Abstract
Objective Qualifications needed to achieve national leadership positions in hand surgery are
poorly defined. This study compares the academic accomplishments, demographics, and
training backgrounds of presidents elected to serve the American Society for Surgery
of the Hand (ASSH) and the American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS).
Methods The ASSH and AAHS provided names of elected Presidents (1990–2022, n = 64). Curriculum vitae and academic web sites were used to collect demographic,
training, bibliometric, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding data of presidents.
Results Presidents were predominately male (95%), Caucasian (90%), and orthopaedic surgery
residency-trained (66%). Only 9% were racial minorities (8% Asian, 2% Hispanic, and
0% African American). The average age at appointment was 59 ± 7 years old, which was
an average of 23 years from completion of hand surgery fellowship. More presidents
received plastic surgery residency training in AAHS than ASSH (50 vs. 19%). The most
represented hand surgery fellowships were Mayo Clinic (14%), University of Louisville
(11%), and Duke University (9%). Twenty-one presidents participated in a travel fellowship
(33%). Thirty presidents served as Department Chair or Division Chief at time of election
(47%). The average h-index was 34 ± 18 resulting from 164 ± 160 peer-reviewed manuscripts
and was similar between the two organizations. Eleven presidents had NIH grant funding
(18%) and there were no differences in procurement or funding totals between the two
organizations.
Conclusion Presidents of American hand surgery societies obtain high levels of scholarly activity
regardless of training specialty. Women and racial minorities remain underrepresented
at the highest levels of leadership.
Keywords
hand - academic - surgery - orthopaedic - president - leadership
