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Factors in fellowship selection: effect of services and fellows
Karen R Borman1, Laura R Vick, Jeffery B Dattilo
1Department of Surgery, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, Mississippi 39216-4505, USA. KBorman@surgery.umsmed.edu
Purpose:
General Surgery residents are increasingly pursuing fellowships. We examine whether perceived subspecialty content, dedicated services, and fellows impact fellowship choices.
Methods:
Specialty content was assessed through a survey linking 228 operations to 9 content areas. The presence of dedicated services and fellows and the post-residency activities of graduates 1997-2006 were collected from 2 program directors.
Results:
A total of 75% of residents (26 University of Mississippi, UM; 22 Vanderbilt University, VU) completed surveys. Five dedicated services and 2 fellowships at UM and VU were identical; VU had an additional 4 services and 3 fellowships. UM and VU residents similarly associated 184 operations (81%) with General Surgery. Agreement was not linked to services or fellows. A total of 44% of UM graduates and 68% of VU graduates pursued fellowships. The top choice at UM was Plastic/Hand (14%, versus 6% VU) and Oncology/Endocrine at VU (19%, versus 2% UM). Differences in specialties selected could not be linked consistently to dedicated services or fellows.
Conclusion:
Dedicated services and fellows appear to have little impact on fellowship specialty selection by chief residents. There may be a generic effect of dedicated services favoring fellowship versus no fellowship. Differential faculty mentoring skills may influence specific fellowship choices.
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