Trends in Applications for Thoracic Fellowship in Comparison With Other Subspecialties

Given the above data, it does not appear that LOT is the critical issue associated with the decline in fellowship applications for TS. The increased demand for integrated training programs may be reflective of other factors rather than LOT. The success of abbreviated programs in training competent thoracic surgeons has not yet been determined. Given that LOT does not appear to affect applications to surgical specialty, we may be able to maintain applications to the specialty without compromising LOT.