According to a recent JBJS readership study among 1,000+ orthopaedic surgeons and residents, sources used for obtaining clinical orthopaedic information vary depending on one’s resident or surgeon status. For example, 9 out of 10 residents rely heavily on online journals, compared to 8 out of 10 surgeons. The reliance gap between online and print journals is much more significant among residents (94% to 68%) compared to the gap among surgeons (80% to 77%). Mobile app usage is much more common among residents, with just more than half, 52%, using them heavily for clinical orthopaedic information, compared to 36% among surgeons. As the graph shows, two other significant differences between residents and surgeons are the use of textbooks and social media sites as sources of clinical information.
…And a Geography Gap:
Surgeons outside the US and Canada are more dependent on online journals for their clinical orthopaedic information than surgeons in North America (91% international to 77% US/Canada). Textbook usage also varies greatly by geography. Within the US and Canada, only 28% of surgeons rely heavily on textbooks, while close to 60% of international surgeons rate text books high in usage. Twice the percentage of international surgeons rely heavily on social media for clinical information, compared to those within the US/Canada (5% vs. 13%).
