How hard is it to get into an IM fellowship?

[qqw]

For example:

- Do they look at steps 1 & 2?
- Do you only have a shot at places you did residency at?
- Is there a bias against DO's at some places?
- Is it as uncertain as the match?

Any other info you want to share in appreciated

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[Danglebells]

if you cant use the search function, you cant get a fellowship.

 

[235009]

The answers to all your questions depend on which fellowship you're looking for
For renal and ID - don't worry about it, there are way more spots than applicants at this point
For GI, cards, heme/onc, pulm/cc:
- Everything is included in your application and you can never tell what each evaluator values. I had one interviewer mention my MSPE at an interview. In general though step 1/2 are way less important.
- Of course not
- DOs are still at a significant disadvantage as they are with the residency match. One of the most important factors for being successful in the fellowship match is going to a university IM program and very few DOs end up at one which stacks the deck even further. In over a dozen interviews I did not encounter a single DO and they accounted for only ~8% of the matches in my specialty.
- It's still the same match system so the same uncertainty will be there. On the other hand I felt way better going into the fellowship match than the residency match.

As a DO your absolute top priority should be to end up at a university IM program and realize that the most competitive specialties may be off the table for you regardless.

 

[qqw]

The answers to all your questions depend on which fellowship you're looking for
For renal and ID - don't worry about it, there are way more spots than applicants at this point
For GI, cards, heme/onc, pulm/cc:
- Everything is included in your application and you can never tell what each evaluator values. I had one interviewer mention my MSPE at an interview. In general though step 1/2 are way less important.
- Of course not
- DOs are still at a significant disadvantage as they are with the residency match. One of the most important factors for being successful in the fellowship match is going to a university IM program and very few DOs end up at one which stacks the deck even further. In over a dozen interviews I did not encounter a single DO and they accounted for only ~8% of the matches in my specialty.
- It's still the same match system so the same uncertainty will be there. On the other hand I felt way better going into the fellowship match than the residency match.

As a DO your absolute top priority should be to end up at a university IM program and realize that the most competitive specialties may be off the table for you regardless.

Thanks for taking the time to write all that info. Very helpful.

I was interested in Pulm, Nephro, Allergy, and Sleep medicine. So I will be prepared to get shut out of pulm. Hopefully the others are dooable.
Realistically though, with my below average level 1 score, I will most likely end up matching to a community IM program. Hopefully training at a community program won't shut me out of the less competitive specialities?

 

[235009]

Thanks for taking the time to write all that info. Very helpful.

I was interested in Pulm, Nephro, Allergy, and Sleep medicine. So I will be prepared to get shut out of pulm. Hopefully the others are dooable.
Realistically though, with my below average level 1 score, I will most likely end up matching to a community IM program. Hopefully training at a community program won't shut me out of the less competitive specialities?

Allergy is also competitive because there are very few spots
You have to do pulm before you can do sleep as far as I know
Nephro is wide open

 

[group_theory]

You can do sleep fellowship after IM residency (or after anesthesia, psychiatry, neurology, or pulm/ccm). However, if you're not cross-trained in other areas, it may be hard to find work as a pure sleep physician (who can't see pulm, or psych, or neurology, etc)

For fellowship applicants - it's almost the same as applying for residency - MSPE from medical school, USMLE 1/2/3 (or COMLEX 1/2/3), LORs from your PD (a must) plus other faculty members, personal statement, lists of publications/awards/presentations. When I was interviewing applicants, I would try to find something from their application that was interesting to discuss during the interview (ie their research, their med school, their residency program, etc)

As a DO, you definitely want to go to a University IM program. Going to a community IM program will hurt if you're going for a competitive IM fellowship (currently it's GI, Cards, Pulm/CCM, Heme/Onc).

During fellowship, we rarely interviewed people from community IM programs ... the residents from community IM programs that we interviewed had impressive CVs (published in Chest or the blue journal, oral presentations at Chest/ATS/SCCM, impressive glowing LORs from their PD as well as their PCCM faculty, high Step 1/2/3, etc). I think within the past 5 years, only 1 fellow came from a community IM program ... the rests were all from University IM programs.

Don't discount Pulm/CCM just yet as a DO. While you may have trouble with the top tier programs (ie Pitt, UCSF, Colorado, Penn, etc), there are plenty of programs out there that are receptive to DOs.

So overall, aim for a University IM program, one that has fellowships in the fields you are interested, so you can gain research experience, exposure, as well as LORs (and on occasion, the friendly phone call to fellowship PDs on your behalf)

 

[Instatewaiter]

For example:

- Do they look at steps 1 & 2?
- Do you only have a shot at places you did residency at?
- Is there a bias against DO's at some places?
- Is it as uncertain as the match?

Any other info you want to share in appreciated

1) Yes
2) Depends on where you did your residency, your research, LORs etc.
3) Yes
4) I don't really know what you mean by as uncertain as the match. Almost everyone who applies, matches in IM. The match rate for fellowships tends to be lower. It is a match so I guess similarly uncertain? In my experience though, the fellowship programs tend to be more open about who they want. I basically knew where I was going to match before the match happened.

 

[Lysinee]

The answers to all your questions depend on which fellowship you're looking for
For renal and ID - don't worry about it, there are way more spots than applicants at this point
For GI, cards, heme/onc, pulm/cc:
- Everything is included in your application and you can never tell what each evaluator values. I had one interviewer mention my MSPE at an interview. In general though step 1/2 are way less important.
- Of course not
- DOs are still at a significant disadvantage as they are with the residency match. One of the most important factors for being successful in the fellowship match is going to a university IM program and very few DOs end up at one which stacks the deck even further. In over a dozen interviews I did not encounter a single DO and they accounted for only ~8% of the matches in my specialty.
- It's still the same match system so the same uncertainty will be there. On the other hand I felt way better going into the fellowship match than the residency match.

As a DO your absolute top priority should be to end up at a university IM program and realize that the most competitive specialties may be off the table for you regardless.

Is that the usual order of competitiveness: GI, cards, heme/onc, and then pulm/cc?

 

[IMreshopeful]

Is that the usual order of competitiveness: GI, cards, heme/onc, and then pulm/cc?

GI and cardiology are typically the most competitive (GI likely more so because it has fewer spots) followed by Pulm/cc and heme/onc. Then rheum and endo. Then renal and ID.

Everyone here has given good advice. You maximize your chances of matching a good fellowship by going to an excellent university program and doing some research. I think letters of recommendation also make a difference with regards to what interview committees look for - strong letters written by people who are known in the field make a big difference.

As a DO you are definitely fighting an uphill battle. That being said I've met plenty of DOs who matched their fellowship of choice (both cards and GI). However it was much tougher for them as sadly the bias against them still exists to some extent.

 

[SqEdSaint]

GI and cardiology are typically the most competitive (GI likely more so because it has fewer spots) followed by Pulm/cc and heme/onc. Then rheum and endo. Then renal and ID.

Where does critical care only fellowship fall on this spectrum?

 

[IMreshopeful]

Where does critical care only fellowship fall on this spectrum?

I'm honestly not sure but it's less competitive than Pulm/CC combined as far as I'm aware.

 

[SqEdSaint]

I'm honestly not sure but it's less competitive than Pulm/CC combined as far as I'm aware.

Thanks, i found the answer in a thread in ccm. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/competitiveness-of-ccm.1127277/

 

[Lysinee]

Thanks, i found the answer in a thread in ccm. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/competitiveness-of-ccm.1127277/

There are about 150 pulm/cc programs and about 30 cc programs. I guess less people apply to cc than other fellowships.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

I am in a 2 yr CCM only program and we have only 4 spots per year. The program is very new so the # of applicants has been increasing. that being said, you have to understand that you are pretty much living in the ICU and it can get tiresome.

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

I am in a 2 yr CCM only program and we have only 4 spots per year. The program is very new so the # of applicants has been increasing. that being said, you have to understand that you are pretty much living in the ICU and it can get tiresome.

god bless ICU docs. Good ones can make the biggest difference

 

[jdh71]

For example:

- Do they look at steps 1 & 2?
- Do you only have a shot at places you did residency at?
- Is there a bias against DO's at some places?
- Is it as uncertain as the match?

Any other info you want to share in appreciated

Not hard, relatively speaking, even the "competitive" specialties. What is hard is getting an elite spot.