Survey of physician fellows in adolescent medicine, 1979-1984

A national survey of physician fellows in adolescent medicine, a sequel to the 1974-1979 survey, was conducted in 1984. Fifty-one listed programs were identified; 48 directors responded. Two hundred twelve fellows were identified (111 one-year, 101 two-year); 151 (71%) returned the questionnaire. Eighty-six percent had a pediatric residency. Current or projected professional responsibilities were 36% full-time academic, 35% mixture of academic/private practice, and 29% private practice. Forty percent were spending 75-100% of their time in adolescent medicine. Recommended changes for their fellowship included more emphasis on research (34%), more inpatient care (18%), more experience in sports medicine/orthopedics (13%), more psychosocial training (12%), and more structured education (12%). Responses as to whether the objective was fully met in each of 18 different content areas showed 60-96% satisfaction in 12 areas but only 23-34% satisfaction in six (developing a research project, participating in a critical assessment of the literature, diagnosing/managing sports medicine, developmental disability, substance abuse problems, and managing pregnancy). Significant differences (p less than 0.05 or less than 0.01) between 1979-1984 fellows compared with the 1974-1979 group included more females, two-year fellows, and fellows in private practice and less fellows in full-time academic work or spending a majority of time in adolescent medicine. These results especially indicate that there are more programs and fellows, more two-year fellows, and suggest more satisfaction with the training experience.