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. 2024 Jun 6;24(1):633.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05587-9.

A national virtual job search series for neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows

Nicolle F Dyess  1 , Brianna Liberio  2 , Sarah Bernstein  3 , Sharla Rent  4 , Heather French  5 , Patrick Myers  6
Affiliations

A national virtual job search series for neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows

Nicolle F Dyess et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: A standardized approach to prepare trainees for the job search has not been described. The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate an educational series on the job search for Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (NPM) fellows and identify participants' job search knowledge gaps.

Methods: During the 2020-2021 academic year, we created a virtual, seven-part job search series for NPM fellows that required no funding. The series has been repeated annually. We use REDCap surveys to register participants, collect baseline/demographic information, and evaluate the series' impact at the beginning and end of the job search timeline.

Results: In the 2021-2022 academic year, 290 individuals registered for the series, and 89% completed the baseline/demographic survey. The majority were NPM fellows (89%). Early career neonatologists, NPM hospitalists, and pediatric residents also utilized the series (11%). Less than 25% reported being "knowledgeable" or "very knowledgeable" of core job search components, including the timeline of the job search, contract negotiation, and the general roles and responsibilities of junior faculty. Of those who completed the final job search survey and underwent a job search (60%, 97 of 162), the majority (86%) felt that career planning during training was stressful and believed that job search preparation should be structured into the NPM fellowship curriculum (81%). Many felt that the Job Search Series was helpful in elucidating components of the job search.

Conclusions: We identified several knowledge gaps in NPM fellows' understanding of how to find, prepare for, and negotiate their first post-training job. We strongly believe these knowledge gaps are not unique to NPM fellows and that all graduate medical education trainees would benefit from a similar, easy-to-implement, no-cost series.

Keywords: Career development; Career transition; Fellowship; Job search; Neonatology; Trainee.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
– Baseline Perceived Knowledge of Job Search Components at Time of Job Search Series Registration
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Baseline perceived competence in job search tasks at time of job search series registration
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Survey respondent-reported helpfulness of ONTPD/TECaN job search series
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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