Can we talk about fellowships?

[napoleondynamite]

This is probably crazy talk..but I think I am interested in pursuing a fellowship. Sadly, I have been unable to find a resource or website with a comprehensive list of available fellowships. Three questions:

1) Is it fair to say that many fellowships are kind of created/customized for individual applicants? At larger programs, can you usually approach someone you want to work with and if it is a good fit, they create a spot or is it more formal than that?

2) I'm at a mid to lower tier residency program. Will that hurt me in approaching a top 5 type place for a fellowship, or are they usually thrilled to have an applicant for any type of fellowship that these things no longer matter much??

3) How long? Is it still possible to do just a one year fellowship, or is it normally a longer commitment than that? I assume they would probably want you for at least 2 years to do some research..but I would be more interested in a one year clinical experience - is that possible at a top place?

Any experience/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. ND.

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[Gfunk6]

You're definitely not talking crazy. It is not uncommon for US Rad Onc grads to pursue clinical fellowships. Most of the time, they do it to supplement an area of weakness in residency. For instance, if you want to do peds but your residency had low peds volume it would behoove you to do a clinical fellowship in a place like St. Judes. Now to address your specific questions:

1. The best clinics fellowships are well-advertised, -organized and -formalized. Some places have fellowships that basically say you can come and do anything - avoid these, you should have specific areas of interest. The ARRO website keeps a good list of formalized fellowships, though I get new ads by email once in a while too.

2. Look at it this way. If you decide to pursue a fellowship you are offering programs a BE Rad Onc attending (that would be you) that they can employ at a mere fraction of a normal faculty's salary. That's a great deal for them so they are happy to consider all comers. Also let's be honest, people who do fellowships are more than likely to have trained at residencies with some type of clinical deficiency, else they wouldn't need to supplement their training in the first place.

3. Clinical fellowships are almost always 1-2 years. Generally they are designed to be split between clinical & research but this is generally negotiable. One year clinical fellowships at top places are not hard to find. After all, people don't want to defer their attending-level salary for too long . . .

 

[radonc]

doing almost any type of fellowship is a great idea...

http://www.arro.org/residents/fellowships/documents/2007FellowshipsListforARRO.org_000.pdf

http://www.arro.org/residents/fellowships/index.htm

 

[clintpark]

I would disagree that fellowships are only for people who's had deficient residency training.

I think doing a fellowship is a great idea if, and this is a big IF, you can afford to last another year of making significantly less than your "market value." For me, this was not an option as I was deep in debt: mortgage, student loan, credit card debt, etc.

I think having had fellowship works in your favor in multiple ways. It gives you an instant credibility as an expert in whatever site/procedure. It lets you have connections with big shots with whom you can buddy up (particularly helpful if you want to stay in academics). You can buff up your pedigree by emphasizing where you did your fellowship at (which almost always would be a top training program) instead of your residency program. I think your job search would dramatically improve after a fellowship.

Because of a huge difference in salary, combined with the fact that fellowship training is not expected unlike many other fields, it's not very competitive to get into. The yield may be superb IF you can afford it.

 

[radonc]

at this point in time, in my opinion, someone who has completed a fellowship in brachy or proton therapy will be a hot commodity in this job market, both in private practice and academics. and yes, private practices are investing in/buying proton therapy...

clintpark brings up some very good points. another advantage of doing a fellowship is being in an academic setting with the resources available to help you (ie other residents/fellows, oral examiners, etc) during the year as you are preparing for the oral exam.

 

[qwert]

BUMP
First of all, has anybody come across the updated fellowship list? This one is from 2007.
http://www.arro.org/residents/fellowships/documents/2007FellowshipsListforARRO.org_000.pdf

Also, what would be an approximate deadline to apply for a fellowship that would start in July - Aug 2011?

doing almost any type of fellowship is a great idea...

http://www.arro.org/residents/fellowships/documents/2007FellowshipsListforARRO.org_000.pdf

http://www.arro.org/residents/fellowships/index.htm