Triological Society Shares Membership Demographics, Ideal Thesis Submission Window

by Linda Kossof •

What are the current Triological Society thesis trends and the organization’s membership demographics?

BOTTOM LINE

The Triological Society is growing, its membership is becoming more diverse, and fellowship candidates who submit their thesis within three years stand the greatest likelihood of success.

BACKGROUND: Since 1900, the Triological Society has mandated that fellowship candidates submit a self-representative thesis based on previously unpublished scholarly work. To stay on the leading edge of medicine and science and to sustain membership growth and diversity, the Society embraces a forward-thinking approach to advancing its specialty.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review and survey.

SETTING: Department of Otolaryngology– Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

SYNOPSIS: Researchers queried the society’s database to determine how many members became candidates between 1990 and 2018, and surveys were used to determine the demographic data of current candidates, active members, and senior fellows. Question topics to active candidates included how long they anticipated it would take to complete their thesis, as well as their thesis category and any potential barriers they foresaw. Overall, 543 of 809 active and senior fellows responded, and 93 of 178 candidates completed the survey. Results from 597 theses completed in the time range highlighted the first three years of candidacy for fellowship as the most likely to garner success. The most-cited barrier to completion was lack of protected time from clinical duty. Regarding demographic diversity, there is still a disproportionate number of males over females and Caucasians over other groups, although researchers saw greater diversity in the younger active fellows and in current candidates, a sign of evolution. However, more than 50% of the society is aged 60 or older, underscoring a need for more aggressive recruitment efforts.

CITATION: Lee KH, Thompson DM, and Pensak ML. Evaluation of current Triological Society thesis trends and membership demographics. Laryngoscope.