Kumar Anika, Morse Jonathan R, Wong Rupa K, Oatts Julius T
Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California.
University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
J AAPOS. 2025 Aug 11:104606. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2025.104606.
The current shortage of pediatric ophthalmologists leaves many children without access to timely care. Almost half of pediatric ophthalmology fellowship positions go unfilled annually. The purpose of this study was to investigate residency factors associated with pursuit of a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology.
An online questionnaire designed to elicit information about residency program characteristics, exposure to pediatric ophthalmology, and resident pursuit of fellowships between 2018 and 2023 was sent to all United States ophthalmology residency program directors. Univariate logistic regression models were used to assess the factors associated with programs having at least one resident pursue a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship.
The survey response rate was 54% (66/121 eligible programs). More than half (56%) reported residents' initial exposure to pediatric ophthalmology in the PGY-2 year. Mean (with standard deviation) total days of resident exposure to pediatric ophthalmology was 66.32 ± 27.90. Forty programs (61%) graduated at least 1 resident who pursued a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship during the study period. In univariate logistic regression, larger residency program size, higher number of pediatric ophthalmologists on core faculty, and presence of a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship were all significantly associated with residents pursuing a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship (all P < 0.05).
Over half of programs responding to the survey had a resident pursue pediatric ophthalmology fellowship in the last 5 years. Relational factors, such as pediatric ophthalmology-specific mentorship, were the most important predictors of pediatric ophthalmology fellowship pursuit. Increasing access to faculty, connecting residents to fellows, and organizing mentorship programs could be effective strategies to foster greater interest in pediatric ophthalmology as a career.
目前儿科眼科医生短缺，许多儿童无法获得及时治疗。每年几乎有一半的儿科眼科专科住院医师职位空缺。本研究的目的是调查与追求儿科眼科专科住院医师培训相关的住院医师培训因素。
向所有美国眼科住院医师培训项目主任发送了一份在线问卷，旨在获取有关住院医师培训项目特征、儿科眼科接触情况以及2018年至2023年住院医师对专科住院医师培训追求情况的信息。使用单因素逻辑回归模型评估与至少有一名住院医师追求儿科眼科专科住院医师培训的项目相关的因素。
调查回复率为54%（66/121个符合条件的项目）。超过一半（56%）的项目报告称住院医师在PGY-2年首次接触儿科眼科。住院医师接触儿科眼科的平均总天数（标准差）为66.32±27.90天。40个项目（61%）在研究期间毕业了至少1名追求儿科眼科专科住院医师培训的住院医师。在单因素逻辑回归中，较大的住院医师培训项目规模、核心教员中儿科眼科医生数量较多以及存在儿科眼科专科住院医师培训均与住院医师追求儿科眼科专科住院医师培训显著相关（所有P<0.05）。
对调查做出回应的项目中，超过一半在过去5年中有住院医师追求儿科眼科专科住院医师培训。关系因素，如儿科眼科特定的指导，是追求儿科眼科专科住院医师培训的最重要预测因素。增加教员的可及性、将住院医师与专科住院医师联系起来以及组织指导项目可能是培养对儿科眼科作为职业更大兴趣的有效策略。
