The impact of health care reform on gastroenterology fellows: Are training programs preparing them for the future?

Objective: Health care reform is dramatically changing the practice and delivery of medical care. The goal of this investigation was to examine gastroenterology trainees' outlook on the impact of health care reform on training programs. Methods: A 24-question survey was mailed in February 1996 to 780 GI fellows obtained from the comprehensive American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) database. Results: A total of 362 fellows responded (46%): 85% were male, 57% Caucasian, 75% married, and 86% were university-based. Ninety-six percent of fellows believed that, health care reform is adversely affecting the quality of health care and 94.1% felt that it was adversely affecting fellowship training. Eighty-eight percent expressed concern over the impact of health care reform on practice opportunities. Only 9% of fellows reported that their training program had established a specific educational program addressing health care reform, whereas 83% of fellows felt that their program should do so. Conclusion: Gastroenterology fellows are concerned about the impact of health care reform on the quality of care and the quality of their fellowship training, Trainees believe that programs are not providing sufficient education to help them respond to the changes in health care. (C) 1998 by Am, Coll, of Gastroenterology.