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Fellowship Start Dates

Dear Anesthesiology Fellowship Program Directors,

As discussed at our annual Society of Academic Associations of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (SAAAPM) meeting this past November, the Association of Anesthesiology Core Program Directors (AACPD) has asked us to partner with them on recommendations for a non-July 1 start date for fellowship programs. This proposal has been discussed at Association of Anesthesiology Subspecialty Program Directors (AASPD) Council Meetings and results of a relevant survey discussed – further details are in the attached SBAR.

As the AASPD Council, we recommend the following:

  • Fellowship programs should adopt a trainee-centric approach by offering an August 1 start date to incoming fellows whenever possible.

  • The AASPD Council supports both residency and fellowship program leadership in approaching institutional Graduate Medical Education (GME) offices to make requisite changes in institutional orientation/onboarding to allow for this flexibility.

  • Considerations for start date should be individualized to each fellow/program and include impact on trainees moving to pursue subspecialty training, optimizing success on the ABA ADVANCED examination, impact of any lost income/benefits due to a delayed start and impact on any regulatory requirements, including visa-related federal or institutional asks.

  • Fellowship program directors will continue to have final say on start dates for training programs but should consider innovative scheduling strategies for the benefit of trainees in upcoming and following years.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and your continued commitment to excellence in subspecialty training. Please reach out to the AASPD Council with any concerns or questions.

Sincerely,
AASPD Council