Objective: To identify factors associated with entry into primary care sports medicine (PCSM) fellowship programs.
Design: Primary care sports medicine fellowship directors (FDs) and fellowship faculty were surveyed regarding preferences for accepting applicants into their programs.
Setting: Survey study.
Participants: Primary care sports medicine FDs and fellowship faculty.
Assessment of risk factors: Questions were designed to delineate factors [clinical experience, letters of recommendation (LOR), scholarship, service commitment, interview performance, etc] perceived to be associated with entry into PCSM fellowship (1-10 scale; 10 = highest value). Weighted mean ± SD were calculated for each question.
Main outcome measures: Determination of most valued factors for entry into PCSM fellowship.
Results: Responses were provided by 242/2332 (10.4%) of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine members, including 77 of 175 (44%) FDs. The top 3 factors for entry into PCSM fellowships for all respondents were as follows: interview performance (9.17 ± 1.13), LOR from SM fellowship faculty (8.20 ± 1.67), and high school game/event coverage (7.83 ± 1.70). Musculoskeletal ultrasound experience (4.50 ± 2.23) and residency training in pediatrics (4.58 ± 2.54), internal medicine (4.48 ± 2.44), emergency medicine (4.44 ± 2.59), and physical medicine and rehabilitation (4.40 ± 2.83) received the lowest scores.
Conclusions: Applicants seeking entry into SM fellowships should prioritize performance during interviews, LOR from SM fellowship faculty, and team game/event coverage experiences.