Motivations to pursue fellowships are gender neutral

To determine the importance of factors in decision making by general surgery chief residents to pursue fellowships and to relate factor importance to gender and residency characteristics.

Prospective, voluntary, national survey conducted April through May, 2008, in which finishing chief residents rated the importance of 12 factors in their decision making to pursue fellowships.

General surgery chief residents who applied for admission to the American Board of Surgery Qualifying Examination process.

All 1034 first-time applicants.

chi(2) tests and 1-way analyses of variance were used to correlate gender and residency type, size, and location with summed values and scaled mean scores for ratings of the importance of 12 potential factors in fellowship decision making.

The fellowship rate was 77% and correlated with residency size and location. Women were dispersed asymmetrically across residencies overall but future female fellows were distributed similarly to male ones. Survey item response rates for future fellows were 96% to 98%. Clinical mastery and specialty activities were valued most highly by more than 90% of men and women. Men placed more value on income potential and spousal influence. Lifestyle factors reached only midrange importance for both genders. Program size had more significant relationships to decision-making factors than did gender.

The ability to master an area of clinical practice and the clinical activities of a specialty are the most important factors for chief residents in fellowship decision making, regardless of gender. Lifestyle factors are of midrange importance. Program size is as influential as is gender.