Emergency Ultrasound: A Survey Study of Fellowship Graduate Characteristics and Career Paths

There are sparse data on the career pathways of graduates of emergency ultrasound fellowships. The authors sought to define the characteristics of graduates and their reported career paths after training through this survey study.

A 26-question anonymous survey was emailed to 597 graduates of 70 fellowships over a 4-week period. No incentives were provided for completion of the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics are reported. For qualitative data, open- and axial-coding methods were used.

A total of 336 participants completed the study for a response rate of 56%. The average age of respondents was 36.4 years, and 58% were male. Most graduates had MD degrees (89%) or DO degrees (10%). Sixty percent of graduates attended a 3-year emergency medicine residency, and 29% attended a 4-year residency. Only 11% pursued additional fellowship training, most commonly pediatric emergency medicine (n = 14). After fellowship, 63% (95% confidence interval [CI], 62.9, 63.1) of graduates began working full-time in an academic setting, whereas 24% (95% CI, 23.9, 24.1) worked full-time in a community setting. Thirty-three percent (95% CI, 32.7, 33.3) took an immediate position as ultrasound division director, whereas 4% (95% CI, 3.7, 4.3) became fellowship directors and 3% (95% CI, 2.7, 3.3) became ultrasound medical student directors. Currently, 67% (95% CI, 66-68%) identify ultrasound as their leading academic focus.

Although not all fellowship graduates pursue academic positions, most note the impact of fellowship on their career paths. Graduates hold a variety of leadership positions. Approximately two thirds still consider ultrasound as their academic focus.