FELLOWSHIP TRAINING-PROGRAMS IN BLOOD BANKING AND TRANSFUSION MEDICINE - RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY

This report details the results of a 1995 survey of the 40 fellowship training programs in blood banking and transfusion medicine in the Uni ted States approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Fellows primarily enter transfusion medicine training after completing a pathology residency, and are subsequently employed in an academic or university setting, or a blood donor center. Program dire ctors indicated that either the current level, or fewer, transfusion m edicine specialists will be needed in tile future. The educational con tent of fellowship training was examined, as well as aspects of profic iency and competency in several areas. Research is an important part o f most fellowship programs, and a majority of program directors felt t hat some formal training in clinical medicine should be a part of fell owship training in transfusion medicine. The information obtained from this survey should be helpful to both fellowship applicants and progr am directors in delineating important aspects of fellowship training i n blood banking and transfusion medicine.