Impact of an Intensive Cardiology Orientation Program on Confidence of New Fellows

Objective: We implemented a four-day intensive clinical orientation program in 2004 for cardiology fellows to compare the change in self-assessed confidence of fellows before versus after the orientation. Background: The transition from an internal medicine residency to a cardiology fellowship can be challenging. There has been limited research on the use of orientation programs to ease this transition. Methods: New fellows in 2006 and 2007 (N = 13) were prospectively queried immediately before, immediately after, and six months after orientation about their confidence and their support for the orientation program. We retrospectively queried fellows who began their fellowships in 2004 and 2005 (N = 12) by asking them to complete the same questionnaire based on what they recalled feeling immediately before, immediately after, and six months after orientation. Responses to each question were based on a Likert scale from 1 to 7, and a total confidence score was calculated. Retrospective and prospective data were pooled, and nonparametric paired analyses were performed.Results: Twenty-five fellows were enrolled. Fellows’ confidence scores increased after the orientation from 20 to 36 (p<0.01). A significant increase was sustained after six months. In addition, at all time points, the fellows supported the orientation program. Conclusion: An intensive clinical orientation program improved new cardiology fellows’ confidence. Support for this program was high, and the findings support con- tinuation and further development of the program.