Trends in Mohs surgery fellowship directors

The purpose of this study is to illustrate demographic trends among Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS) Fellowship Directors. Our search was constructed from the 2022 to 2023 Mohs Micrographic Surgery Fellowship Directory on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) website. Datapoints gathered included: age, sex, residency/fellowship training location, time since training completion until FD appointment, length in FD role, and personal research H-index. We identified 77 FDs, of which all 77 were included in this study. The mean age was 55.5 years; 55 (71.4%) were men and 20 (26.0%) were women. Most of the FDs who completed the survey did not self-report ethnicity or race, so these measures were not included. The top residency institutions that produced the most FDs were Cleveland Clinic (n = 4), Mayo Clinic (n = 4), New York University Medical Center (NYU, n = 4), and University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA, n = 4); the top fellowship institutions were NYU (n = 7), UCLA (n = 5), Cleveland Clinic (n = 4), and Geisinger Medical Center (n = 4). The mean H-index was 15.9, the mean number of peer-reviewed publications was 71, and the mean time from training completion until FD appointment was 10 years. Our results indicate that a majority of FDs are men (71.4%) and that FDs are more likely to have graduated from certain residency and fellowship programs.

Gynecologic oncology fellowship leadership trends by gender

Our objective was to examine the educational, research, and leadership trends among gynecologic oncology (GYO) fellowship program directors (PD) and how these vary by gender. PDs were identified using the Society of Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Directory. Surveys were sent to PDs' emails to obtain information about demographics, education, and research background. Publicly available data and institutional biographies were used to supplement primary survey data for incomplete responses or survey non-responders. Scopus was used to determine the h-index and number of publications and citations for each PD. Parametric data were compared using unpaired two-tailed t-tests. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were performed for categorical data. The significance level was p < 0.05. Approximately one-half of PDs were female (50.8%). Female PDs had a younger mean age than male PDs (46.4 years vs 51.9 years, p = 0.0014). The average overall h-index was 22 (SD = 14.5) and the average number of publications was 71.2 (SD = 63.3). The average h-index was higher in male PDs than females (27.8 vs 16.3, p = 0.0012), as were the number of publications (97.3 vs 45.8, p = 0.0008). Differences exist among GYO PDs by gender. While research productivity may be reflective of age, gender-based equity in research time should be further explored.

Cross-sectional Evaluation of Neurotology Fellowship Directors: A Present-day Snapshot of Leadership

Objective

To identify demographic, training, and career trends of neurotology fellowship directors (FDs).

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

United States.

Subjects

All 26 neurotology FDs identified using the American Neurotology Society (ANS) ACGME Accredited Neurotology Fellowship Program Directory, accessed November 2021.

Main Outcome Measures

Data were collected via CVs, institutional biographies, and emailed questionnaires. Data collected includes age, gender, race and ethnicity, residency and fellowship training institution, time since training completion until FD, length of time as FD, and Hirsch-index (h-index).

Results

Twenty-six FDs were identified, and 17/26 (65.4%) FDs responded to the questionnaire. The majority (23/26; 88.5%) were male. The mean age of male and female FDs was 56 versus 47 years, respectively. Of the 17 that responded to the survey, 82.4% (14/17) self-identified as Caucasian. The mean h-index was 25.4. Older age correlated with a higher h-index (r = 0.46, P = 0.019). The duration (mean ± SD, years) from fellowship graduation to FD appointment was 10.7 ± 8.1 and 6.3 ± 4.8 from institutional hire. Six (23.1%) FDs had secondary graduate degrees, and 9 (34.6%) held a leadership position at a national otolaryngology organization.

Conclusion

This observational study assesses demographic data on current neurotology FDs in the United States with an analysis of gender disparities. The objective measures identified can provide a baseline for growth in FD leadership.

Demographics and characteristics of leadership at allergy and immunology fellowships in the U.S. as of 2022

Background: The subspecialty of allergy and immunology (AI) has grown tremendously since the first fellowship programs were developed nearly 80 years ago; however, there is little information with regard to the demographic characteristics and trends in training of fellowship directors (FDs). Objective: Our goal was to analyze the demographic characteristics and pathways in training that have led FDs to advance in the field and train the next generation of allergists and immunologists. Methods: We created a list of all current AI fellowship programs and FDs within the United States. Specific biographical, training, and research information was collected via an Internet search and questionnaire responses. The data were recorded and analyzed in a spreadsheet and unpaired t-tests were performed between male versus female groups for H - index comparison to establish if there was a statistically significant difference. Results: There were 84 total AI fellowship programs with 84 FDs. Forty-one FDs (48.8%) were men and 43 FDs (51.2%) were women; mean age was 51.1 years; and the average age at appointment for men was 45.7 years and for women was 41.4 years, with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.02). Self-reported race and ethnicity (77.4% response rate [n = 65]) were as follows: 55.4% white (n = 36), 23.1% Asian (n = 15), 6.2% biracial (n = 4), 7.7% Middle Eastern (n = 5), 4.6% Hispanic (n = 3), and 3.1% Black (n = 2). The average Hirsch-index (h-index) for FDs was 14.2, with an average of 42.1 publications and 1532.2 citations. The difference between the h-index for the men and for the women was statistically significant, being 17.8 and 11.2 respectively, with p = 0.0143. Conclusion: In AI FDs, women were adequately represented, and men and women were hired at similar ages. There was a statistically significant difference in research output (estimated by the h-index) between men and women. This suggests that research output did not limit women in being appointed as FDs.

Trends in leadership at breast surgical oncology fellowships

Introduction

Breast surgical oncology is a defined sub-specialty of general surgery that focuses on the surgical management of breast disease and malignancy within a multidisciplinary context. The fellowship directors (FD) that lead these programs have been selected for their abilities. As programs do research to ensure proper training for the next generation of breast surgical oncologists, we wanted to look into the FDs responsible for their training.

Methods

The Breast Surgical Oncology care program list was compiled via the Society of Surgical Oncology and American Society of Breast Surgeons Accredited programs (n = 60). The demographic information that was of interest included, but was not limited to, gender, age, ethnicity/background, past residency training, past fellowship training, year graduated from residency and fellowship, year since graduation to FD appointment, time at institution till FD appointment, and Hirsch index (h-index).

Results

Data were collected on all 60 FDs. The average age of FDs was 52 years old, 27% of FDs are men and 73% of FDs are women. The average H-index, number of publications, and number of citations were 19, 67, and 2648, respectively. The mean graduation year from residency was 2003, and from fellowship was 2006; with a mean of 9 years post fellowship graduation until becoming an FD. The most frequently attended residency was Rush (n = 4), and the most common fellowships were Memorial Sloan Kettering (n = 8), MD Anderson Cancer Center (n = 7), and John Wayne Cancer Institute (n = 4). Nine of the FDs stayed at the same institution after doing both residency and fellowship there (15%).

Conclusion

This is the first study to examine the demographics of those in FD positions in Surgical Breast Oncology, which is a relatively young fellowship. We found that FDs in Breast Surgical Oncology are defined by their high output of research. This qualification may be why the average age, and the number of years to FD are higher compared to other specialties where this research has been undertaken. Initial evaluation of FDs suggest more diversity in this field is needed. Further insight into the leaders training our next generation of surgeons is warranted.