Is fellowship really necessary?

[byungwooy]

I am a PGY2 AP/CP resident in a fairly well known university program. Everyone who finishes residency in my program go into a fellowship training either here or at some other institution. I also find lots of FMGs(that also includes me) tend to do more than one fellowship to make themselves more marketable. I'll be graduating in 2007 which is right after year 2006 when 2 classes of residents will be graduating simultaneously. I am well aware that the more trained you are the better chance of getting a good job. But I am really not that interested in going for more fellowship training if I can find a job right after residency. Is it really that difficult to find a job(not part time) that has partnership opportunity if you don't do fellowship training ? I am not restricting myself into a particular location and willing to go to rural areas if I have to. I would appreciate some input on this especially from LADoc00. Thanks.

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[RyMcQ]

Is it really that difficult to find a job(not part time) that has partnership opportunity if you don't do fellowship training ? I am not restricting myself into a particular location and willing to go to rural areas if I have to. I would appreciate some input on this especially from LADoc00.

I'm no LADoc00, but let me give this a shot...

Try to find a former fellow that regrets his/her choice to do a fellowship.

There is little doubt that I got a significant upgrade in the quality of my job (i.e., I'm going to live where I want to live) because of my hematopathology fellowship. I could have had a job last year, a pretty good one at that, without the fellowship, because I was contacted by a group that had an unexpected opening. But that job, while a great opportunity, was further from my family than I optimally wanted.

In your case, there will be more applicants in the job pool when you finish. (A lot of 4 year graduates are going to have to do fellowships when the crunch happens.) Who would you hire? Someone with 4 years or someone with 5 years, all other things being equal? A fellowship will definitely help you.

If you really don't care about going to a rural area, you may be just fine. But why chance it? You've already been in training for 8 years. What is another year?

For what it's worth, that's my opinion... Best of luck to you.

 

[LADoc00]

I'm no LADoc00 -The dude from ARUP

Youre right! There can be only one. Dont try to imitate

The short answer to do "I have to do a fellowship" is: Yes, YEs and YES. There is one and only one general rule of thumb for not doing a fellowship:if you are MDPhD and applying for a K08 grant/Howard Hughes PD and going into basic science. Thats it, end of story. Dont post here how your third cousin's best friend got a job without a fellowship coming out of the Medical College of South Carolina because his dad was mayor of Spartenburg or some dumb **** like that because I dont give a rat's ass!

 

[Doctor B.]

Most of the residents in our program are doing fellowships. Especially with path now being 4 years, a fellowship brings us even with others who were in the 5 year system. I can't say if it's necessary for everyone but I feel that it is for me.

 

[garfield]

Most of the residents in our program are doing fellowships. Especially with path now being 4 years, a fellowship brings us even with others who were in the 5 year system. I can't say if it's necessary for everyone but I feel that it is for me.

Nah, not exactly even as you could be ahead... the screwed 5 year folk can't count that 5th year as a boarded fellowship.

 

[Doctor B.]

Nah, not exactly even as you could be ahead... the screwed 5 year folk can't count that 5th year as a boarded fellowship.

That's a good point. I guess it would be even in number of years of training but not in boarded qualifications.

 

[RyMcQ]

Nah, not exactly even as you could be ahead... the screwed 5 year folk can't count that 5th year as a boarded fellowship.

I did a 5th year surgical pathology fellowship, which has no board examination, but is regarded by many (in private practice at least) as a year as valuable as other fellowships.

 

[Doctor B.]

I did a 5th year surgical pathology fellowship, which has no board examination, but is regarded by many (in private practice at least) as a year as valuable as other fellowships.

I'm hoping to do a surg path fellowship as well. I'm glad to read your post saying that private practice groups found it valuable. I was worried that I might not be as marketable without something like heme or cyto.

 

[RyMcQ]

I'm hoping to do a surg path fellowship as well. I'm glad to read your post saying that private practice groups found it valuable. I was worried that I might not be as marketable without something like heme or cyto.

I am also doing heme, so I can't be positive about what people valued more. I do know that the conventional wisdom re: private practice is that groups want people that are solid in general surg path and frozen section first and other stuff is not quite as important