BackgroundInterest in nephrology careers among internal medicine residents in the United States is declining. Our objective was to assess the impact of the presence of a nephrology fellowship training program on perceptions and career interest in nephrology among internal medicine residents. A secondary objective was to identify commonly endorsed negative perceptions of nephrology among internal medicine residents.MethodsThis was a repeated cross-sectional survey of internal medicine residents before (Group 1) and 3 years after (Group 2) the establishment of nephrology fellowship programs at two institutions. The primary outcome was the percentage of residents indicating nephrology as a career interest in Group 1 vs. Group 2. Secondary outcomes included the frequency that residents agreed with negative statements about nephrology.Results131 (80.9%) of 162 residents completed the survey. 19 (14.8%) residents indicated interest in a nephrology career, with 8 (6.3%) indicating nephrology as their first choice. There was no difference in career interest in nephrology between residents who were exposed to nephrology fellows during residency training (Group 2) and residents who were not (Group 1). The most commonly endorsed negative perceptions of nephrology were: nephrology fellows have long hours/burdensome call (36 [28.1%] of residents agreed or strongly agreed), practicing nephrologists must take frequent/difficult call (35 [27.6%] agreed or strongly agreed), and nephrology has few opportunities for procedures (35 [27.3%] agreed or strongly agreed). More residents in Group 2 agreed that nephrology is poorly paid (8.9% in Group 1 vs. 20.8% in Group 2, P = 0.04), whereas more residents in Group 1 agreed that nephrologists must take frequent/difficult call (40.0% in Group 1 vs. 18.1% in Group 2, P = 0.02).ConclusionsThe initiation of a nephrology fellowship program was not associated with an increase in internal medicine residents’ interest in nephrology careers. Residents endorsed several negative perceptions of nephrology, which may affect career choice.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important risk factor for coronary artery disease, yet patients with CKD are less likely to undergo coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We retrospectively analyzed the 2006-2012 National Inpatient Sample Database to examine the temporal trends in coronary angiography and PCI among patients without CKD, with advanced CKD (CKD III-V), and with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) presenting with unstable angina/non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTE-ACS) and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). A total of 579,747 admissions for NSTE-ACS and 293,950 admissions for STEMI were studied. Patients with NSTE-ACS were less likely to undergo coronary angiography/PCI than those with STEMI, irrespective of CKD. Between 2006 and 2012, performance of PCI saw an uptrend across all CKD groups with NSTE-ACS (no CKD, 29.9%-36.8%; CKD III-V, 18.2%-21.5%; ESRD, 19.8%-27.5%; all < 0.01) and STEMI (no CKD, 57.0%-76.0%; CKD III-V, 33.0%-52.6%; ESRD, 29.9%-42.9%; < 0.01). Multivariate analyses revealed that PCI was associated with a lower risk of hospital mortality across all degrees of CKD in both NSTE-ACS (adjusted odds ratios: no CKD, 0.44; CKD III-V, 0.48; ESRD, 0.46; < 0.01) and STEMI (no CKD, 0.35; CKD III-V, 0.50; ESRD, 0.52; < 0.01). Performance of PCI increased over time among patients presenting with NSTE-ACS and STEMI in the presence of advanced CKD and independently predicted lower in-hospital mortality.
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