What are the academic and demographic characteristics of orthopaedic spine surgery division chiefs?

Background: To our knowledge no analysis of academic orthopedics division chiefs (DC) exists in the current orthopedic literature. Serving as a Division Chief may be a career milestone or an opportunity to lead and transition to additional leadership roles. Our objective is to answer the following questions (1) Are there academic characteristics common to Spine divisions chiefs? (2) Are there demographic characteristics common to Spine division chiefs? (3) Do most Spine division chiefs train at certain fellowships? Methods: Allopathic residency program websites were used to locate DC and Division Co-Chiefs (DCC). Academic characteristics evaluated included: H-index, academic rank, number of degrees, additional leadership titles, the availability of fellowship training and service as past/current society president and participation in travelling fellowships. Demographic characteristics including gender and race were collected. Years since completions of fellowship and which fellowship program the DC/DCC trained at were collected. Results: 102 DC/DCC were identified and had an average H-index of 22.1. The majority (48%) had an academic rank of Professor, 29% Associate Professor, 16% Assistant Professor and 8% rank could not be identified. 45% had additional leadership positions within their department and 18% had additional graduate degrees. Two institutions had designations of co-chiefs. The majority (57%) offered spine fellowships at their institution. The majority of DC were males (99%) and White (72.5%). On average the DC/DCC were 19.5 years past their fellowship completion. 19% participated in at least one travelling fellowship and 14% served as a president of a Spine or Orthopaedic Society. Conclusions: Spine surgery division chiefs are 99% male, with a rank of Professor and trained at select fellowship programs. Nearly half of spine surgery division chiefs held concurrent administrative roles in the department and 14% have served as President of a spine or Orthopaedic society. There is room to Improve on the gender and ethnic/racial diveristy of spine surgery division chief leadership.