What's the difference between an internship and a residency? And if I need to be licensed to do certain types of fellowships that means I've already done a residency, right? In that case why would I want a fellowship?
Sorry for the barrage of Qs. Is there somewhere I can read up on fellowships do get a broader understanding?
Think of residency training in terms of PGY's (Post graduate years).
For Dermatology in the US:
Internship (still part of residency) = 1st year of residency (PGY-1)
Residency (Advanced years) = 2nd, 3rd, 4th years of residency (PGY-2, PGY-3, PGY-4)
Fellowship = follows residency: Training in dermpath, surgical/procedural/Mohs, Immunology, Pediatrics, etc.
However, there are two types of 'fellowships' in dermatology: Ones that someone participates in after they have completed all their residency, or ones that people are referring to in this thread, which is a fellowship before you would start PGY-2.
This type of fellowship is usually a 'research fellowship'. Since it often involves clinical aspects, they often require you to finish an intern year (and Step III if I'm not mistaken) before you are eligible for the fellowship.
It's fairly different from the typical fellowship done after completion of all of residency, but is still called a 'fellowship'.
I believe there are some 'research' fellowships that focus on basic science and may not require completion of an intern year prior to participating in the fellowship.
I hope that helps.