Characteristics of internal medicine residents who successfully match into cardiology fellowships

BACKGROUND: The unique traits of residents who matriculate into subspecialty fellowships are poorly understood. We sought to identify characteristics of internal medicine (IM) residents who match into cardiovascular (CV) fellowships. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 8 classes of IM residents who matriculated into residency from 2007 to 2014. The primary outcome was successful match to a CV fellowship within 1 year of completing IM residency. Independent variables included residents’ licensing exam scores, research publications, medical school reputation, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) membership, declaration of intent to pursue CV in the residency application personal statement, clinical evaluation scores, mini-clinical evaluation exercise scores, in-training examination (ITE) performance, and exposure to CV during residency. RESULTS: Of the 339 included residents (59% male; mean age 27) from 120 medical schools, 73 (22%) matched to CV fellowship. At the time of residency application, 104 (31%) had ≥1 publication, 38 (11%) declared intention to pursue CV in their residency application personal statement, and 104 (31%) were members of AOA. Prior to fellowship application, 111 (33%) completed a CV elective rotation. At the completion of residency training, 108 (32%) had ≥3 publications. In an adjusted logistic regression analysis, declaration of intention to pursue CV (OR 6.4, 99% CI 1.7–23.4; p < 0.001), completion of a CV elective (OR 7.3, 99% CI 2.8–19.0; p < 0.001), score on the CV portion of the PGY-2 ITE (OR 1.05, 99% CI 1.02–1.08; p < 0.001), and publication of ≥3 manuscripts (OR 4.7, 99% CI 1.1–20.5; p = 0.007) were positively associated with matching to a CV fellowship. Overall PGY-2 ITE score was negatively associated (OR 0.93, 99% CI 0.90–0.97; p < 0.001) with matching to a CV fellowship. CONCLUSIONS: Residents’ matriculation into CV fellowships was associated with declaration of CV career intent, completion of a CV elective rotation, CV medical knowledge, and research publications during residency. These findings may be useful when advising residents about pursuing careers in CV. They may also help residents understand factors associated with a successful match to a CV fellowship. The negative association between matching into CV fellowship and overall ITE score may indicate excessive subspecialty focus during IM residency.