Critical Evaluation of the Efficiency of Colorectal Fellowship Websites: Cross-sectional Study

A Cross-Sectional Study of Graduate Medical Education in Radiological Fellowships using Accessible Content

Graduate medical education in radiology serves an imperative role in training the next generation of specialists. Given the regularity of virtual interviews, the website of a fellowship programs remains a critical first-line source of information of applicants. The aim of this study is to systematically evaluate 7 radiology fellowship programs utilizing a systematic process. A cross-sectional descriptive 286 graduate medical education fellowship programs in radiology were screened from the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA). Extracted data was evaluated for comprehensiveness using 20 content criteria, and a readability score is calculated. The mean comprehensiveness among all fellowship program websites was 55.8% (n = 286), and the average FRE among the program overview sections was 11.9 (n = 214). ANOVA revealed no statistical significance in program website comprehensiveness between radiology fellowships (P = 0.33). The quality of a program's website data continues to serve an important role in an applicant's decision-making. Fellowship programs have improved in their content availability overtime, but content reevaluation needs to be continued for tangible improvement.

Analyzing the Content Found on Fellowship Websites for Adult Congenital Heart Disease

The Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) fellowship is a two-year fellowship that can be done by physicians who have finished their internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship. This study evaluated the accessibility and provided information on the websites of the ACHD fellowship programs to identify potential areas of improvement for future fellowship applicants. Analysis of 25 ACHD fellowship program websites was conducted based on 34 criteria under three main categories: recruitment information, education and research information, and incentive information. This study found that many evaluated ACHD program websites lacked information regarding recruitment. Specifically, information regarding mentorship opportunities, hospital statistics/number of beds, selection process, and interview dates, leaving out crucial details on what to expect during the matching process. Additionally, more information on education and research is beneficial for applicants to sufficiently compare ACHD fellowship programs and make more informed decisions about which programs they would like to apply to. Information on academic stipends, evaluation criteria, expected caseload, moonlighting opportunities, elective opportunities, rotation schedules, call requirements, and types of procedures were all limited across multiple websites. Lastly, incentive information was found to be insufficient across most ACHD fellowship websites. Incentive information included fellow wellness, harassment policies, parental leave, salary, benefits, and vacation/sick leave. This study shows that ACHD fellowship programs need to supply more information on their websites to provide applicants with details to help them choose the fellowship program that corresponds best with their career goals. Expanding upon information regarding recruitment, education, research, and incentives will provide applicants with a strong understanding of ACHD fellowship programs and what they can expect throughout their education. In return, this will help ACHD fellowship programs attract stronger applicants, ultimately improving the quality of their respective programs.

Evaluation of the Content of Ophthalmology Fellowship Program Web sites

Purpose To assess the availability and content of fellowship program Web sites (FPWs) among ophthalmology subspecialties.

Design This is a cross-sectional study.

Subjects Web sites of all Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology-accredited fellowship programs in five subspecialties (i.e., surgical retina and vitreous; cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery; glaucoma; neuro-ophthalmology; and pediatric ophthalmology).

Methods FPWs were assessed for the presence of 26 key content criteria encompassing program demographics (n = 13), features (n = 10), and social life (n = 3). The presence of each content criterion as well as the content criteria groups were compared across subspecialties.

Main Outcome Measures The main outcome measured is the average percentage of key content criteria present among ophthalmology fellowship Web sites.

Results Among 266 accredited fellowship programs, 240 (90.2%) had Web sites. On average, Web sites reported 14.9 of 26 key content criteria (57.2%), 8.29 of 13 demographic criteria (63.8%), 5.84 of the 10 program features criteria (58.4%), and 0.705 of the 3 social life criteria (23.5%). Significant differences were identified among subspecialties in the presence of program description (p = 0.046), hospital affiliation (p < 0.001), names of current fellows (p = 0.004), case diversity (p = 0.001), and surgical statistics (p = 0.015). The average number of key criteria differed between subspecialties (p < 0.001).

Conclusion There is significant heterogeneity in program fellowship Web site content among ophthalmology subspecialties. Information regarding social life, such as wellness programs and community information, was largely absent across all disciplines. Addressing missing information on ophthalmology FPWs may help optimize program-applicant fit.