P0907 - Factors Affecting Fellowship Choices Among US Residents: A Nationwide Survey

Mahum Nadeem, MD, Gina Moon, MD, Nimrah Bader, MBBS, Catiele Antunes, MD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Introduction: Despite the recognition of gender parity in medicine as crucial for creating a culture of diversity and equity, women are under-represented in the field of gastroenterology (GI). From 2007 to 2019, the total number of Internal Medicine female physicians have increased from 32% to 43 %. In GI the trend has not been the same. In fact, as of 2019, only a third of the gastroenterology trainees and 18% of practicing gastroenterologists were females. Literature is scarce on factors limiting female residents from pursuing a career in gastroenterology. To address this, we designed this nationwide survey.

Methods: 500 ACGME accredited Internal Medicine and Medicine-Pediatrics programs were identified via FREIDA database. Individual emails were sent to program directors and program coordinators starting in May 2021.

Results: A total of 144 residents have completed the survey until now. Demographics are shown in the figure A. Sixty-eight percent of respondents were interested in applying for a fellowship with the top 3 choices being GI (23%), Cardiology (13 %), and Pulmonary and Critical care (11%). Notably, 44 % (n=64) responded that they have previously considered a career in GI but of those, only about half (n=35) still have a plan to pursue. Of all the females who reported interest in GI, less than half (20 out 43) are still planning on applying for a GI fellowship.

Among the factors cited by women no longer considering a career in GI are competitiveness of the fellowship, having a female mentor (70%) and exposure to GI during residency (97%) greatly impacted their career choice. Interestingly, 53% of these women didn’t have any female faculty in their GI department.

More than half of the total respondents perceive GI as not female-friendly and only a quarter believed that endoscopy may be more challenging for women. Three-fourths of the total participants agreed that there is a need for more women in GI. Having a supportive partner, paid maternity leaves, work-life balance, financial security, proximity to family, and student loans were highlighted as some of the major factors that affect career choices in women.



Discussion: Preliminary results from our nationwide survey shows that >50% females who had interest in GI will not pursue a Gastroenterology fellowship career. Major reasons identified include lack of same sex mentorship, lack of clinical exposure during residency and rarity of female GI faculty in their respective institutes.




Figure: Demographic and Variables recorded in our Nationwide survey


Disclosures:
Mahum Nadeem indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Gina Moon indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Nimrah Bader indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Catiele Antunes indicated no relevant financial relationships.


Mahum Nadeem, MD, Gina Moon, MD, Nimrah Bader, MBBS, Catiele Antunes, MD. P0907 - Factors Affecting Fellowship Choices Among US Residents: A Nationwide Survey, ACG 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Las Vegas, Nevada: American College of Gastroenterology.