A Pilot Survey on the Perceptions of Pediatric Subspecialty Fellows and Program Directors on Virtual Compared with In-Person Interview Experiences.

Pediatric fellowship programs have conducted virtual interviews since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In this national survey of fellowship program directors and fellows interviewed in-person and virtually, fellowship program directors and fellows formed accurate impressions, regardless of format, but our data did not clearly support one interview format over another.

Timing and Stability of Fellowship Choices during Pediatric Residency: A Longitudinal Survey.

OBJECTIVES: To determine, among pediatric residents, the timing and stability of decisions to pursue fellowship training and select a specific subspecialty, which can be used to inform strategies to better match the distribution of pediatric subspecialist with the needs of children. STUDY DESIGN: A longitudinal survey administered with the General Pediatrics In-training Exam to pediatric residents in the US and Canada, 2010-2014. The study included residents who responded in each of their first 3 years of residency and indicated plans to enter fellowship or matriculated, 2013-2016, into 1 of the 14 medical subspecialty fellowships for which the American Board of Pediatrics grants a certificate. Descriptive and χ2 statistics were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 7580 residents who completed 3 annual surveys (response rate 99%) 4963 (65.5%) indicated plans to pursue fellowship training and 2843 (37.5%) matriculated into fellowship. Residents who did not enter fellowship were in smaller residency programs and programs with less interest in fellowship among interns. Most residents who matriculated into fellowship (68.4%) planned to do so as interns and maintained that plan throughout residency. In contrast, 22.7% had selected a specific subspecialty as interns. Fellowship decisions were made later in residency by female residents, American Medical Graduates, and residents in programs where <50% of interns planned to pursue fellowship training. Timing and stability of decisions varied across subspecialty fields. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the timing of pediatric medical subspecialty fellowship decisions could be used to shape medical education and, ultimately, the pediatric workforce.

Variation in Part-Time Work among Pediatric Subspecialties.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the part-time workforce and average hours worked per week among pediatric subspecialists in the 15 medical subspecialties certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. STUDY DESIGN: We examined data from pediatric subspecialists who enrolled in Maintenance of Certification with the American Board of Pediatrics from 2009 to 2015. Data were collected via an online survey. Providers indicated whether they worked full time or part time and estimated the average number of hours worked per week in clinical, research, education, and administrative tasks, excluding time on call. We calculated and compared the range of hours worked by those in full- and part-time positions overall, by demographic characteristics, and by subspecialty. RESULTS: Overall, 9.6% of subspecialists worked part time. There was significant variation in part-time employment rates between subspecialties, ranging from 3.8% among critical care pediatricians to 22.9% among developmental-behavioral pediatricians. Women, American medical graduates, and physicians older than 70 years of age reported higher rates of part-time employment than men, international medical graduates, and younger physicians. There was marked variation in the number of hours worked across subspecialties. Most, but not all, full-time subspecialists reported working at least 40 hours per week. More than one-half of physicians working part time in hematology and oncology, pulmonology, and transplant hepatology reported working at least 40 hours per week. CONCLUSIONS: There are unique patterns of part-time employment and hours worked per week among pediatric medical subspecialists that make simple head counts inadequate to determine the effective workforce. Our findings are limited to the 15 American Board of Pediatrics-certified medical subspecialties.