Fellowship Info

[CAMD2014]

I feel like there is a lot of information both here on SDN and different articles, guides etc. that help when it comes to residency applications, interviews etc. But I feel like there is a great air of mystery when it comes to fellowship applications.

I understand there's a lot of "it's who you know," "connections," and I've heard residents say "you know where you're going for fellowship even before match day."

But can anyone shed light on how the fellowship process works? What credentials do they look at? There's no grades in residency (right?). Do OKAPs (or some other test) hold a similar weight to USMLE Step 1?

I know away visits/rotations (or equivalent) isn't possible ... Is research a heavy focus?

Are people able to go from smaller residencies to "top" fellowships? How?

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[ocularis]

Great post, also curious to know.

 

[DrZeke]

For retina, one of my wise mentors told me that publishing in peer reviewed journals is extremely helpful.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

You have to think about what they want in a fellow. I think two priorities are the most important. First you work closely with the faculty directors during fellowship, even more so than residency so they want someone who is easy to work with and will get along with the program (and wont complain about the scut work that fellows often involves- returning phone calls and doing paperwork for the attendings). How do they figure this out? Generally the most reliable way is through people who have worked with you in residency. This is why they say its all about who you know. Fellowship directors will ask their friends how you are as a candidate and this will figure heavily. There may be some mutual arrangements like horse trading especially in the fellowships with fewer spots like retina or plastics. This is why some people say they know where they go before match day. OKAPs do not seem to be very important since its use for purposes other than self evaluation is discouraged. The next part is they want someone who has the potential to be influential/famous/important because that makes them look good and increases the prestige of the program. Now this can be in academia, or other ways, but you will want to stand out in some way more than your colleagues. Academic work such as publications can be a good indication that you have interest in research and academia and may achieve prominence in the field in the future. I think in general a program will want someone to go into academia and make breakthroughs in the field since that generates more influence than someone who goes into private practice and just sees patients until they retire.

 

[DrZeke]

You have to think about what they want in a fellow. I think two priorities are the most important. First you work closely with the faculty directors during fellowship, even more so than residency so they want someone who is easy to work with and will get along with the program (and wont complain about the scut work that fellows often involves- returning phone calls and doing paperwork for the attendings). How do they figure this out? Generally the most reliable way is through people who have worked with you in residency. This is why they say its all about who you know. Fellowship directors will ask their friends how you are as a candidate and this will figure heavily. There may be some mutual arrangements like horse trading especially in the fellowships with fewer spots like retina or plastics. This is why some people say they know where they go before match day. OKAPs do not seem to be very important since its use for purposes other than self evaluation is discouraged. The next part is they want someone who has the potential to be influential/famous/important because that makes them look good and increases the prestige of the program. Now this can be in academia, or other ways, but you will want to stand out in some way more than your colleagues. Academic work such as publications can be a good indication that you have interest in research and academia and may achieve prominence in the field in the future. I think in general a program will want someone to go into academia and make breakthroughs in the field since that generates more influence than someone who goes into private practice and just sees patients until they retire.

From what I heard this seems spot on. The "who you know" part does seem to be a big deal. If your program does not have people in your desired subspecialty that are well-known then I would say making yourself stand apart with publication or other collaborations/endeavors is important. I've been told by those going through the trail that it often seems like the people interviewing at the top 20 academic programs also did residency at the top 20 programs. Not sure if anyone can comment on this.