Can someone help me understand how IM Fellowships work?

[fancypantsdance]

1- What makes one competitive for a given fellowship? Do they go off of step 1, step 2, step 3 still? Or do you do something in residency to improve your odds?


2- When do you apply?


3- Do you travel around to interview at difference places as you would for residency? Or is it more of a who you know type of thing (in other words, you'll pretty much only get a fellowship at your current institution)?


4 - Can you apply for 2 at the same time? Or reapply if you don't get in the first time?

Thanks

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[random1234]

It's pretty much like residency/medical school apps. You travel to different places that invite you for an interview. I think you apply around Aug of your 3rd year and match in Dec {double check this}. You can apply for 2 diff fellowships just like you can apply for 2 diff residencies. But I think you can only have 1 personal statement, so it would be pretty hard to make it that broad...I'm just an M1 so I may be wrong. Competitiveness is determined by your letters from those you worked with, research experiences, step 1/2/3, your commitment to the field in genearl, and I guess that's it...I don't think they really care about the in house exam scores.

 

[gutonc]

But I think you can only have 1 personal statement, so it would be pretty hard to make it that broad...I'm just an M1 so I may be wrong.

You can have as many PS as you want. I only had one for fellowship but had 4 different ones for residency.

 

[lymphohystiocytosis]

I had 4 different ones for residency.

Good god, why? One is more than enough torture for me.

 

[gutonc]

Good god, why? One is more than enough torture for me.

2 different types of program (research based and not) and 2 programs asked for focused ones.

But here's the thing you need to realize. Your personal statement should be the easiest part of the application. It's going to get somewhere between 20 and 45 seconds of somebody's time. Spending weeks obsessing over it is stupid. Write it, have somebody who knows what they're doing edit/proof it, correct it, done.

My fellowship PS took about an hour.

 

[Raryn]

It's pretty much like residency/medical school apps. You travel to different places that invite you for an interview. I think you apply around Aug of your 3rd year and match in Dec {double check this}. You can apply for 2 diff fellowships just like you can apply for 2 diff residencies. But I think you can only have 1 personal statement, so it would be pretty hard to make it that broad...I'm just an M1 so I may be wrong. Competitiveness is determined by your letters from those you worked with, research experiences, step 1/2/3, your commitment to the field in genearl, and I guess that's it...I don't think they really care about the in house exam scores.

Application is due mid-july of your third year. As in, two weeks into your third year.

Match is first week in december.

You could submit a different PS to every single program if you wanted.

It's not that they don't care about in-training exams, it's that it is absolutely forbidden for IM program directors to share in-training exam scores. That said, your program director writes a letter of recommendation/evaluation that goes to every program, and if you did awesome, that may be included in coded language in the letter itself.

And please, for the love of god, as an M1, stop worrying about this sort of thing.

 

[drk]

So is passing your IM boards required for fellowships? If you get match results for fellowship before you even complete your IM residency it's obviously not an initial requirement correct? I know there are lots of fellows who only maintain one certificate but is being IM board certified required at all if you are going into a fellowship?

 

[Raryn]

So is passing your IM boards required for fellowships? If you get match results for fellowship before you even complete your IM residency it's obviously not an initial requirement correct? I know there are lots of fellows who only maintain one certificate but is being IM board certified required at all if you are going into a fellowship?

Most people apply 13 months before they would even be eligible to take the boards their first time. What do you think?

That said, you'll be required to pass your IM boards before you can even take your subspecialty boards. You don't have to maintain them after passing the first time, but you will eventually have to take them the once.

 

[Cozaar33]

Most people apply 13 months before they would even be eligible to take the boards their first time. What do you think?

That said, you'll be required to pass your IM boards before you can even take your subspecialty boards. You don't have to maintain them after passing the first time, but you will eventually have to take them the once.

I have a question about applicants being competitive for fellowship programs. Let's say an Allopathic US grad applying from a community program vs. an IMG from the same community hospital program - would the US grad be more competitive. Or is it based on the quality of the residency program itself, as in University > Community?

 

[gutonc]

I have a question about applicants being competitive for fellowship programs. Let's say an Allopathic US grad applying from a community program vs. an IMG from the same community hospital program - would the US grad be more competitive. Or is it based on the quality of the residency program itself, as in University > Community?

I know this is going to completely blow your mind, but it's actually based on the quality of the applicant. So an IMG from program X may in fact be a better applicant than an AMG from the same place. Or not.

Why get worked up about it. You can only be one of those 2 people. Be the best one of them that you can be.