Survey on the Application Timeline for Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry Fellowship Programs

Behavioral neurology & neuropsychiatry (BNNP) fellowship programs do not have a coordinated application timeline. The authors conducted a survey to analyze the opinions of BNNP fellowship program directors (PDs) and incoming and current neuropsychiatry & neurology fellows regarding the application process and their willingness to coordinate application timelines. A one-time survey was distributed to all United Council for Neurological Subspecialties-accredited BNNP fellowship PDs, who were asked to forward the survey to current and incoming fellows. Complete responses were received from 22 PDs and from 11 current and six incoming fellows, within a span of 17 months between the first application opening (August postgraduate year 3) and the last position offering (December postgraduate year 4). Overall, 86% of the PDs agreed that the different application deadlines can negatively affect their ability to recruit applicants (p<0.001), and 95% were open to having an agreed-upon date before which no offers would be made (p<0.001). Although not a statistically significant finding, 41% of the fellows reported that different application timelines prevented them from completing interviews for all their desired programs, and 88% agreed with a unified timeline (p=0.002). Although not a statistically significant observation, 59% of the fellows reported experiencing anxiety or stress while navigating different application timelines, and 53% had anxiety and stress when trying to keep offers open while awaiting later interviews. Most participants recognized challenges because of differing timelines and agreed on unifying one or more aspects of the application process.