Anesthesiology critical care medicine: a fellowship and faculty recruitment program

To review national data on anesthesiology critical care medicine (ACCM) fellowship program enrollment and to describe a program that successfully recruited ACCM fellows and faculty at a single academic medical center.

An incentive program known as the Mayo Clinic Scholar program, designed to recruit ACCM fellows and faculty, was reviewed. Interviews were conducted to assess the impact of the Mayo Clinic Scholar program.

Academic health center.

ACCM fellowship program enrollment data were compared with similar data for critical care medicine fellowship programs in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, pediatrics, and surgery.The results of a program to recruit ACCM fellows and faculty were reviewed.

Only 89 of 147 (60.5%) ACCM fellowship positions available nationally were filled during the 2010-2011 academic year, and only 89 of the 896 (9.9%) critical care medicine fellows anticipated to graduate in 2011 were in ACCM programs. The Mayo Clinic ACCM fellowship enrolled 28 fellows from January 1, 2000 through July 1, 2010 (range 0-6 per yr). Ten of the 28 (35.7%) were United States medical graduates (USMGs) and 6 of the 10 (60.0%) USMGs who were graduates of the Mayo Clinic residency were appointed as Mayo Clinic Scholars. All 6 Mayo Clinic Scholars were retained as ACCM faculty. Only two of the 6 (33.3%) Mayo Clinic Scholars would have completed ACCM training without a Mayo Clinic Scholar appointment. All recommend ACCM training to others and plan to continue to practice ACCM.

The Mayo Clinic Scholar program effectively recruited ACCM fellows and faculty in a single institution. Incentive-based programs should be considered to support the involvement of anesthesiologists in perioperative medicine.