Abstract: PO1072
Do Undergraduates Know "Nephrology?"– A Single-Site Survey of College Students
Session Information
- Educational Research
November 04, 2021 | Location: On-Demand, Virtual Only
Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Category: Educational Research
- 800 Educational Research
Authors
- Hopkins, Julia Marie, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
- Velez, Juan Carlos Q., Ochsner Medical Center - New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
- Arthur, John M., University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
- Janech, Michael G., College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Background
Over the past decade, Nephrology has experienced a 43% decline in fellowship applicants. A factor to choosing Nephrology could be a lack of early exposure. While studies have been conducted to explain why residents choose a specific fellowship program, none have surveyed the undergraduate student population to inquire whether the name “Nephrology” was even a recognizable medical specialty compared to other medical specialties. To this end, we conducted a survey of undergraduate students at the College of Charleston (CofC) to test the hypothesis that Nephrology will rank amongst the least recognizable specialties.
Methods
274 undergraduates at CofC responded to a survey where they were asked to select every medical specialty they recognized by name (15 real specialties/1fictious). Demographic questions regarding sex, race, collegiate level, high school location, pre-med track, and household income were included. Differences were considered by comparing 95% confidence intervals or Chi-Square test. Spearman-Rank test was used to examine whether the number of applicants per specialty fellowship position was correlated with the proportion of responses.
Results
Out of 15 medical specialties, Nephrology ranked lowest (29%); whereas, Pediatrics (97%) and Surgery (97%) ranked highest. The fictious specialty, “diasymptomology” was recognized least (4%). Sex, race, collegiate level, and household income were not different between those students that recognized the word Nephrology versus those that did not. Pre-med students were about twice as likely (p<0.001) to have recognized Nephrology versus non pre-med students (49% vs. 22%, respectively). There was no correlation between the proportion of undergraduate students who recognized a specific medical specialty and the number of applicants per fellowship position in 2019 (r=0.2, p=0.7).
Conclusion
Nephrology was the least recognized, non-fictional, specialty amongst undergraduates. Lack of correlation between student responses and fellowship applications, suggest that name recognition alone will not predict fellowship applicant number. The discrepancy between Nephrology and other specialties highlights a gap in name recognition at an early career stage, even amongst premedical students.
Funding
- NIDDK Support