Background Research productivity is a key indicator of academic and clinical advancement in surgery. While previous studies have identified key drivers of productivity, comprehensive analyses examining the key determinants of research output across multiple Australian surgical departments remain limited.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted analysing publicly available data from 16 surgical departments at Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) Hospital in December 2024. Data on researcher characteristics, including number of publications, citations, h-index, higher degree by research (HDR) training, academic appointments, and international collaboration, were collated and aggregated for each department. Departmental research productivity was assessed through three primary outcomes: total publication count, aggregate citation count, and median h-index. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed in RStudio to examine associations between these factors and departmental research productivity, measured by publication count, citation count, and median h-index.

Results A total of 216 research members (148 consultants) were included. For publication count, univariate analyses showed significant associations with HDR training (p = 0.016) and academic appointment level (p = 0.048). In the multivariable model, only HDR training remained independently associated with publication count (β = 8.31, 95% CI: 1.77–14.85, p = 0.016, R2 = 0.347). For h-index, HDR training (p = 0.027), academic appointment level (p = 0.138), international qualification (p = 0.039), and international collaboration (p = 0.044) showed associations in univariate testing. In the multivariable model, both HDR training (β = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.03–0.55, p = 0.030, R2 = 0.491) and international collaboration (β = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.00–0.93, p = 0.048, R2 = 0.491) remained significant. No multivariable models constructed for citations met statistical significance.

Conclusions This study highlights HDR training as the most consistent predictor of surgical research productivity across multiple metrics across surgical departments in a tertiary Australian hospital. International collaboration emerges as an additional significant driver of research impact, as measured by h-index. These findings provide evidence to support institutional investments in HDR training pathways and international collaborative networks as strategic approaches to enhance research culture and productivity in Australian surgical departments.