National study of continuity clinic satisfaction in pediatric fellowship training

BACKGROUND: A national online survey was conducted to evaluate pediatric subspecialty fellow satisfaction regarding continuity clinic experience. METHODS: An anonymous online survey (SurveyMonkey™) was developed to evaluate demographics of the program, clinic organization, and patient and preceptor characteristics, and to compare fellow satisfaction when fellows were the primary providers with faculty supervision versus attending-run clinics assisted by fellows or a combination of the two models. Pediatric subspecialty fellows in a 3-year Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited program in the United States (excluding emergency medicine, neonatology, and critical care) were invited to participate. RESULTS: There were 644 respondents and nearly half (54%) of these had fellow-run clinics. Eighty-six percent of fellows responded that they would prefer to have their own continuity clinics. Higher satisfaction ratings on maintaining continuity of care, being perceived as the primary provider, and feeling that they had greater autonomy in patient management were associated with being part of a fellow-run clinic experience (all P < 0.001). Additionally, fellow-run clinics were associated with a feeling of increased involvement in designing a treatment plan based on their differential diagnosis (P < 0.001). There were no significant associations with patient or preceptor characteristics. CONCLUSION: Fellow-run continuity clinics provide fellows with a greater sense of satisfaction and independence in management plans.