Why Do Residents Pursue Fellowship Training in Geriatric Medicine?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Despite the important role of Geriatricians in our society, there is a shortage of Geriatric Medicine specialists. This study surveyed fellows enrolled in ACGME approved Geriatric Medicine fellowships in the United States for insight into why they joined a Geriatric Medicine fellowship. Methods Survey links were sent to all Geriatric Medicine Program Directors from July–Sept in 2019 and 2020 and we asked them to share the surveys with their fellows. Survey responses were summarized using descriptive statistics. The Likert‐scaled dataset was analyzed with percentage of responses for each item related to “influence” and “barrier” domains. We examined the associations between variables using the Chi‐Square test. The free‐text fields were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results There were 149 respondents (80% female) and approximately half of the respondents were from foreign medical schools (52%). Geriatric Medicine was the first fellowship choice for 75% of respondents. Among respondents who were US medical graduates, 89% chose Geriatric Medicine as first‐choice specialty for fellowship, in contrast to 61.5% among the Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) ( p < 0.001). Major reasons why fellows chose Geriatric Medicine were unique career opportunities and care of complex patients. The largest barrier/concern for pursuing Geriatric Medicine fellowship was the low salary associated with the field. Conclusions As the first national survey of Geriatric Medicine fellows evaluating their reasons for pursuing a Geriatric Medicine fellowship, these results can be used by Geriatric Medicine fellowship programs and health care systems to improve recruitment into Geriatric Medicine fellowships.