A Survey of Program Directors on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Training in the US: Programmatic Structure, Learning Environment, and Wellness Activities

We aim to describe the current programmatic structure and learning environment of US Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (NPM) fellowship programs. All US NPM program directors (PD) and associate program directors (APD) were surveyed. Descriptive statistics for quantitative questions and thematic qualitative analysis of free-text responses were used to summarize findings. 99/102 (97%) of programs responded. 25/99 (25%) of PDs reported not receiving minimum ACGME Full-Time Equivalnet (FTE) for program administration. Fellows perform a median of 52 weeks (48-54) and 150 (120-165) night calls during training, with clinical time skewing more towards the first year. All programs report interaction with front-line clinicians (FLC), and 81% (80/99) of fellowships reported conflict between fellows and FLCs. A minority of programs formally evaluated or instructed FLCs on teaching skills. PDs and APDs most commonly lead the planning of wellness activities, with only 37% of programs describing a fellow wellness leader. A minority of programs reported wellness committees on the university (40%), department (19%), or division (17%) level. 25% of programs reported no wellness budget. Broadened institutional support towards program requirements and administration and further collaborative efforts with trainees and multidisciplinary providers are opportunities for growth in NPM fellowship programs.