An Evaluation of Characteristics Associated with Academic Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Placement

Background:

Hematology is a discipline growing rapidly with advances in research and therapeutics. Thus, engagement with research, the understanding and conduct of it, is extremely important in the education and development of future hematologists. Academic fellowship programs affiliated with medical schools traditionally promote the development of academic hematologists. And so, understanding the factors associated with placement into academic fellowship programs is essential for tailoring training and support. This study aims to explore pre-fellowship characteristics that are associated with placement into academic hematology-oncology fellowships in the United States (US).

Methods:

We conducted a sampling of graduated fellow profiles available on the public websites of US hematology-oncology programs. To minimize over-representation from programs, even sampling of all available graduated fellows by year was done with a maximum of 10 per program. Characteristics analyzed included residency type (academic vs community), sex, international medical graduate (IMG) status, and pre-fellowship research productivity (number of Google Scholar publications in the 3 years prior to fellowship). Academics was defined as training in an institution associated with a medical school. Logistic regression modeling was utilized to identify characteristics associated with higher odds of initial academic fellowship placement.

Results:

We analyzed 519 fellows who graduated between 2007 and 2023, data was available from 63 out of the 181 programs in the US, representing 35% of all programs. Fellows of academic fellowships were more likely to have graduated from academic residencies (OR 13.7, 95% CI 7.39-26.4, p < 0.001). IMGs were more likely to be academic fellows compared to non-IMGs (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.24-4.54, p = 0.010). Pre-fellowship scholarly productivity did not reach statistical significance (Tertile 2: OR 1.84, 95% CI 0.93-3.69, p = 0.081; Tertile 3: OR 1.80, 95% CI 0.86-3.80, p = 0.12). Sex did not show a significant association with fellowship placement (OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.63-2.05, p = 0.7).

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that academic fellows had higher odds of being IMGs and coming from academic residencies. Pre-fellowship research productivity did not show a significant association with academic fellowship placement. An explanation is that the quantity of research does not necessarily imply quality; further investigation is needed to establish its significance. Additionally, IMGs might seek academic placements more frequently than community placements. These insights highlight critical areas where fellowship programs can enhance support for aspiring academic oncologists.

Sharma:Vertex Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment.