Comparison of research outputs and clinical competence between orthopedic surgeons from two training pathways: A single-center study at a Chinese tertiary general hospital

Background: In China, there are two primary models for medical doctorate training. This study seeks to conduct a comparative analysis of the research outputs and clinical competence for orthopedic doctoral surgeons under these two models, aiming to provide a reference for the further optimization of training programs. Methods: Basic information, research output, and clinical performance data were systematically collected from orthopedic surgeons employed at the National Center for Orthopedics of a public tertiary hospital from January 2013 to December 2022. Inter-group comparisons were conducted using the Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test. Binary logistic regression analysis was additionally adopted to quantify the magnitude of the association between medical training background and research outputs. Results: The median ages of orthopedic surgeons from the eight-year program and traditional medical education backgrounds were 31.0 years and 34.5 years, respectively (p