Abstract
Purpose :
Despite increased expansion of ophthalmology fellowship positions in recent years, fellowship positions continue to go unfilled each year. This study aims to analyze the trends in fellowship vacancies since 2016 to help guide future program expansion.
Methods :
Aggregate data from 2016 to 2022 on the number of positions offered and unfilled among the three fellowships with the greatest number of positions (retina, cornea, and glaucoma) as well as total ophthalmology fellowship positions among all subspecialties were collected from the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology and the San Francisco Match. Regression analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel.
Results :
An overall increase in positions offered for retina, glaucoma, cornea, and total ophthalmology fellowships was observed over time. For retina and cornea fellowships, no change was observed in the percentage of unfilled positions (R-squared = 0.0008 and 0.0054, respectively), but an increase in the percentage of unfilled positions was observed for glaucoma fellowships (R-squared = 0.4532). Additionally, an increase in the percentage of unfilled positions was observed for total ophthalmology positions (R-squared = 0.5876) suggesting increasing rates of vacancies among fellowships in other ophthalmology subspecialties.
Conclusions :
Vacancies in retina and cornea fellowship positions remained stable while vacancies among glaucoma and total ophthalmology fellowship positions increased over the 6-year period under investigation. These findings suggest resident demand has matched the recent growth in retina and cornea fellowship positions but has lagged in glaucoma and total ophthalmology fellowship positions indicating a potential mismatch between fellowship expansion and resident interest. Further research is needed to gauge ophthalmology resident interest in fellowship programs with relatively high vacancies to help further guide departmental planning in approving fellowship spots and help guide resident’s career planning.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.