Background: The fundamentals of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) education begin during gastroenterology fellowship training. We performed a survey of gastroenterology fellowship program directors (PDs) and trainees with the aim to further examine the current state of IBD training in the United States.
Methods: A 15-question PD survey and 19-question trainee survey was performed using an online platform.
Results: Surveys were completed by 43/161 (27%) PDs and 160 trainees. All trainee years were equally represented. A significant proportion of trainees was unsure or believed that their inpatient (32%) or outpatient (43%) training was inadequate. Only 28% of trainees were satisfied with their current level of IBD exposure during training. Fewer than half the trainees reported comfort in the management of pouch or stoma issues, pregnant patients with IBD, or postoperative management. The proportion of PDs viewing a competency as essential for trainee education strongly correlated with trainee comfort in that area (Pearson's rho = 0.793; P < 0.01). In multivariate logistic regression, monthly IBD didactics was the only variable independently associated with satisfaction with the current level of training (odds ratio, 4.1 95% CI, 1.9-9.0).
Conclusions: Over one-third of participating gastroenterology trainees did not feel "confident" or "mostly comfortable" with their level of IBD training, with varying comfort regarding different competencies in IBD management. These findings suggest that specific areas of IBD training may require additional focus during training and can provide the basis for the development of an IBD core competency curriculum.