Employment Search, Initial Employment Experience, and Career Preferences of Recent Pediatric Surgical Fellowship Graduates: An APSA Survey, Part of the Right Child/Right Surgeon Initiative

Survey of 144 recent pediatric surgery fellowship graduates reveals 92% found desired positions, but most chose urban academic centers driven by geography and mentorship over compensation. This clustering in metropolitan areas may worsen rural access disparities and dilute urban surgical experience, suggesting need for rural practice incentives or expanded general surgeon training in pediatric fundamentals.