Obstetrics and gynecology residents' attitudes toward maternal-fetal medicine fellowship training.

To assess factors associated with residents' decisions to pursue or forego fellowship training in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM).A survey utilizing multiple-choice, Likert, ordinal and categorical scale questions was distributed to all (n = 2337) postgraduate year (PGY) 3 and 4 obstetrics and gynecology residents in accredited US training programs during the 2001-02 academic year. The 18-question survey sought demographic and residency training details, quality of interactions with the MFM faculty and fellows, and information about 13 specific factors that might influence a resident's decision to pursue MFM training.Surveys were returned by 642 (27%) residents, equally divided between PGY 3 and 4. Only 90 (14%) residents reported either ongoing consideration of, or having already applied for, MFM training (MFM group), while 278 (43%) had considered MFM training, but chose to either stay in general practice or pursue another fellowship (neutral group). The remaining 274 (43%) reported never having considered MFM (never group). The three groups were similar with regard to demographic characteristics and residency training; however, the MFM group ranked the quality of teaching by the MFM faculty significantly higher than the neutral and never groups. Encouragement by the MFM faculty, salary during fellowship and the 3-year (as opposed to 2-year) duration were reported to be the strongest influencing factors and were significantly different from ten other factors considered in the survey (p < 0.05).Major positive factors influencing the pursuit of MFM training are the quality of educational experiences and encouragement from the MFM faculty. Conversely, the duration and the perceived financial burden of the 3-year training program appear to be significant deterrents.