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Essentials of neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship: scholarship perspective

Journal of Perinatology volume 42, pages 528–533 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows must achieve a meaningful accomplishment in scholarly activity as part of their training. Despite the requirement for scholarly training in fellowship, there is a vanishingly small number of MD-only physician-scientists pursuing a research-oriented career. Recent neonatal trainees have identified several factors that preclude their careers in research-focused academic neonatology, including lower pay in academic positions, inadequate training in research techniques, and the perception that individuals in research careers have a poor work-life balance. High competition for limited pediatric research funds also contributes to a diminishing pool of physician-scientists in neonatology. This small number of physician-scientists is threatened by a high rate of attrition among physicians who enter this career path. In order to prevent further declines in the number of neonatal physician-scientists, we need improvements in funding and strong intra- and cross-institutional mentorship to foster individuals interested in a career as a physician-scientist.

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Funding

MG is supported by R01DK118568 from the National Institutes of Health, the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Children’s Discovery Institute of Washington University and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis.

ONTPD Fellowship Directors Writing Group:

Heather French6, Kris Reber7, Erin Cicalese8, Karena Lawrence9, Brittany Schwarz10, Allison Payne11, Robert Angert12, Maria Gillam-Krakauer13, Jotishna Sharma14, Elizabeth Bonachea15, Jennifer Trzaski16, Lindsay Johnston17, Rita Dadiz18, Josephine Enciso19, Alison Falck20, Mackenzie Frost6, Megan Gray21, Susan Izatt22, Sara Kane23, Autumn Kiefer24, Kristen Leeman25, Sabrina Malik26, Patrick Myers27, Jayasree Nair28, Deirdre O’Reilly29, Taylor Sawyer21, M. Cody Smith30, Kate Stanley31, Jennifer Wambach32, C. Lydia Wraight33

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, The University of North Carolina, School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Melissa Bauserman

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Margarita Vasquez

  3. Department of Pediatrics and Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA

    Patricia R. Chess

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Melissa Carbajal

  5. Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Misty Good

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Heather French & Mackenzie Frost

  7. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Kris Reber

  8. Department of Pediatrics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA

    Erin Cicalese

  9. Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Karena Lawrence

  10. Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Brittany Schwarz

  11. Department of Pediatrics, UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Allison Payne

  12. Department of Pediatrics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA

    Robert Angert

  13. Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Maria Gillam-Krakauer

  14. Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Jotishna Sharma

  15. Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA

    Elizabeth Bonachea

  16. Department of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine; Division of Neonatology, Connecticut Children’s, Hartford, CT, USA

    Jennifer Trzaski

  17. Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Lindsay Johnston

  18. Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA

    Rita Dadiz

  19. Division of Neonatology and Developmental Biology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Josephine Enciso

  20. Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Alison Falck

  21. Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA

    Megan Gray & Taylor Sawyer

  22. Division of Neonatology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Susan Izatt

  23. Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Sara Kane

  24. Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Autumn Kiefer

  25. Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Kristen Leeman

  26. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine, Hackensack, NJ, USA

    Sabrina Malik

  27. Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Patrick Myers

  28. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Jayasree Nair

  29. Department of Pediatrics, Robert Larner, MD College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Deirdre O’Reilly

  30. Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA

    M. Cody Smith

  31. Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Kate Stanley

  32. Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Jennifer Wambach

  33. Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, USA

    C. Lydia Wraight

Authors
  1. Melissa Bauserman
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  2. Margarita Vasquez
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  3. Patricia R. Chess
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  4. Melissa Carbajal
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  5. Misty Good
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Consortia

ONTPD Fellowship Directors Writing Group

  • Heather French
  • , Kris Reber
  • , Erin Cicalese
  • , Karena Lawrence
  • , Brittany Schwarz
  • , Allison Payne
  • , Robert Angert
  • , Maria Gillam-Krakauer
  • , Jotishna Sharma
  • , Elizabeth Bonachea
  • , Jennifer Trzaski
  • , Lindsay Johnston
  • , Rita Dadiz
  • , Josephine Enciso
  • , Alison Falck
  • , Mackenzie Frost
  • , Megan Gray
  • , Susan Izatt
  • , Sara Kane
  • , Autumn Kiefer
  • , Kristen Leeman
  • , Sabrina Malik
  • , Patrick Myers
  • , Jayasree Nair
  • , Deirdre O’Reilly
  • , Taylor Sawyer
  • , M. Cody Smith
  • , Kate Stanley
  • , Jennifer Wambach
  •  & C. Lydia Wraight

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Misty Good.

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Conflict of interest

MG has received sponsored research agreement funding from Astarte Medical Partners and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. PC has received funding from Elsevier publishing and Medstudy. None of these sources had any role in this manuscript.

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Bauserman, M., Vasquez, M., Chess, P.R. et al. Essentials of neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship: scholarship perspective. J Perinatol 42, 528–533 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-00957-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-00957-3

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