Retina Publications for fellowship... about how many to apply

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Hi guys, just curious how many publications do you think it takes to be somewhat competitive in Retina Fellowship applications?

What do you think the average applicant has vs the average matched?

I am just curious because it had always been a weak spot on my CV but I really have been trying to do more and ironically (this late in the process) I find it intellectually stimulating and enjoyable. I have thought about holding off on applying because I really want to make a meaningful contribution to the field before I apply.

I currently only have 2 posters, a book chapter, and a case discussion in Retina. I have done peer review of 3 journal articles also. I have one big name letter writer who will likely go to bat for me, the other two rec writers are not well known in the field. I went to a small "no-name" residency but an extremely prestigious ivy league med school. I recently passed the written boards also (thank god!). I am geographically flexible and willing to train in any locale just as long as the training was solid.

I am already out in practice so applying is an odd task for me, it requires taking time off work which is not necessarily fair to my colleagues or patients.

I apologize for the "what are my chances" element to this thread but I seriously don't want to plan time away from my work & patients if the chances are very low. I told my colleagues about my desire to do retina at some point and want to be honest and realistic about future plans.

I love retina, its awesome!

Thanks for your help in advance knowledgeable SDN'ers.

All over the map. Depends on where you want to train. If you're looking for a high-end academic training center, you need more. If you want a program to prepare you for private practice, you need less. For the latter, I think your current background is fine, actually. I've known folks who matched to good programs with no more than a couple of unpublished projects.

Thanks so much Visionary, your help is really appreciated.