Cytopathology fellowship recruitment: historical context, current state, and future considerations.

Fellowship recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce is one of the biggest challenges that not only cytopathology is facing but that the field of pathology in general is being confronted with. There have long been issues with the fellowship recruitment process for both applicants and fellowship directors, including pressure to move the application process earlier and earlier and frustrations stemming from applicants needing to determine different individual timelines and program requirements. The unified timeline for fellowship recruitment was established as an attempt to standardize the recruitment process and to address the key issues of the push for earlier and earlier decision-making, which placed significant anxiety on trainees, as well as the burden on programs of more unexpected openings. While institution of the unified timeline has had many successes, there have been problems as well. Here, we discuss the multifaceted and intertwined factors that affect fellowship recruitment with a review of the historical context and the current setting and with an eye towards future directions. In the end, the issues we are currently facing are complex and there is likely no perfect solution to fixing an inherently broken system. However, the ultimate goal should be in better supporting our trainees' development and promoting a more fair and equitable recruitment process. Only by working together can we optimize the process for both applicants and programs alike. • The unified timeline for fellowship recruitment was an attempt to add more standardization to the recruitment process and to address some of the key issues including the push for earlier and earlier decision-making, which placed significant anxiety on residents, as well as the burden of more unexpected openings on programs. • The unified timeline has had many successes, but there have been issues as well; these issues reflect a complex interplay of different underlying issues that are plaguing not only the field of cytopathology but the field of pathology in general. • We herein discuss the issues complicating fellowship recruitment currently. We review the historical setting in order to add context to the current climate. We also discuss possibilities going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]