Motivations, job procurement, and job satisfaction among current and former ultrasound fellows.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Over the past decade, emergency medicine ultrasound (US) fellowships have proliferated, yet there are no published data describing employment trends among fellowship graduates. This study sought to assess factors motivating emergency physicians to pursue an US fellowship and to characterize their employment and job satisfaction after graduation. METHODS: An electronic survey was conducted of US fellows and graduates representing all 35 known fellowship programs. Non-responders were contacted at 2 weeks to encourage participation. Primary outcome measurements were the importance of factors motivating individuals to pursue an US fellowship (as rated on a numeric scale), job satisfaction among US fellowship graduates, the proportion of respondents practicing in academic versus community hospitals, clinical hours per week, and the rate of procurement of one's top choice of job after graduation. The chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables, and the Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare continuous variables between two groups. RESULTS: Of 170 invitations sent, 10 were undeliverable. The response rate was 61%; 74 graduates and 23 fellows completed the survey. Enhancing job opportunities, enjoyment of US, long-term job satisfaction and gaining skills not learned in residency rated highest as reasons for pursuing an US fellowship. Among graduates, 20% are satisfied with their current job, while 78% are very satisfied or extremely satisfied. Nearly one-third of graduates (31%) work primarily in non-academic hospitals, while only 9% of current fellows aspire to work in non-academic settings in the future. There was no difference in job satisfaction between academic- and community-based graduates. In comparison to those graduating in previous years, fellows graduating in 2008 were less likely to get their top job (97% vs. 75.0%, p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Job satisfaction is high among US fellowship graduates and is unrelated to academic versus community affiliation. Three-fourths of recent graduates obtain their top choice of job upon completion of fellowship.