Trends in subspecialty training by Canadian ophthalmology graduates

To evaluate the trends in subspecialty fellowship training by Canadian ophthalmology graduates over the last 25 years.

Cross-sectional study.

Canadian-funded, Royal College-certified graduates from 1990 to 2014 who completed a full residency in an English-language Canadian ophthalmology postgraduate training program.

Data were obtained by contacting all 11 English-language ophthalmology residency programs across Canada for demographic and fellowship information regarding their graduates. Society web sites were then used to corroborate and complement the data set, including those of the Canadian Ophthalmology Society, American Academy of Ophthalmology, and Provincial Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons. Data were organized by demographic variables, and analysis was performed using SPSS v22.0.

Of the 528 graduates from 1990 to 2014, 63.5% pursued fellowship training. Males and females were equally likely to undertake fellowship training. The proportion of graduates obtaining fellowship training did not change significantly during this 25-year period. The most popular subspecialty choices were vitreoretinal surgery (24.5%), glaucoma (16.7%), and anterior segment (16.7%). Significantly more males than females pursued vitreoretinal surgery and oculoplastics fellowships (p = 0.001, χ(2) test), whereas females were more likely to train in a paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus fellowship (p = 0.001, χ(2) test).

The majority of ophthalmology graduates from English-language residency programs pursue subspecialty fellowship training. An understanding of trends in fellowship training may be helpful for both workforce planning and career decision making.