Is it worth it? A qualitative analysis of the impact of medical education fellowships on careers.

Objectives: Medical education fellowships provide training in teaching, assessment, educational program administration, and scholarship. The longitudinal impact of this training is unknown. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of medical education fellowships on the careers of graduates. Methods: The authors performed a qualitative study with a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm using semistructured interviews in 2021. The authors used a purposeful randomized stratified sampling strategy of graduates to ensure diversity of representation (gender, region, fellowship duration, and career stage). Two researchers independently analyzed interview transcriptions using a modified grounded theory approach. Results: The authors interviewed 10 graduates and identified three overarching concepts: motivations for pursuing fellowship, benefits of training, and drivers of career development. Graduates sought training because of their desire for growth and career preparation and at the advice of mentors. Fellowships provided knowledge and skills in a structured learning environment, supported by mentors and a collaborative community. Fellowship training shaped the careers of graduates by increasing their self-efficacy, enhancing their outcome expectations, refining their goals, and influencing their professional identity formation. They acquired expertise that prepared them for jobs, developed credibility, felt competitive in the job market, anticipated successful promotion, reached for greater goals, broadened their educational worldview, and evolved their professional identity as a result of fellowship training. Conclusions: Fellowship training in medical education provides knowledge and skills, a structured learning environment, and important relationships that shape the careers of graduates by impacting their self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goal creation, and professional identity formation.