I. Fernandez-Pineda1, D. Sanders1, B. N. Rao1, S. J. Shochat1, A. M. Davidoff1 1St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,Surgery,Memphis, TN, USA
Introduction:
Specific training in Pediatric Surgical Oncology (PSO) is not widely
available internationally, but it may be a way for improving global pediatric cancer care. We
aimed to investigate the outcomes of the PSO training fellowship at our pediatric cancer
institution.
Methods:
Twenty PSO fellows trained during the last 20 years (1994-2014) at our institution.
One fellow was still in training at the time of survey and was excluded from the analysis. Each
fellow was surveyed about personal demographics, education, basic/clinical research, and current
surgical practice. A citation and H-index calculation was performed to assess scientific
productivity of the former PSO fellows.
Results:
The survey response rate was 84% (16 of 19). Ten fellows (62%) trained at our
institution after completion of pediatric surgery fellowship, 3 (19%) after general surgery
residency and 3 (19%) were junior pediatric surgery attendings at the time of PSO fellowship.
Mean time from PSO training to survey completion was 10 years (range, 2-22). Seven fellows
(44%) came from countries in Asia, 6 (37%) from America (North America: 3, South America:
2, Central America: 1,) and 3 (19 %) from Europe. Three of 16 (19%) fellows were women.
Eleven (69%) fellows currently practice surgery in their countries of origin, 3 (19%)
international fellows practice surgery in USA and 2 (12%) fellows practice surgery
in a different country from their country of origin. Twelve (75%) fellows obtained an academic
appointment in the first 2 years after the completion of the PSO fellowship. Thirteen (81%)
fellows currently work in an academic setting and participate in a pediatric tumor board. Nine
(57%) fellows reported PSO as 25% of their practice, 5 (31%) as 75%, 1 (6%) as 100% and 1
(6%) as 0%. Ten (62%) fellows do clinical research, 3 (19%) do clinical and basic research and 3
(19%) do not do research. Mean number of citations among fellows was 188 (range, 0-1241,
SD=342.35) and mean H-index was 5 (range, 0-20, SD=5.62).
Conclusion:
The fellowship at our institution has successfully trained national and
international surgeons for practice in PSO. Most of the fellows have returned to their country of
origin and work in an academic setting with significant time dedicated to PSO. Most do clinical
research and participate in a pediatric tumor board.