Fellowship call

[DrQuakerJack]

If you're the only fellow at your program in your sub-specialty, is it typical for you to take 365 days of call?

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[TheLesPaul]

Yes


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[DrQuakerJack]

How strict is this usually? Do they make exceptions for an occasional weekend away (maybe 6 weekends per year)?

So you're expected to live within an hour driving radius for 1 year? It sounds a lot like being on probation.

 

[MstaKing10]

How strict is this usually? Do they make exceptions for an occasional weekend away (maybe 6 weekends per year)?

So you're expected to live within an hour driving radius for 1 year? It sounds a lot like being on probation.

Yes, you're expected to live close by. Why in the world wold you want to live more than an hour from your office/hospital anyways???

I had 4 weeks vacation during fellowship and during those times I was away my attending would cover call. We had a second fellow join during my second year so we started splitting call afterwards. That said, for a 2 year fellowship I took about 3 weeks total off, wanted to take full advantage of my time to learn and perform surgery. If I was in a 1 year fellowship I would have taken much less time off.

 

[DrZeke]

Yes, you're expected to live close by. Why in the world wold you want to live more than an hour from your office/hospital anyways???

I had 4 weeks vacation during fellowship and during those times I was away my attending would cover call. We had a second fellow join during my second year so we started splitting call afterwards. That said, for a 2 year fellowship I took about 3 weeks total off, wanted to take full advantage of my time to learn and perform surgery. If I was in a 1 year fellowship I would have taken much less time off.

Yeah, I was in a 1 year fellowship this year and had 4 weeks of vacation. However, I used about 21 days of vacation to interview for my 2nd fellowship. I then took 6 days off for errands.

I agree with MstaKing10 that you want to make the most of fellowship time. I do think, however that there is a balance where some vacation is needed so you don't feel burnt out. I also think in some fellowships where surgical and clinical volume is quite high, it is probably reasonable to take your full vacation time.

 

[Slide]

How strict is this usually? Do they make exceptions for an occasional weekend away (maybe 6 weekends per year)?

So you're expected to live within an hour driving radius for 1 year? It sounds a lot like being on probation.

It essentially is probation.

I had this situation for my surgical retina fellowship for 2 years. I learned a lot and developed a lot of good surgical skills but I also felt I worked way harder than most fellows in the country without good reason. I had to do a lot of scut work (more than residency) and my weekends were miserable after a while. I only took two weeks off each year that was not meeting related, and I worked most weekends. I only had maybe one weekend every 2 months where I could leave town. Even then, I got called back once while out of town to do an IOFB.

You do want to make the most out of fellowship but at the same time you don’t want to get burned out. I felt truly burned out during the last few months of fellowship and it showed. For one year, sure it might be ok, but for two years, it can really stress your personal life, especially if you’re married.

If you’re in this situation, don’t be shy about asking clear boundaries about time off and such. If expectations aren’t set, your attendings may not respect your time when they aren’t working.

 

[TheLesPaul]

maybe 6 weekends per year

LOL