A 35-year experience with the post-sophomore fellowship in pathology: analysis of its effectiveness as a recruitment resource.
Recent reports have indicated a shortage of pathologists coming out of training programs over the next few years. This is due, in part, to a decrease in the number of medical students entering pathology and an overall decline in the popularity of the field as a specialty choice. Medical students electing to spend a year in a post-sophomore fellowship in pathology would be expected to enter the field at a higher than average rate. In this study, the specialty choices of 140 former student fellows were analyzed. The students included in the study were enrolled in a year-long University of California, Los Angeles post-sophomore fellowship in pathology between 1953 and 1988. Twenty-seven of the 140 students (19.3%) ultimately chose pathology as a career. This represents a 9- to 10-fold increase over the average percentage of medical students entering pathology through the match (less than 2%) for any given year. Of all students from the University of California, Los Angeles who entered pathology, 75% did not elect to spend a year in fellowship. Eighty percent of the former fellows chose some other field, medicine and surgery being the most popular choices.
Dodd
L G
LG
Department of Pathology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030.
Rosenthal
D L
DL
Cancilla
P
P
D015331:Cohort Studies; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D010336:Pathology / Q000193:education*; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000379:methods; D000078329:Workforce