463 - The Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Application Webinar Series: A Novel Approach to Help Candidates Succeed
Friday, April 28, 2023
5:15 PM – 7:15 PM ET
Poster Number: 463 Publication Number: 463.122
Sasha Amiri, Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States; Michelle J. Bartlett, University of Washington School of Medicine, SEATTLE, WA, United States; Ellen Ribar, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO, United States; Yingying Zheng, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, greenville, NC, United States; Nicolle Fernandez. Dyess, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO, United States; Ashley M. Lucke, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, United States; Heather French, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Fellow Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center Chicago, Illinois, United States
Background: In 2022, 13,586 candidates applied to subspecialty fellowships. Formal resources for specialty-specific fellowship application education are limited. Candidates are expected to rely on residency application experience, word-of-mouth advice, and online research for navigating the application process. Objective: To assess the impact and utility of a national virtual curriculum in assisting trainees with the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (NPM) fellowship application process. Design/Methods: In 2022, the AAP Organization of NPM Training Program Directors (ONTPD) and Trainees and Early Career Neonatologists (TECaN) co-hosted a four-part national webinar series to educate candidates on the NPM fellowship application and interview processes. Webinars were advertised through list-servs and social media, conducted in two time zones, and recorded for asynchronous viewing online. Registration, demographic data, and questions for panelists were collected via REDCap survey. Program evaluation data was collected after each webinar and following the fellowship match. Results: In the 2022 appointment year, 310 candidates participated in the NPM fellowship matchand 248 individuals registered for the webinar series (Table 1). 64% and 81% of registrants reported minimal/no knowledge of the fellowship application (158/248) and interview (201/248) processes. 70% of registrants (173/248) were planning on applying to fellowship in 2022. Description of the webinar series is shown in Table 2. 91% of post-webinar respondents (43/47) felt the webinars were moderately or extremely helpful, a finding that was sustained beyond the match (37/42). All candidates rated the quality of the webinars as good or higher, and were likely or very likely to recommend them to peers. There is considerable variability in the number of fellowship programs applied to/interviewed at/ranked, factors influencing rank list, and primary scholarly interest (Table 3). Candidates also identify opportunities for residency programs to better prepare them for fellowship applications.
Conclusion(s): We describe a national virtual curriculum to prepare trainees for the fellowship application and interview process. This webinar series provides needed education to fellowship candidates, bridges the gap between candidate knowledge and program director expectations, is generalizable to other specialties, and can be replicated with minimal resources.
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