Hi everyone,

I'm just a 4th year med student who has a quick question about GI fellowships. As GI has become more and more competitive, does it REALLY matter where you get a fellowship in the long run (ie, academic vs. small community program), provided you get a place that does a fair amount of teaching and gives you plenty of hands-on experience. I understand why one would want to get the best residency they can (to help them achieve a GI fellowship), but after that, it seems like you just go and work in a practice/hospital. Thanks everyone.

Not a stupid question at all. You are exactly right- the end result is the same no matter where you do your residency or fellowship. If you want to go into academics and be a professor at Hopkins or Harvard it would be difficult to get such a position coming from a community or a no-name university program. But then again, Academics is really hurting for clinical Gastroenterologists to cover their hospitals. Academic centers can't keep Gastroenterologist because private practice is so lucrative (ie they can easily double their salary). A bunch of Gastroenterologist recently left UTSW for private practice.