Virtual nephrology mentorship program boosts residency, fellowship enrollment rates
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Key takeaways:
- Of 315 eligible nephrology applicants for 2022, 108 were accepted.
- Feedback from 31 participants rated the program a 4.7 out of 5.
Individuals who participated in a virtual nephrology mentorship program had high enrollment rates in nephrology pipeline residencies and fellowships, study results showed.
“Increasing trainee interest in nephrology careers remains a top priority for our field, given the ongoing challenges evidenced by unfilled nephrology training positions,” Samira S. Farouk, MD, MS, associate professor in nephrology division of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, wrote with colleagues. “Despite concerted efforts by the nephrology community to increase the quality of nephrology education via a plethora of free open access medical education (FOAMed) tools and efforts by societies, national nephrology interest in nephrology has mostly remained stagnant.”
Researchers launched a 6-month virtual learning program called NephSIM Nephrons in January 2021 to foster interest in nephrology among health care students and residents. The program assigned trainees to faculty mentors and small groups for asynchronous sessions and collected feedback at the end of the year through an online survey.
In addition, researchers assessed residency and fellowship status for the July 2024 to June 2025 academic year for individuals in the 2021 and 2022 cohorts of the study.
Of 319 and 315 eligible applicants for 2021 and 2022, respectively, 111 and 108 were accepted, respectively, Farouk and colleagues found. Their findings also showed feedback from 31 participants in the 2023 cohort gave a mean overall experience rating of 4.7 out of 5.
All respondents shared a likelihood to suggest the program to other trainees.
Overall, 77% of trainees from the 2021 cohort and 76% from the 2022 cohort successfully matched into adult or pediatric nephrology fellowships by July 2024, according to study results. Additionally, 58% of the 2021 cohort and 91% of 2022 who could be internal medicine or pediatrics residents in July 2024 also successfully matched to respective programs.
“Overall, the program has been well-received by participants,” the researchers wrote. “More work is needed to first continue rigorous follow up of program participants, obtain qualitative program feedback, improve participant and mentor engagement, and ultimately contribute to the development and maintenance of a robust nephrology workforce.”
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