A Decade Later: Trends in Fellowship Training and Secondary Board Certification Among Emergency Medicine Residency Leaders.
- 1Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, New York.
- 2Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health, Department of Emergency Medicine, Staten Island, New York.
- 3Hadassah University Medical Center-Ein Kerem, Department of Emergency Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
Abstract
Introduction
Residency program leaders shape the academic pipeline in emergency medicine (EM). We assessed current demographics and postgraduate training among EM residency leadership in the United States.Methods
We conducted a national, cross-sectional survey of all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited EM residency program leadership via an online, confidential questionnaire. Primary outcomes were the prevalence of any postgraduate fellowship training and any secondary board certification (ie, additional board certification beyond EM) as a complementary marker of advanced credentialing distinct from fellowship training. Programs were grouped by National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) region.Results
We received 103 program responses (35.9%). Any fellowship training was reported by 25.5% of program directors (PD), 40.0% of associate program directors (APD), and 42.8% of assistant PDs. Compared with the 2014-2015 national survey, fellowship training increased from approximately 20-25% to 40-43% among APD and assistant PDs, while remaining similar among PDs (~25% previously vs 26% currently). Any secondary board certification was reported by 8.8% of PDs, 5.0% of APDs, and 8.2% of assistant PDs. Medical education was the most common fellowship (n = 54), followed by ultrasound (n = 24), toxicology (n = 16), simulation (n = 15), pediatric EM (n = 11), critical care (n = 7), emergency medical services (n = 5), and administration (n = 3). Programs in the western United States reported the highest proportions of leaders with either fellowship or secondary certification across roles.Conclusion
Postgraduate fellowship and secondary board certification remain uncommon overall among EM residency leaders, but fellowship completion is more prevalent among junior leaders compared with a decade earlier. These data provide an updated, role-specific snapshot to inform leadership development and workforce planning.
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BibTeX
@article{langan2026decade,
title = {{A Decade Later: Trends in Fellowship Training and Secondary Board Certification Among Emergency Medicine Residency Leaders.}},
author = {Danielle Langan and Lindsay Shogan and Shorok E Hassan and William Caputo and Abbas Husain and Jerel Chacko and Amin Mohamadi and Josh Greenstein and Barry Hahn},
journal = {The western journal of emergency medicine},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.5811/westjem.54378},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42900924},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A Decade Later: Trends in Fellowship Training and Secondary Board Certification Among Emergency Medicine Residency Leaders.
AU - Danielle Langan
AU - Lindsay Shogan
AU - Shorok E Hassan
AU - William Caputo
AU - Abbas Husain
AU - Jerel Chacko
AU - Amin Mohamadi
AU - Josh Greenstein
AU - Barry Hahn
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/09
JO - The western journal of emergency medicine
DO - 10.5811/westjem.54378
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42900924
AB - Introduction Residency program leaders shape the academic pipeline in emergency medicine (EM). We assessed current demographics and postgraduate training among EM residency leadership in the United States.Methods We conducted a national, cross-sectional survey of all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited EM residency program leadership via an online, confidential questionnaire. Primary outcomes were the prevalence of any postgraduate fellowship training and any secondary board certification (ie, additional board certification beyond EM) as a complementary marker of advanced credentialing distinct from fellowship training. Programs were grouped by National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) region.Results We received 103 program responses (35.9%). Any fellowship training was reported by 25.5% of program directors (PD), 40.0% of associate program directors (APD), and 42.8% of assistant PDs. Compared with the 2014-2015 national survey, fellowship training increased from approximately 20-25% to 40-43% among APD and assistant PDs, while remaining similar among PDs (~25% previously vs 26% currently). Any secondary board certification was reported by 8.8% of PDs, 5.0% of APDs, and 8.2% of assistant PDs. Medical education was the most common fellowship (n = 54), followed by ultrasound (n = 24), toxicology (n = 16), simulation (n = 15), pediatric EM (n = 11), critical care (n = 7), emergency medical services (n = 5), and administration (n = 3). Programs in the western United States reported the highest proportions of leaders with either fellowship or secondary certification across roles.Conclusion Postgraduate fellowship and secondary board certification remain uncommon overall among EM residency leaders, but fellowship completion is more prevalent among junior leaders compared with a decade earlier. These data provide an updated, role-specific snapshot to inform leadership development and workforce planning.
SN - 1936-900X
SN - 1936-9018
ER -