Patient expectations for specialized
medical care have spawned
fellowship programs that require additional subspecialty
training after
residency training completion. The present study assessed the
curricula and
training environment adequacy of
fellowship programs as perceived by current trainees and identified improvement areas for
South Korea's overall
fellowship program. A
questionnaire was distributed to 1,764 fellows
training at 6
university hospitals in
Seoul,
Korea during October 2014. From a return rate of 33.1%, 26.2% (403 responses) of all
questionnaires distributed were compete enough to include in the
analysis. Fellows participating in the
survey were enrolled in
fellowship programs with occupational aspirations of professorship and academic aspirations of subspecialty exploration. Nevertheless, more than half of the participating fellows did not have a clear
understanding of their program's objectives. Many hoped for reduced clinical hours, increased
research time allowance, and higher pay compared to current
training environment and
salary. The fellows'
satisfaction with their program's
curriculum and
training environment was above 3 points on a Likert scale of 1 to 5. Receiving a
training objective and
financial support for academic activities by the
training institution were factors influencing fellows'
satisfaction level regarding both the
curriculum and
training environment. Clearly defined program objectives, a specialized
curriculum for fellows, improved
working conditions, and reflection on medical
workforce policies are imperative for the advancement of Korean
fellowship programs.