Where have all the pediatric anesthesiology fellows gone in the USA? Anesthesiology fellowship trends

Authors

Andrew J. Giustini, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Erica L. Sivak, Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Viviane G. Nasr, Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Franklyn P. Cladis, Department of Anesthesiology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Dean B. Andropoulos, Departments of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.
Nina Deutsch, Division of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, Children's National Hospital, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Justin L. Lockman, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Bree Bower, Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Marco Corridore, Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Matthew K. Muffly, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-24-2024

Journal

Paediatric anaesthesia

DOI

10.1111/pan.14844

Keywords

anesthesiology fellowship; fellowship match; pediatric anesthesiology workforce

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent consternation over the number of unfilled Pediatric Anesthesiology fellowship positions in the United States compelled us to assess the change in the ratio of Pediatric Anesthesiology fellows to the number of graduating anesthesiology residents over the 14-year period between 2008 and 2022. We also sought to report the total ratio of anesthesiology fellows to graduating residents and trends in the annual number of fellowship applicants relative to the number of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited anesthesiology fellowship positions by specialty. METHODS: We used publicly available resources, including ACGME Data Resource Books, National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) data, San Francisco (SF) Match data, and American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) data, to determine the ratio of anesthesiology fellows to graduating anesthesiology residents and to compare the number of fellowship applicants to fellowship positions for Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, Critical Care Anesthesiology, Obstetric Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Pediatric Anesthesiology. RESULTS: Since 2008, the ratio of ACGME-accredited anesthesiology fellows to graduating residents increased from 0.36 in 2008 (2007 residency graduates) to 0.59 in 2022 (2021 residency graduates) and the ratio of Pediatric Anesthesiology fellows to graduating residents remained relatively stable from 0.10 to 0.11. The number of unmatched positions in Pediatric Anesthesiology increased from 17 in 2017 to 86 in 2023, and all ACGME-accredited fellowships had more positions available than applicants in 2023. CONCLUSION: In the USA, while the ratio of Pediatric Anesthesiology fellowship graduates to anesthesiology residency graduates remained relatively constant from 2008 to 2022, this is likely a lagging indicator that has not yet accounted for the recent decrease in fellowship applicants. These findings refute prior estimates for a surplus in Pediatric Anesthesia supply in the USA and have significant implications for the future.

APA Citation

Giustini, Andrew J.; Sivak, Erica L.; Nasr, Viviane G.; Cladis, Franklyn P.; Andropoulos, Dean B.; Deutsch, Nina; Lockman, Justin L.; Bower, Bree; Corridore, Marco; and Muffly, Matthew K., "Where have all the pediatric anesthesiology fellows gone in the USA? Anesthesiology fellowship trends" (2024). GW Authored Works. Paper 4129.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/4129

Department

Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine