How do you build a fellowship application?

[Perrotfish]

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So there's a ton of advice out there on how to build up an application for medical school, and then again for residency, but what do you do to make yourself more competitive for fellowships? I'm out of standardized tests to take and the feedback in residency doesn't come with grades or rankings. Other than research (I'm trying) is there anything I should be doing to make myself more attractive to fellowships? Awards I should be applying for? Do they care about the CME I do? How much do they care about my electives? Is there a bias towards people who apply right out of residency, or towards applicants who have some real life experience? How can I make myself more competitive?

 

[deleted311769]

in my observation/experience there is almost nothing you can really add to your application other than research, and most residents aren't really able to take on substantial projects. You are pretty much applying with the same application as for residency - just with different letters and the reputation of your residency program.

And regarding electives - there isn't a place anywhere on your application that states what electives you are doing. There is no "residency transcript."

On the whole pediatric fellowships are not particularly competitive outside a few (and even these are just marginally more competitive). There is very little "building" that needs to be done.

 

[bel138]

In my experience interviewing for NICU this year, several people have been fairly impressed with my research project. I took on a fairly large project that would be related to my fellowship research interest. It's also a topic that is a bit rare in the NICU world right now. It has been a great talking point.

My COMLEX scores increased 100 points from step 1 to 2, then step to 3. Which was going from barely above passing to the 80th percentile, I believe, for comparison to your boards. God knows my program is not a well recognized academic center, so that's not doing anything for me. I have seen parts of my letters that were open on interviewers' screens, and they were quite favorable. I think letters and research really helped me out.

 

[ganesha123]

Hi,
Not to highjack the thread, but I was curious what comments any of you had on the field of ped gi, and the competitiveness of fellowsips? Thanks!

 

[JMMH]

When I was coming through residency, the most competitive fellowships in pediatrics were cardiology and emergency medicine. Other fellowships were not competitive in general unless you had your heart set on a specific "high-powered" training program.

Serving on my fellowship's application committee for a few years, we looked at the global picture but things that helped were coming from a strong residency program, having good USMLE scores (not meaning like 260+ but anything average or higher was good), and strong recommendation letters. Research experience really made people stand out, whether it was basic science from college/medical school or being involved in clinical research during medical school or residency.

And obviously the interview was probably the most important. We had some great applicants on paper but then you met the person and it wasn't a great fit and they fell down the ranked list or even weren't ranked depending on the year.

 

[michigangirl]

Agree that the interview is the most important part, hands down. Show up with a vision for your career and why you offer something important for the specialty and the program. That being said...

I can't say enough how important letters are for fellowship applications. Pediatric residency is basically a 3 year audition for those who want to do a fellowship. Your job is to identify the attendings who you impressed and saw you at your best, preferably at least one in the specialty you are applying to. Your program director letter is key as well-- and of course if you have significant research/QI/community outreach experiences they can speak to this in their letters.

If letters are lukewarm/blah, it's usually a warning sign. Many peds specialties are "small worlds"-- we see letters from the same people over and over again and we know a strong letter from an exceptional letter from a lukewarm letter. I know a lot of people say that letters are all the same-- but I guarantee you-- they are not.

The bottom line is, many peds residents don't get the time/opportunity to pursue meaningful research during their 3 years-- which is why showing up to your interview with a vision is very important.

Take home points-- make sure your letters come from people who you impressed, and have a clear vision to discuss if you make it to the interview phase. Good luck.

 

[DeadCactus]

I was under the impression you applied to fellowship essentially after intern year? So basically your performance as an intern and in medical school decides your fate?

 

[KidDr]

I was under the impression you applied to fellowship essentially after intern year? So basically your performance as an intern and in medical school decides your fate?

PEM fellowship applications are later than intern year. Back when I applied, I submitted my application the fall before I wanted to start fellowship (I took a year off between residency and fellowship, so I submitted my application and interviewed a few months after I finished residency).

 

[JMMH]

If you are going straight through after residency, then you usually apply for fellowship the Fall/Winter of your 2nd year and interview sometime between January-April of your 2nd year.

 

[DeadCactus]

Yea, so it's basically the residency application timeline during PGY2 instead of your last year. So you've basically got intern year and a few months of second year to get letters, research, projects, etc. And it's not like intern year is rich with time...

 

[GoSpursGo]

I was under the impression you applied to fellowship essentially after intern year? So basically your performance as an intern and in medical school decides your fate?

Unfortunately, my understanding is that all the fellowships operate on their own timetable. Pedi Hem/Onc, in particular, I recall being an early application (ie during 2nd year). It really depends on what you're trying to go into.

Keep in mind, there's no rule that says you have to go straight through. Several residents I know who found they loved a particular field a little too late to make a strong fellowship application are going to do a year as a general pediatrician or a hospitalist while they submit their application. My understanding is that some residency programs will work with you to create a temporary attending-level position as a hospitalist or even an ER fast-track kind of position where you can stay plugged into the hospital and your mentors/research while you're applying. I'm not sure if every program does it or how many of these positions they can create at a time, but maybe something to keep in mind.