Global distribution and career outcomes of international fellows trained in Canadian gynecologic oncology programs

We assessed the global distribution and academic, administrative and research outcomes of international fellows (IFs) trained in Canadian gynecologic oncology (GO) programs.

A web-based survey was sent to IFs who completed GO training in Canada. Using the Web of science database, we identified the publication list, citation record and H-index of IFs and classified them according to their region of practice: high-income countries (HIC), middle income countries (MIC), and low-income countries (LIC).

From 1996 to 2020, 81 IFs from 23 countries were trained in English-speaking (62,9%) and French-speaking Canadian universities (37,1%). Most IFs came from HIC (87,6%) and none from LIC. Only 12 IFs (14,8%) are now practicing in Canada. Of the 55 IFs who completed the survey (response rate: 67,9%), the majority (58,2%) reported working in an academic hospital and 29,1% were holding an executive position in a national scholar organization. IFs participated in mentoring residents (96.4 %) and medical students (83,6%) and 36,3% initiated a GO fellowship program in their home country. 67,3% of IFs were involved in international research collaboration and 52,7% participated in international clinical trials. The mean number of publications (22,36 vs 7,75, p = 0.007), citations (369,15 vs 45,12 p = 0.0006) and H-Index (6,88 vs 2,37 p = 0.0001) were significantly higher among IFs working in HIC compared to those in MIC. Most IFs (98,2%) recommended their Canadian GO fellowship program to a colleague from their home country.

Most IFs trained in Canadian GO fellowship programs returned to their home countries and achieved important milestones in terms of academic, clinical and research accomplishments.