Fellowship after private practice

[WnderWmn10]

Hey guys,

Just curious on this one... Is it possible to return to fellowship after several years in private practice. To me it would seem like a good idea to get into practice, pay back some loans, then go back to fellowship after 5 or so year. But, I have never heard of anyone doing this. Is it possible?

Thanks!

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[howelljolly]

I second the question.

Im thinking of applying for fellowship in my final year of residency, which would give me about one year of experience before I would start fellowship. Is that a good idea?

 

[smq123]

I second the question.

Im thinking of applying for fellowship in my final year of residency, which would give me about one year of experience before I would start fellowship. Is that a good idea?

Doing a year of private practice, then going back to do a fellowship?

That's kind of unusual, I would say. There's no way that you'd open your own practice for a year, and I imagine that a group practice would be hesitant to hire you for just a year.

It is much more common, I think, to work for a hospital in some manner for a year, and then do a fellowship. I have worked with IM attendings, for instance, who did a year or two as a hospitalist before doing a fellowship.

 

[KidDr]

Hey guys,

Just curious on this one... Is it possible to return to fellowship after several years in private practice. To me it would seem like a good idea to get into practice, pay back some loans, then go back to fellowship after 5 or so year. But, I have never heard of anyone doing this. Is it possible?

Thanks!

I'm a peds emergency medicine fellow. Over the past several years, there have been several (3 that I can think of off the top of my head now) pediatricians who returned to do fellowship after working in private practice (a couple of them had been in practice for 10+ years). So yes, it's possible, at least in peds.

 

[yaah]

It is possible but would be quite difficult for someone applying to a competitive fellowship. It also depends on the specialty, as said above. It would be a lot easier if it was a noncompetitive fellowship. Another way for it to become easier is to know the person who runs the fellowship program. The other alternative is for whoever you are working for to pay the fellowship program for you to go there (i.e., they pay your salary and the fellowship program just provides the space and the teaching).

 

[oldbearprofessor]

I'm a peds emergency medicine fellow. Over the past several years, there have been several (3 that I can think of off the top of my head now) pediatricians who returned to do fellowship after working in private practice (a couple of them had been in practice for 10+ years). So yes, it's possible, at least in peds.

I concur, it is reasonably common in pedi. I know of many who've done it. Sometimes it was folks who did some general pedi while raising small kids then came back to fellowships. Other times it was someone who just got tired of general pedi. Since most of these folks were part of large groups and weren't "owners", it wasn't a big deal to leave. My general impression is that pedi fellowship directors are supportive of this and from personal experience such folks make very good neo fellows.

 

[dragonfly99]

It would be uncommon in internal med to go back after 5 years in practice. I think you would find it hard hard to get GI or cards. Hem/onc you'd probably have a challenge too, though if you're a good applicant could probably maybe still get a spot.

Usually folks who want to pay off loans, etc. just do 1 or 2 years as a hospitalist. You can certainly apply as a PGY3...I did this successfully and so did a lot of other folks in my residency class. We all did research or hospitalist for a year following residency.

 

[gutonc]

5 years is a big gap. 1-3 years is much more common in IM and becoming more so.

 

[howelljolly]

Doing a year of private practice, then going back to do a fellowship?

That's kind of unusual, I would say. There's no way that you'd open your own practice for a year, and I imagine that a group practice would be hesitant to hire you for just a year.

It is much more common, I think, to work for a hospital in some manner for a year, and then do a fellowship. I have worked with IM attendings, for instance, who did a year or two as a hospitalist before doing a fellowship.

I was thinking of doing a year as hospitalist in a rural area, and then going for fellowship.

 

[dragonfly99]

hospitalist is different than going in to private practice. You can almost certainly sign up to work for a year as a hospitalist, then do fellowship.
If it's for a medicine fellowship you'd need to apply during your final year of residency. You won't know if (and where) you matched until June, so it would be best to look for the hospitalist job several months prior to that. Just don't sign a contract for >11 months or so, and you should be good to go.

 

[howelljolly]

hospitalist is different than going in to private practice. You can almost certainly sign up to work for a year as a hospitalist, then do fellowship.
If it's for a medicine fellowship you'd need to apply during your final year of residency. You won't know if (and where) you matched until June, so it would be best to look for the hospitalist job several months prior to that. Just don't sign a contract for >11 months or so, and you should be good to go.

thanks for the info

 

[Lawgiver]

5 years is a big gap. 1-3 years is much more common in IM and becoming more so.

Has this in fact become "more so"? I love these older posts, its like Im time traveling to the past and and then future!

 

[gutonc]

Has this in fact become "more so"? I love these older posts, its like Im time traveling to the past and and then future!

Hard to say because there aren't any actual data on it. Anecdotally, with the change in timing of fellowship application for IM fellowships it's probably stable to a little less.

 

[Call Me Dr.]

Yep, common in peds specialties. Positioning yourself in the applicant pool as an experienced physican can be powerful, especially if you've developed clinical or research skills in your niche during your practice years.