An Analysis of How Neurology Trainees Select Neurology Fellowships (P2.355)

Objective: Discover how neurology trainees select fellowships in the United States. Background: Past AAN surveys indicate that the majority of neurology residents attend fellowships after residency. A formal evaluation of which factors influence members’ selection of fellowships has not been performed. This survey sought to answer this question from the perspective of current residents, current fellows and those who recently completed fellowship. Methods: Using AAN’s membership database, participants were sent an invitation to complete a survey based on the following criteria: 1) a current member of AAN as of September 2015; 2) a resident in Post Graduate Year-3 or -4, a current fellow, or those who completed a fellowship within the past two years; 3) located in the United States; 4) have not received an AAN survey in the past 6 months; and 5) have a valid email address on file. Frequencies were tabulated for all questions and a rank sum score was used to evaluate how respondents ranked their top three choices for factors that influenced fellowship selection. Results: Of the 805 members who responded, the top three ranked factors for influencing the selection of fellowships were: 1) clinical interest, 2) personal interest, and 3) research interest. As seen in past AAN surveys, role models continue to play an important role in influencing fellowship decisions (ranked 4th). Exposure to the fellowship or subspecialty area emerged in the open-ended comments as another important factor in influencing fellowship decisions. Conclusions: Interest in the topic (whether it is clinical, personal or research), appears to be the most important factor in choosing a fellowship. Results also indicate there is a lack of exposure to fellowship and subspecialty areas during neurology residency training; lack of exposure may prevent trainees from selecting certain fellowships, and future AAN resident surveys should further examine this paucity.