Erickson Jonathan G, Johnson Kristina P, Grogan Brian F, Cannada Lisa K, Whiting Paul S
Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI, USA.
Hughston Clinic & Novant Health, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
JSES Rev Rep Tech. 2021 Jan 1;1(2):151-154. doi: 10.1016/j.xrrt.2020.12.001. eCollection 2021 May.
Orthopedic fellowship positions continue to be increasingly competitive, with most orthopedic residency graduates pursuing fellowship after completion of residency. Shoulder and elbow fellowship training represents an increasingly competitive and relatively smaller cohort of applicants than other subspecialties; there are only 29 programs with a total of 40 offered positions. The purpose of this survey is to identify and rank factors considered most important by shoulder and elbow fellowship directors when identifying potential fellowship candidates.
A web-based survey was emailed to all 29 orthopedic shoulder and elbow fellowship directors recognized by American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons. Demographic information was collected regarding program size, total number of applicants interviewed, and total number of applicants subsequently ranked. The survey also included a list of twelve applicant characteristics which each program director was asked to rank in a sequential order (most important to least). The median score of each factor was calculated, and a weighted score was applied to the top five (of twelve) categories selected by each program. Five points were given to the top-ranked factor. Four points were given to factors ranked 2, three points to factors ranked 3, two points to factors ranked 4, and one point to factors ranked 5. The weighted scores were then used to determine the most highly desired applicant characteristics.
Twenty-two of 29 (76%) orthopedic shoulder and elbow fellowship programs responded to the survey. Fourteen of 22 (64%) programs interview 20 or fewer applicants each year. No programs ranked more than 25 applicants. Twelve of 22 (55%) of program directors rated the interview as the most important factor, whereas 6 of 22 (27%) selected letters of recommendation. Based on the weighted score calculation, interviews, letters of recommendation, and personal connections to the applicant/letter writers comprised the top three categories, respectively, and captured 193 of 330 (58%) of the total available points in the weighted score. Strength of shoulder/elbow experience in residency, ties to the geographical area, and comments made regarding technical competence scored among the lowest factors.
Orthopedic shoulder and elbow fellowship directors consistently ranked interviews, letters of recommendation, and personal connection to applicant/letter writer higher than other factors when ranking applicants. This information provides both program directors as well as applicants with important information to consider when navigating the shoulder and elbow fellowship application process.
骨科专科医师培训职位的竞争愈发激烈，大多数骨科住院医师毕业后都会继续追求专科医师培训。与其他亚专科相比，肩肘专科医师培训的竞争日益激烈，申请者群体相对较小；仅有29个项目，共提供40个职位。本调查的目的是确定并对肩肘专科医师培训主任在确定潜在专科医师培训候选人时认为最重要的因素进行排名。
通过电子邮件向美国肩肘外科医师协会认可的所有29位骨科肩肘专科医师培训主任发送了一项基于网络的调查问卷。收集了有关项目规模、面试的申请者总数以及随后排名的申请者总数的人口统计学信息。该调查还包括一份十二项申请者特征的清单，要求每位项目主任按顺序（从最重要到最不重要）进行排名。计算每个因素的中位数得分，并对每个项目选择的十二项中的前五项类别应用加权得分。排名第一的因素得5分。排名第二的因素得4分，排名第三的因素得3分，排名第四的因素得2分，排名第五的因素得1分。然后使用加权得分来确定最受期望的申请者特征。
29个骨科肩肘专科医师培训项目中有22个（76%）回复了调查。22个项目中有14个（64%）每年面试20名或更少的申请者。没有项目对超过25名申请者进行排名。22名项目主任中有12名（55%）将面试评为最重要的因素，而22名中有6名（27%）选择了推荐信。根据加权得分计算，面试、推荐信以及与申请者/写信人的个人关系分别位列前三类，在加权得分中占可用总分330分中的193分（58%）。住院医师阶段肩肘经验的丰富程度、与地理区域的联系以及关于技术能力的评价得分在最低因素之中。
在对申请者进行排名时，骨科肩肘专科医师培训主任始终将面试、推荐信以及与申请者/写信人的个人关系排在高于其他因素的位置。这些信息为项目主任和申请者在进行肩肘专科医师培训申请过程中提供了重要的参考信息。
