Factors influencing decision to enter geriatric fellowship.

Abyad A.
Educational Gerontology. 2000; 26:97-105.

Background: The "specialty" of geriatrics is not a popular choice for graduates of internal medicine and family practice residencies. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that influence the decision of a primary care physician to enroll in a fellowship program in geriatrics.
Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to all practicing primary care physicians (N=1011) in the State of Arizona(n=1011).
Results: Of the 1011 physicians who were mailed questionnaires , 737 physicians returned the questionnaires for a response rate of 72.9 percent. Of these respondents, 242(32.8%) stated they would consider entering a geriatric fellowship. The likelihood of entering a fellowship is stongly influenced by the duration of the fellowship with 81.8% rating the importance of the length of the the fellowship.
Discussion : It is clear that recruiting fellows to enter a geriatric fellowship is difficult. The survey revealed that the length of the fellowship is an important factor in affecting the decision to enter such a fellowship. In addition to the need for multiple track to geriatric medicine.
Conclusion: The study sheds light on some factors which influence the decision to enter a geriatric fellowship. These factors need to be targeted, in any event, to improve the number of applicants in the future.