Is a Medical Degree Associated With Faculty Leadership Position Attainment in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Programs?

Purpose: The decision to obtain double-degree versus single-degree training in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) has been a widely debated topic in the United States over the past several decades. The pur-pose of this study is to determine if OMS faculty holding leadership positions (ie, program directors and chairs/chiefs) are more likely to be single-degree trained versus double-degree trained. Methods: The authors designed a cross-sectional observational study to address the research purpose. The primary predictor variable was faculty leadership education (single-degree trained vs double-degree trained). The secondary predictor variable was accredited OMS program type led by the faculty with lead-ership positions (double-degree, both single-degree and double-degree, single-degree, or military pro-gram). The primary outcome variable was faculty leadership position (program director or chair/chief). Sums and percentages were calculated and Chi-squared (c2) tests were used to compare the faculty leader-ship education with faculty leadership positions for each group. P values less than .05 were considered statistically significant.Results: The study sample was composed of 198 subjects, of which 99 subjects were identified as pro-gram directors and 99 subjects were identified as chairs/chiefs. There was no statistically significant differ-ence between the proportions of program directors and chairs/chiefs who were single-degree trained versus double-degree trained when looking at all accredited OMS programs in the United States (52.5% vs 47.5%, P = .615 and 56.6% vs 43.4%, P = .191, respectively). However, program directors of double -degree programs were statistically significantly more likely to be double-degree trained than single -degree trained (77.1% vs 22.9%, P = .001) and program directors and chairs/chiefs of single-degree programs were statistically significantly more likely to be single-degree trained than double-degree trained (67.4% vs 32.6%, P = .022 and 65.1% vs 34.9%, P = .047, respectively). Conclusion: Overall, no statistically significant difference exists between the proportions of program di-rectors and chairs/chiefs that were single-degree trained versus double-degree trained at accredited OMS programs. However, when stratifying programs by program type, program directors of double-degree pro-grams were statistically significantly more likely to be double-degree trained and program directors and chairs/chiefs of single-degree programs were statistically significantly more likely to be single-degree trained.(c) 2022 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeonsJ Oral Maxillofac Surg 80:2024-2028, 2022