neonatology fellowship

[neointerested]

Hi,
I'm a ped res interested in neonatology....

What do they look at in the application and in the applicant?

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[jackjinju]

Hi,
I'm a ped res interested in neonatology....

What do they look at in the application and in the applicant?

Hi,

I am a PL-2 who just finished the neonatology application process. I think what they look for depends on where you are applying. I applied to mostly the name-brand programs in the Northeast. I think the things they cared about most (in no order) were your CV, letters of rec., research experience/interest, career goals, interview, where you are doing your residency. It's probably a plus to start off if you're a US grad, by the way. I had some research in med school, and I'm doing some this year as well...all in NICU. Only one published paper, and I CERTAINLY DID NOT rock out med school or my boards. Pretty unremarkable there, but I don't think they cared much about that.
When interviewing at the big academic places, a lot of the conversations are about research interests and career goals. It is always good to have a decent idea about that, though you certainly don't have to have some specific project in mind. I think I was interested in doing either academics or working at some big center. Either way I am interested in doing departmental leadership/administrative stuff down the line, too.

If you're a decent applicant from a decent program, you should have no problem getting most, if not all of the programs you apply to to grant you an interview. I think the key is what you want long term, or at least a clue of what you might want. I think if you know for sure that you want a pretty laid back life working at a community hospital, then a huge academic program would seem excessive. Likewise for the other way around. Feel free to write back or private message me. I ended up getting into 4/8 places I applied to, 1 I sort of pulled my application from before they decided, and 3 programs canned me. I'm going to what would commonly be thought as a "big name" program. I'm not sure if that's what you're interseted in, but either way, feel free. OBP has been extremely helpful to me, so I feel I should pass on the buck to any applicants.

Andrew

 

[oldbearprofessor]

Hi,

OBP has been extremely helpful to me, so I feel I should pass on the buck to any applicants.

Andrew

Hmmm....I point out that I have NEVER been on a residency or fellowship application committee anywhere (I plead the 5th on med school admissions committees ) and that I applied for a fellowship in neo more than 200, er I mean 20 yrs ago, when the interview process consisted of the head of section sitting down with you, introducing you for a while to talk with 2 or 3 people and then saying "okay, we want you to come here." It's gotten more formal since then I hear although I'm not sure it's for the better.

In any case, if you are a US graduate or even a foreign grad who has done well in residency, you won't have any problems getting a fellowship somewhere. I think the letters of recommendation count for a lot in fellowships in pedi in general. Basically, we are a relatively small group of folks and fellowship directors often know the head of neo (or whatever) at residency programs and look at their word on the letter as a bit of a committment that this person is worth taking.

Beyond that, jackjinju (henceforth, JJ) has it right in that academic research oriented programs will ask about your academic goals and research interests. That doesn't mean you can't get in without publications, but, they want at least some people that they train to aspire to an academic career. Many academic centers need more people so they may be looking at whether you are likely to stay after fellowship.

Good luck, and remember, JJ has been through the process about 20 yrs more recently than me.

OBP

Obligatory PS. - At my age, on weekends (like this one) when on service but not on-call, I sleep most of the afternoon. This is not noticibly different from weekends during residency and fellowship when I did the same

 

[thos]

(There are so many Neonatology threads, I didn't know where to post. Feel free to point me in the right direction if this has been addressed.)

I'm starting internship in June, but my goal is fellowship in Neo and, ultimately, an academic position. I'd like to hear posters opinions on staying at your "home" program for fellowship as opposed to going elsewhere. What about the same question regarding first faculty position? In my case, "home" is very strong for Neo.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

(There are so many Neonatology threads, I didn't know where to post. Feel free to point me in the right direction if this has been addressed.)

I'm starting internship in June, but my goal is fellowship in Neo and, ultimately, an academic position. I'd like to hear posters opinions on staying at your "home" program for fellowship as opposed to going elsewhere. What about the same question regarding first faculty position? In my case, "home" is very strong for Neo.

Many people stay at their home institution for fellowship and faculty due to family reasons or other strong location bonds. Some go away for the same reason . If this doesn't affect you, then it really relates to your research interests. There is some clinical benefit to seeing multiple places, but this mostly affects the transition to faculty and isn't anywhere near as big an issue as the resarch issue.

Basically during your internship year get to know the folks at your institution well enough to not only get that letter of rec, but to see what type of research they do and whether it fits with your interests, experience. If so, try to get involved a bit if at all possible - I realize this is hard - but at least make an effort to read a few of their papers to see what they do.

When you sit down with them as a PL-2 - they'll tell you if they are looking for a fellow with your interests/background and if they think you should stay.

Ultimately, it still is a good idea to look around for fellowship at 3-5 places at least so you see how other programs do things.

In terms of faculty, this is almost entirely research-driven and depends on whether you are going on a training grant, etc. I would generally say that fellows staying for first faculty positions seems more common and likely than residents staying for fellowship. Of course, by then, there may be family reasons related to moving vs staying.

Regards and good luck

OBP

 

[thos]

Thanks for the info OBP. I'll keep my eyes open for you when I'm on the interview trail; do you still look like your avatar?

 

[oldbearprofessor]

do you still look like your avatar?

Sadly, I have gone a bit gray...

Still have a furry face though

Regards

OBP

 

[chicubs1116]

So I am a PL-1 interested in Neonatology and will be applying for fellowship starting in 2008. I have heard some talk that we might be subjected to a match. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this, and is this good or bad?

 

[Cameron]

So I am a PL-1 interested in Neonatology and will be applying for fellowship starting in 2008. I have heard some talk that we might be subjected to a match. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this, and is this good or bad?

The fellowship director at my hospital said the same thing to me last week - anyone know if this is actually going to happen? It seems like it would have to be decided pretty soon as we'll be applying this fall.

 

[kickazzz2000]

The fellowship director at my hospital said the same thing to me last week - anyone know if this is actually going to happen? It seems like it would have to be decided pretty soon as we'll be applying this fall.

Bring it on, I say...

 

[oldbearprofessor]

Bring it on, I say...

I agree - this is long-overdue. I have no insight into whether it will happen (I have no role in fellowship selection at my institution and no political insight into this issue), but I think it will make it much better for both institutions and applicants to have a match.

BTW, congrats to kickazzz2000 on choosing his fellowship spot!

Regards

OBP

 

[pediatrician]

i am a pediatrician from india. finished my md peds 1 and a half years back. which are the places in australia where i can apply for a neonatology fellowship or cardiology fellowships

 

[kgal1]

does becoming part of the match mean that the fellowship is getting more competetive or less?

 

[oldbearprofessor]

does becoming part of the match mean that the fellowship is getting more competetive or less?

Neither. It means that common sense has taken over the process of putting applicants and programs together. Since the first match hasn't come close to occurring, it's impossible to tell what effect it will have on the applicant pool. The development of the match was unrelated to the applicant pool size.