OBJECT: Factors determining choice of an academic career in neurological surgery 
are unclear. This study seeks to evaluate the graduates of medical schools and 
US residency programs to determine those programs that produce a high number of 
graduates remaining within academic programs and the contribution of these 
graduates to academic neurosurgery as determined by h-index valuation.
METHODS: Biographical information from current faculty members of all accredited 
neurosurgery training programs in the US with departmental websites was 
obtained. Any individual who did not have an American Board of Neurological 
Surgery certificate (or was not board eligible) was excluded. The variables 
collected included medical school attended, residency program completed, and 
current academic rank. For each faculty member, Web of Science and Scopus 
h-indices were also collected.
RESULTS: Ninety-seven academic neurosurgery departments with 986 faculty members 
were analyzed. All data regarding training program and medical school education 
were compiled and analyzed by center from which each faculty member graduated. 
The 20 medical schools and neurosurgical residency training programs producing 
the greatest number of graduates remaining in academic practice, and the 
respective individuals' h-indices, are reported. Medical school graduates of the 
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons chose to enter academics 
the most frequently. The neurosurgery training program at the University of 
Pittsburgh produced the highest number of academic neurosurgeons in this sample.
CONCLUSIONS: The use of quantitative measures to evaluate the academic 
productivity of medical school and residency graduates may provide objective 
measurements by which the subjective influence of training experiences on choice 
of an academic career may be inferred. The top 3 residency training programs 
were responsible for 10% of all academic neurosurgeons. The influence of medical 
school and residency experiences on choice of an academic career may be 
significant.