Scholarly Activity Among VA Podiatrists: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) podiatrists advance clinical practices and ensure expert foot and ankle care for veterans. Quantifying the research expertise of VA podiatrists will enhance the confidence of the veteran population regarding the care they receive from highly knowledgeable and research-active clinicians, and provide podiatrists insight into their professional development.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis aimed to describe the expertise of VA podiatrists; those with a history of peer-reviewed publications were analyzed. Sex, region of practice, salary, academic appointment, number of publications, and h-index were recorded. Descriptive statistics were reported, and associations between variables were assessed. The threshold for statistical significance was set at P ≤ .05.

Results: Of 819 podiatrists, 157 met the selection criteria for final analysis, with most being male and located primarily on the West Coast. Significant differences were found in the median number of publications and the Hirsch index among academic ranks, but no relationship was observed between salary and these metrics. No statistically significant difference was noted in average salary among different academic appointments, although compensation did vary.

Conclusions: A substantial proportion of VA podiatrists have published their research, providing advanced foot and ankle care to veterans. These findings underscore the expertise available to veterans and highlight its role in enhancing clinical practices and professional growth among VA podiatrists.