competitiveness for peds fellowships

[Chemical X]

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I'm only 3 months into intern year, and I'm not at all sure if I want to pursue fellowship or not. So this might be a dumb question, but how does one become competitive for fellowships in peds? It seems like most are not too competitive, but some (ED, cards, maybe GI?) apparently can be, and if I decide to do fellowship I want to be prepared and have my options open. Is it just whether (and how much) you've done research in the field you are going into, or do other things like advocacy projects, ITE scores, or even USMLE scores matter? Do your evaluations get looked at, or just your LORs? Does it matter where you did your residency?

I have thought a bit about peds ED, although I haven't done that rotation yet so I'm really not sure- and the fact that it is apparently the most difficult peds fellowship to get into is also a bit off-putting. Knowing how to be a good candidate for fellowship would be really helpful.

 

[Chemical X]

183 views and no responses? I know some of you are in fellowship/applying for fellowship...surely you could pass along some information about how to be competitive for this. I realize there may be some variation depending on the specialty, but please share what you know (even if it is only about a specific field) or any general information about this.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

I'm only 3 months into intern year, and I'm not at all sure if I want to pursue fellowship or not. So this might be a dumb question, but how does one become competitive for fellowships in peds? It seems like most are not too competitive, but some (ED, cards, maybe GI?) apparently can be, and if I decide to do fellowship I want to be prepared and have my options open. Is it just whether (and how much) you've done research in the field you are going into, or do other things like advocacy projects, ITE scores, or even USMLE scores matter? Do your evaluations get looked at, or just your LORs? Does it matter where you did your residency?

A lot depends on what you'd like to do. As you correctly indicated, pediEM and pedicards are competitive as is heme/onc, others less so to various degrees and some will take about anyone with a pulse.🙂

In terms of becoming competitive, the most important thing, IMHO, is to develop good relationships with the specialists in the field(s) of your interest. Letters of rec matter a lot in pedi, whether you are applying internally or externally. Test scores don't matter a ton, but your USMLE scores will be looked at. Advocacy projects, research projects and the like are of importance but how much so really depends on the field of interest. Also, it is recognized that residents don't have a ton of time to do research. Still, if your target is pedi heme/onc, a bit of research would be of benefit. I can't say as much related to pediEM, although I doubt some advocacy work would hurt. There are others on this forum who know more about pediEM fellowships than I do.

The interview is exceedingly important. Folks want to work with folks they like and at the fellowship level, people are asking themselves if you would be a good faculty member there.

 

[poopologist]

Some fellowships are competitive in terms of specialty, many are competitive because of reputation/geography e.g. Cards may be competitive just about anywhere, Development/Behaviour may be more competitive at Harvard than at a program in South Dakota.

To be competitive, you need to show that you are good candidate for a fellow. Sign up for the specialty rotation of your choice, confirm what it is about that subpopulation of patients that really fires you up, and get to know the attendings as well as you can by showing genuine interest in the field. Be a rock star - round early on the patients, write good notes, read alot, come up with a good differential dx/plan as best as you can, stay late if necessary, track down that growth chart from the outside hospital, call the referring PCP, be nice to the office staff, enquire about being involved in small research projects (retrospective chart reviews etc). In short, show initiative. Talk to the subspecialty attendings and pick one(or more) as a mentor. When asking for letters, pick attendings who like to read for leisure - they usually write great letters.

Some specialties have special programs for potential fellows e.g GI has the Teaching and Tomorrow program - 2nd yr residents are nominated/selected from various programs and given the opportunity to attend the national meeting. Great chance to network with various program directors, even better if you happen to be presenting a poster. Other subspecialties may have similar programs.


Good luck!

 

[AFDuck]

How much does one's residency program play into the fellowship application process? I ask because I will more than likely be training in a military residency program, which I'm assuming are less well known in the academic world where most fellowships are located. I'm also planning to pursue a fellowship following my military committment, which will likely have included 3 years as an attending. Does time as an attending help one's competitiveness for fellowships? Thanks!

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=386700