AHPBA graduated fellows’ assessments of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing fellowship training in HPB surgery: “HPB training excellence means volume, knowledge, and mentorship”

Background: Many fellowship programs in North America prepare surgeons for a career in Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) surgery. Recent fellowship graduates were surveyed as part of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis commissioned by Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study surveying AHPBA-certified fellowship graduates conducted August–December 2021. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Free-text answers were analyzed using both grounded theory principles and thematic network analyses. Results: Four main themes were identified: (i) concerns regarding the lack of standardization between HPB fellowship curricula (ii) concern for job market oversaturation, (iii) need to emphasize the value in HPB fellowship training and (iv) importance of diversity, inclusion, and equity in HPB training. Discussion: Based on themes identified, the strengths of AHPBA-certified HPB programs include superior case volume and technical training. Areas of weakness and growth opportunities include standardizing training experiences. According to AHPBA-certificate awardees, optimizing future HPB fellowships would include strong sponsorship for job placement after graduation, and more intentional investments in diversity, equity, and inclusion.