Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2022 Sep;31(9):e436-e443. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2022.04.010. Epub 2022 May 11.
There exists anecdotal evidence that influential faculty members actively dissuade orthopedic surgery residents from pursuing a fellowship in shoulder and elbow due to a perceived lack of availability of jobs following graduation. The aims of the present study are to evaluate whether this perception is true by characterizing the early career opportunities and practice characteristics of recent graduates of shoulder and elbow fellowship programs through a survey of graduates of the past 5 years.
An anonymous 39-question survey was designed and approved by the leadership of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES). The survey was distributed via electronic mail to the fellowship directors and coordinators of the 31 ASES-recognized shoulder and elbow fellowship programs. The fellowship directors and coordinators then sent the survey to the shoulder and elbow fellowship graduates of the last 5 years (2016-2020). Following a total of 4 emails, the survey closed after 8 weeks, and descriptive statistical analysis was performed.
Seventy-six of 171 (44.4%) fellows responded. In total, 89.5% were very or somewhat satisfied with their fellowship experience, and 90.8% would pursue a shoulder and elbow fellowship again. Notably, 100% of shoulder and elbow fellowship graduates surveyed in the past 5 years have secured employment. The average number of total orthopedic and shoulder and elbow cases performed annually was 296.7 (SD 141.3) and 173.9 (SD 120.2), respectively. In addition, 62.7% and 89% of respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with the volume and surgical complexity of shoulder and elbow cases, respectively. For the fellows that believed their case experience to be inadequate, the most common reasons were competition from other practices (66.0%) and inadequate patient volume (59.6%).
Recent graduates of the ASES-recognized shoulder and elbow fellowship programs demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with the fellowship and their subspeciality selection. The majority of fellows believed that completing a shoulder and elbow fellowship enhanced their job opportunities. Altogether, there are ample job opportunities and high satisfaction with the volume and complexity of cases as an early career shoulder and elbow surgeon.
有传闻证据表明，由于毕业后就业机会不足，一些有影响力的教员积极劝阻骨科住院医师攻读肩肘 fellowship。本研究的目的是通过对过去 5 年肩肘 fellowship毕业生的调查，评估这种看法是否正确，以了解肩肘 fellowship毕业生的早期职业机会和实践特征。
设计了一份匿名的 39 个问题的调查问卷，并得到了美国肩肘外科医师学会（ASES）领导层的认可。该调查通过电子邮件分发给 31 个 ASES 认可的肩肘 fellowship项目的主任和协调员。然后，这些主任和协调员将调查发送给过去 5 年（2016-2020 年）的肩肘 fellowship毕业生。经过总共 4 封电子邮件，在 8 周后，调查结束，并进行了描述性统计分析。
在 171 名研究员中，有 76 名（44.4%）做出了回应。总的来说，89.5%的人对他们的 fellowship 经历非常满意或有些满意，90.8%的人会再次选择攻读肩肘 fellowship。值得注意的是，过去 5 年接受调查的所有肩肘 fellowship毕业生都已就业。每年完成的骨科和肩肘手术总数分别为 296.7（SD 141.3）和 173.9（SD 120.2）。此外，62.7%和 89%的受访者对肩肘手术的数量和手术复杂性非常满意或有些满意。对于那些认为自己的病例经验不足的研究员，最常见的原因是来自其他实践的竞争（66.0%）和患者数量不足（59.6%）。
最近从 ASES 认可的肩肘 fellowship项目毕业的研究员对 fellowship 和他们的亚专业选择表示高度满意。大多数研究员认为完成肩肘 fellowship增强了他们的就业机会。总的来说，作为一名早期职业的肩肘外科医生，有充足的工作机会，对病例数量和复杂性的满意度很高。
