Part-time fellowship

[MalloryWeiss]

Would an unfilled fellowship program be receptive to structuring something a little less traditional, and say stretch a fellowship out over 2-3 years?

I'm already double boarded and fellowship trained (anesth + pain), financially comfy, and have flirted with the idea of learning a new skill (cardiac). However, the opportunity cost of a full-time program makes zero sense, which is why I would want to continue working as an attending 50% of the time.

At this point, it's purely a thought experiment. Just curious how such a proposal would be received by an academic program.

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[ProPropofol]

Unaccredited or accredited?

If you just want more training, experience, and an opportunity to get TEE certified, I think the current fellowship climate would allow for an academic program to be inclined to create an unaccredited spot where you are an attending half the time and a fellow the other half of the time. However, I think this puts you in a situation ripe for manipulation by the institution with being overworked and underpaid.

An accredited fellowship spot is a bit more complicated. I'm not sure what the ACGME rules and guidelines are for extending the fellowship beyond a certain date. By ACGME rules, you are only allowed 20 personal days per academic year and only so many academic days (for conferences, etc) but I'm not sure how much extra time they can give you beyond that for other reasons like maternity/paternity leave, bereavement, and wanting to have an extended fellowship for personal reasons before they can no longer extend the fellowship. There may be a limit on how much they can extend it before you have to "restart" the fellowship. That would be something to parse out and maybe someone on here knows. Or perhaps the ACGME website has some info on that.

I can tell you that this year, anesthesia fellowships are doing all sorts of things to make sure their spots are filled; I see people starting fellowship 1, 2, or even 3 months later than the norm and I see people finishing fellowship 15 months after initially starting on July 1 (for a 12 month fellowship) without institutions batting an eye. The tide is in your favor as of late for making something work but there are ACGME rules that need to be followed for it to be an accredited fellowship.

 

[Gern Blansten]

I’ve heard of someone doing a part time pain fellowship stretched over two years.
They were able to sit for the ABA pain board. This was 25 or so years ago.

 

[aneftp]

I’ve heard of someone doing a part time pain fellowship stretched over two years.
They were able to sit for the ABA pain board. This was 25 or so years ago.

My former colleague did the same exact thing 12 years ago. Half pain fellowship. 0.5 attending

In this buyers market with sellers (employers) desperate for academic attendings. You may find a program that will allow it.

 

[DrN2O]

Unfilled ACGME cardiac fellowships are there mostly because they need the BODIES to staff cases (as opposed to educate trainees). Unless your non-accredited, better (under-)compensated body can fill their need, you may not be what they are looking for. Additionally, the NBE pathway for non-ACGME training is no longer available to those graduated from residency after 2009 (see requirement 4 for certification).

It's best to reach out to NBE and the specific programs to clarify these issues. But that's probably too much for a thought experiment.

 

[MalloryWeiss]

Unfilled ACGME cardiac fellowships are there mostly because they need the BODIES to staff cases (as opposed to educate trainees). Unless your non-accredited, better (under-)compensated body can fill their need, you may not be what they are looking for. Additionally, the NBE pathway for non-ACGME training is no longer available to those graduated from residency after 2009 (see requirement 4 for certification).

It's best to reach out to NBE and the specific programs to clarify these issues. But that's probably too much for a thought experiment.

Thanks!

I agree, they need bodies. Which is why I would imagine they would be inclined to accept a body for 35-50% of the year if they cant get one for 100% of the year.