fellowship decision help!

[dmurali]

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I am currently a second year who is about to go into third year of residency AP/CP. I liked both heme and derm, but now at the end of the second year, I am leaning more towards derm.

I know derm is very competitive, and if I don't get it, should I apply for the heme fellowship since its my second interest? or apply for a surg path fellowship?

How long should I wait to hear from derm before I start applying for another fellowship.

Thanks!

 

[Nilf]

Dermpath anywhere, or GU with Epstein, or GI with someone equally famous. I don't know enough about heme to comment.

 

[2121115]

Decide which one you want to do, then keep applying until you get a spot. Numerous times if necessary. Until you get a spot do general surg then junior faculty/instructor to get experience until you get the fellowship you want. Don't settle.

 

[Ombret]

From what I have seen, once someone decides they want to do derm, they are seldom satisfied with anything else. So listen carefully to your gut.

I would say that 2121115 is correct for anyone trying to get their fellowship of choice but especially if it is dermpath you eventually want to do. Surg path would be helpful for your later practice and a reasonable way to temporize for a year. But do not do other subspecialty AP fellowships in areas where, once you become derm trained, you will never practice again; you will waste time and make, maybe not enemies, but frenemies out of the people who train you.

If your gut tells you you truly like heme, then throw that hat into the ring too. You cannot control the timing in my opinion, there are just too many variables involved.

 

[caffeinegirl]

As was mentioned earlier, there are lots of factors involved. See if you have a good shot at getting an internal spot. Ask your dermpath attendings for advice. Also ask you program director for advice as to the internal positions. Are there multiple people in your program applying for dermpath? All of these things play a factor.
You need to see how competitive you are at the time when you'll apply for dermpath, do you have projects? Abstracts? Strong recommendations?

When I first decided to do dermpath, it was in the middle of my second year of AP only. I didn't have any projects or any in depth experience that I could put on my CV. It was too late to go straight into dermpath after my third year of AP...so I got an internal surg path spot, and applied the next year for dermpath. I worked really hard on projects, pubs, abstracts, etc and even did an away rotation. All of these things helped me get a spot, which even then was considered lucky.

My 2 cents: apply for both dermpath and heme path and see where the chips may fall.

 

[dmurali]

Thank you for your inputs, I really appreciate it.

 

[zao275]

All great comments. I have some general fellowship advice here (just my personal opinions): http://pathinfo.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_Get_a_Fellowship and http://pathinfo.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_Get_a_Dermatopathology_Fellowship. Hope that helps.

Decide which one you want to do, then keep applying until you get a spot. Numerous times if necessary. Until you get a spot do general surg then junior faculty/instructor to get experience until you get the fellowship you want. Don't settle.

Awesome advice! This was my mind set as well. Luckily, I was blessed with a great dermpath spot on my first time applying.

 

[icpshootyz]

I second the above dermpathers. I was determined to do whatever was necessary to get my dermpath spot, as it's what I know I want to practice for a career. Don't do another subspecialty just to pass the time, surgpath fellowship should be it. Use all your available network connections, publish, do away rotations - it's a grueling process. But if you know you want to do derm more than anything else, you'll be willing to go through it.

 

[zao275]

I did soft tissue instead of surg path (got pretty solid surg path teaching in residency and I love soft tissue). Soft tissue is a very narrow field, but overlaps nicely with dermpath. Dr. Weiss has trained several fellows who did/will do the soft tissue/derm combo (Steve Billings, Rajiv Patel, myself, and the next two fellows). As an aside, only a small number of people apply for her soft tissue fellowship each year; I feel it is a well kept secret and is a great opportunity for carving out a niche that few others are comfortable with. Plus, it meshes very nicely with derm. Have I convinced you yet? ;-)

 

[lipomas]

Couldn't you just do derm at a place that has a good soft tissue case load and do an elective? That would save you a year. I only did one fellowship but used my elective time judiciously.

What are you planning to do with soft tissue + derm? Private practice? Because I would have skipped the soft tissue if that was your plan, personally.

In regards to the OP, what are your career goals? Do you want to do just one or the other? Or do you plan to be a generalist with subspecialty expertise? I guess you could do both heme and derm. Not that practical to do both though. Unless you want to be an expert on cutaneous lymphomas (which would essentially limit you to academia). But lots of dermpaths are experts on that anyway, without doing a fellowship. Doing fellowships is not the only way to get expertise. Unless you're looking at it from a lawyer's perspective.

 

[zao275]

The plan is to go into academics, but I am keeping an open mind (need to be geographically flexible as my wife starts residency the same year I will start a job). I just love soft tissue and a thought a year with Dr. Weiss would be a great experience...I was right. I figure that soft tissue cases will find their way to me. I do hope to start a consult practice, even if I end up in private practice. Not sure if anyone will send me anything, and it probably won't make a bunch of money, but I will enjoy it.

 

[ALMD2B]

Dr. Weiss has trained several fellows who did/will do the soft tissue/derm combo....Rajiv Patel.....

I met him. He's at U of Michigan, right? He's doing about 95% derm and 5% soft tissue right now.

 

[deleted314957]

I met him. He's at U of Michigan, right? He's doing about 95% derm and 5% soft tissue right now.

dr. sharon weiss is a "she" at emory.

 

[KeratinPearls]

dr. sharon weiss is a "she" at emory.

He/she was talking about Rajiv Patel at UMich.

 

[zao275]

Yes, Raj is a "he" and he is at U Mich. I am currently working on some soft tissue/skin research with him. I think he spends more time on the derm service due to the volume they see. Aside from a handful of programs, no one really has huge soft tissue volume.