to identify orthopaedic surgery research fellowships. Data on geographic location, number of positions, financial compensation, and duration were collected. A Spearman’s correlation assessed the relationship between residency program Doximity rankings and fellowship availability. Results A total of 143 research fellowship positions were identified across 80 programs, with an average fellowship duration of 1 year. Of these programs, 73% offered financial compensation, with an average reported salary of $27,677 per year. The Southeast had the highest concentration of research fellowships (33%), followed by the Northeast (27%), Midwest (22%), and West (18%). Only 24% of orthopaedic surgery residency programs publicly offered research fellowships. Higher Doximity-ranked residency programs were significantly associated with a greater number of research fellowship positions (p<.001) (r2=-1.0). Conclusion This study highlights the strong association between higher Doximity-ranked residency programs and the availability of orthopaedic surgery research positions. The findings emphasize the need for a centralized platform to improve access to these opportunities and enhance residency programs’ visibility to prospective candidates. Keywords: orthopaedic surgery residency, research fellowships, Doximity rankings, residency competitiveness, medical student research Level of Evidence IV