Pilot survey assessing neurology resident opinions/knowledge of the fellowship application process.

A majority of neurology residents pursue fellowship, however there is no standardized system for application. Variable timelines and methods of application (match, direct, both), along with the increasing numbers of applicants, are key challenges to the process. To date, no published studies have examined neurology resident opinions/knowledge of the fellowship application process.

IRB-approved surveys were administered to adult PGY2/pediatric neurology PGY3 (n=13) and adult PGY3/pediatric neurology PGY4 residents (n=11) at Stanford in October 2018. Survey questions addressed: whether the resident had chosen their fellowship, familiarity with the application process, and methods of improving the application process.

At the time of abstract submission, 54% of the PGY2 (7/13) and 73% (8/11) of the PGY3 class had been surveyed. Of the 7 PGY2 respondents, only 1 had chosen their fellowship; the remainder were undecided. Of the 8 PGY3 respondents, all had chosen their fellowship in either PGY2 or early PGY3 year (except 1 who had chosen not to pursue fellowship). A majority (86%) of PGY2 residents and 63% of PGY3 residents ranked their familiarity with the application process and deadlines for specialties within their areas of interest at their home institution as “not familiar at all” or “slightly familiar.” All PGY3s and 86% of PGY2s rated the timing of fellowship applications as “far too early” or “somewhat early.” The highest ranking choices for improvements were: education sessions, established deadlines, and publication of a fellowship application resource.

Our limited single-institution pilot survey suggests that many residents feel unfamiliar with the fellowship application process and a majority feel that fellowship deadlines are early in training. Suggested methods of improvement include publishing a fellowship application resource. These results may ultimately impact changes to the application process, which may benefit both residents and fellowship programs.