Filling the gap: Objective data to guide pediatric surgery applicants who do not match on the first attempt

Acquiring a pediatric surgery fellowship is an arduous process, with less than half of applicants matching each year. For those who fail to match initially but remain steadfast in their goal to become a pediatric surgeon, choosing a valuable postresidency path can be challenging. Furthermore, objective data to evaluate the utility of pediatric surgical subspecialty fellowships (PSSF) are lacking.

PSSF training programs were identified on the APSA website. Names and contact information of PSSF graduates between 2014 and 2018 were obtained from individual training programs. Each graduated fellow was then contacted to participate in a voluntary 14-question survey.

Names of 47 graduated fellows were obtained from programs listed on the APSA website. Among them, 30 (64%) ultimately matriculated into a pediatric surgery fellowship, 11 (37%) of whom matched at the same institution they completed their PSSF. The type of PSSF was not predictive of matriculation into a pediatric surgical fellowship (p = 0.43). Thirty-two (68%) of the 47 study participants completed a satisfaction survey. While all but two graduates found their fellowships to be at least satisfactory, those who matched were more likely to recommend their PSSF compared to those who did not (100% vs 67%, respectively, p = 0.02). Within the cohort of fellows who did not ultimately match into pediatric surgery (n = 17) and completed a survey (n = 9), all who completed a critical care fellowship (4/4) currently use/or plan to use the skills obtained during their PSSF while only two of five (40%) completing other PSSFs use them.

The matriculation rate from a PSSF into a pediatric surgery fellowship was 64% with no significant difference among subspecialties. Of fellows who did not match, those completing a critical care PSSF were more likely to use their fellowship training than those completing a different PSSF.

Clinical research paper.

III.