Priorities in the Neurotology Fellowship Match: A Survey Study of Program Directors and Fellows

Abstract

Among neurotology fellows, operative case load and breadth of surgical exposure are highly valued components of accredited fellowship training. Among neurotology fellowship program directors, candidates' performance during the fellowship interview appears to be highly valued, more so than the strength of applicants' letters of recommendation or prior research credentials.

Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship Websites: Information Considered Most Important to Fellowship Applicants

“…All of these studies found that surgical exposure, volume of surgery, caseload, and refinement of endoscopic surgery skills were considered highest priority when evaluating fellowship programs. 11 , 12 , 13 Applicant interest in program faculty is not unique to orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship applicants. Laryngology applicants considered a program’s emphasis on mentorship a component of highest importance when evaluating programs, and applicants to pediatric otolaryngology fellowships considered otology faculty reputation a component of greatest importance.…”

“…These components were identified after analyzing relevant literature for both orthopaedic subspecialty fellowship and other surgical subspecialties. 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 Survey participants were asked to rank each component on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “not at all important” to “very important.” The free response question at the end of the survey allowed participants to voluntarily share any other website information they considered important that was not included within one of the 3 categories.…”

Qualitative assessment of online information available on accredited head and neck surgery fellowship programs

“…Nearly all resources described specific areas of surgical exposure, but many programs did not provide an estimated operative volume. The aforementioned study evaluating neurotology fellowship web sites found that operative volume was the most important criterion considered by applicants 13 . This is likely to be of high interest to head and neck surgery fellowship applicants as well.…”

“…There is a growing body of literature concerned with the utility of information presented on fellowship and residency program web sites, both in otolaryngology 3,4 and in other specialties 5–11 . Moreover, several recent studies have identified factors important to fellowship applicants in a variety of otolaryngology subspecialties 12–14 . The present study aims to determine whether this information is readily available through the AHNS program directory and head and neck surgery fellowship web sites.…”

“…Poorly represented criteria included fellow selection criteria, information about the interview process, didactic schedule, information about work-life balance, and salary (1-3, 2-6%).3.2 |Institutional web sites 5%-97.9%). Less represented criteria were current fellow(s), previous fellows, job placement, operative volume, didactic schedule, protected academic time, and call schedule(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) 22.9%-41.7%). Lastly, program accreditation year, fellow selection criteria, interview process information, past research projects,T A B L E 2…”