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Updated: May 4, 2026

Murine Model of Controlled Cortical Impact for the Induction of Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 16, 2019
Brain injury medicine fellowship program growth and application rates: 2017 to 2024
Jason Silvestre1, Lindsay Mohney2, Ameet S Nagpal2
1Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Background:
The American Board of Medical Specialties recognized brain injury medicine (BIM) as a subspecialty certification for physicians from diverse training backgrounds. Increasing the number of physicians pursuing BIM fellowship training remains imperative given the increasing prevalence of patients with traumatic brain injuries.
Methods:
This was a retrospective cohort study of BIM fellowship applicants from 2017 to 2024. The annual volume of available training positions, applications, match rates, and unfilled training positions were calculated.
Results:
The annual volume of BIM training programs (16 to 26, 63% increase), training positions (17 to 31, 82% increase), and applicants (16 to 26, 63% increase) increased over the study period (p < 0.001). The annual applicant-to-training position ratio ranged between 0.7-1.2 with no significant change over the study period (p = 0.598). In total, there were 198 available training positions and 39 went unfilled (20%). The rate of unfilled training positions (12% to 16%, p = 0.601) and annual match rates (94%-100%, p = 0.958) did not change. Most applicants matched at their first-choice (45%) or second-choice (16%) fellowship programs.
Conclusions:
There were 198 BIM fellowship positions available over the study period and 39 went unfilled (20%). Coordinated efforts may stimulate earlier physician interest in BIM training to meet future demands.

