The Impact of the Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) on Scholarship Productivity: A Cross-Sectional Bibliometric Analysis and Boyer Model Classification
This cross-sectional bibliometric analysis and Boyer Model classification study reveals that while the Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degree facilitates publication for a small subset of physician assistants and yields low traditional bibliometric productivity, it successfully generates a robust volume of applied and translational scholarship focused on improving clinical practice and education.
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In the United States, physician assistants and physician associates are a vital part of the healthcare team, acting as the bridge between patients and doctors to diagnose illnesses and manage treatments. For decades, the highest degree required to practice in this field was a master's degree, a credential that signaled a high level of clinical skill. However, the profession is changing. A new type of advanced degree, the Doctor of Medical Science, has emerged as an optional path for experienced practitioners who wish to move into leadership, teaching, or specialized research roles. This degree is designed not to train scientists to discover entirely new biological laws, but to help clinicians apply existing knowledge to solve complex problems in hospitals, schools, and health systems. As more professionals pursue this doctorate, a critical question has arisen: does earning this advanced degree actually lead to more published research and scholarly work, or does it serve a different purpose entirely?
To answer this, a team of researchers from the University of Maryland and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science set out to examine the real-world output of physician assistants who have earned this doctorate. They did not simply count how many articles these individuals wrote; instead, they looked at the nature of the work itself. The team gathered a random sample of 300 physician assistants who had received their doctorate between 2015 and 2022. They scoured public professional profiles to find these individuals and then searched major scientific databases to see what they had published before and after earning their degree. To get a fuller picture, the researchers also looked at the final projects, known as capstones, that 120 students completed across 12 different university programs. They used a framework developed by scholar Ernest Boyer, which categorizes scholarship into four types: discovering new knowledge, integrating ideas across fields, applying knowledge to real-world problems, and improving how things are taught.
The results of the bibliometric search revealed a modest picture of traditional publishing. Out of the 300 physician assistants studied, only 90 had ever published a peer-reviewed article in their lifetime. Of those who did publish, the majority had already done so before earning their doctorate. Only 29 individuals, representing less than 10 percent of the total group, became first-time publishers after completing their degree. Furthermore, the output was heavily concentrated; just 10 individuals were responsible for nearly half of all the published works found in the entire sample. This suggests that for the vast majority of these professionals, the doctorate did not automatically transform them into prolific authors of scientific papers, nor did it create a widespread surge in traditional research output.
However, the story changed significantly when the researchers examined the capstone projects through the lens of the Boyer framework. While only 8 percent of these projects fell into the category of "discovery," or original research intended to generate new data, the remaining 92 percent represented a robust volume of applied scholarship. Nearly 38 percent of the projects focused on integrating knowledge, such as reviewing existing literature to create new clinical guidelines or analyzing workforce trends. Another 34 percent were dedicated to application, where graduates worked on quality improvement, optimized hospital workflows, or developed protocols to reduce patient burnout. The final 20 percent focused on the scholarship of teaching, involving the design of new educational curricula or the improvement of teaching methods. In total, nine out of every ten projects were directly aimed at reforming clinical environments, improving health systems, or enhancing education, rather than discovering new scientific facts.
These findings suggest that the value of the Doctor of Medical Science degree lies less in producing traditional academic papers and more in driving practical improvements within healthcare. The degree appears to provide a pathway for a small number of individuals to enter the world of publishing, but for most, it serves as a catalyst for applying their expertise to solve immediate, real-world challenges. The researchers concluded that while the degree alone is not sufficient to guarantee widespread publication activity, it successfully fosters a diverse range of applied and translational work. The projects completed by these graduates demonstrate a shift from simply counting publications to valuing the tangible impact of knowledge on patient care, hospital efficiency, and medical education. This distinction is crucial for understanding the role of the doctorate in a clinical profession, where the most meaningful scholarship may not always appear in a journal, but rather in a better-functioning clinic or a more effective training program.
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