Career prospects and professional landscape after advanced endoscopy fellowship training: a survey assessing graduates from 2009 to 2013

The advanced endoscopy (AE) fellowship is a popular career track for graduating gastroenterology fellows. The number of fellows completing AE fellowships and the number of programs offering this training have increased in the past 5 years. Despite this, we suspect that the number of AE attending (staff physician) positions have decreased (relative to the number of fellows graduating), raising concerns regarding AE job market saturation. Our aim was to survey practicing gastroenterology physicians who completed an AE fellowship within the past 5 years regarding their current professional status.

A 16-question survey was distributed using Research Electronic Data Capture by e-mail to practicing gastroenterologists who completed an AE fellowship between 2009 and 2013. The survey questions elicited information regarding demographics, professional status, and additional information.

A total of 96 invitations were distributed via e-mail. Forty-one of 96 respondents (43%) replied to the survey. Approximately half of the respondents were employed in an academic practice, with the remainder in private practice (56% and 44%, respectively). Nearly half (46%) of the respondents found it "difficult" to find an AE position after training. Thirty-nine percent of private-practice endoscopists were performing > 200 ERCPs/year, whereas 65% were doing so in academic settings (P = .09). Fifty-six percent of respondents were in small practices (0 to 1 partner), with a significantly smaller group size in private versus academic practice (72% versus 43%, P = .021). Seventy-eight percent of respondents believed the AE job market was saturated; most responded that the AE job market was saturated in both academic and private practice (44%), whereas 34% believed the job market was saturated in academics only. Most respondents (73%) who were training AE fellows found it difficult to place them in AE attending positions. Respondents from academic practice found it significantly more difficult to balance work and personal life compared with those in private practice (87% versus 33%, respectively; P = .0004).

This index survey highlights the trends related to the current state of the post-AE fellowship professional landscape. Further evaluation and discussion are needed to address these evolving issues in professional practice in the field of gastroenterology.