post sophomore fellowship

[Mistress S]

Hi, I'm a second year student and only recently learned about the post-sophomore fellowship in path. It sounds like an interesting option, but I'm not sure if it's for me. I find path very interesting, but kind of doubt I will go into it due to the lack of patient contact which I generally enjoy. The PSF still appeals to me for a few reasons, namely I think the knowledge gained would be useful regardless of specialty and honestly it sounds like an interesting experience and a nice break from school. I'm not sure if it's worth adding another year to my medical education though. I have a few questions which I hope people with more knowledge about this can answer:

1.) What is the app process like for a PSF? Are they competitive?

2.) What are the pay/benefits like?

3.) Is a PSF viewed as a positive on residency apps? I haven't taken Step 1 yet, but my grades so far are only so-so. I wouldn't do it just to beef up my resume, but it would be nice to do something interesting that would also impove my chances of getting into a good residency.

4.) What is the typical structure of these programs? I'm more interested in clinical work than research.

5.) For those of you who are doing/ have done a PSF, do you feel it was a good decision? Would you recommend it even for someone not likely to go into path?

Feel free to answer any or all of the questions, sorry if they're kind of basic but I obviously don't know much about the PSF and am just trying to get a feel of what it's all about. I don't know if I would be better served by just doing an elective rotation in path 3rd or 4th yr or by doing a PSF. Thanks!

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[LADoc00]

Im going for the gun cabinet.....

 

[Mistress S]

Wow...sorry if I said something wrong...I did do a search on SDN and found a few posts, and I can see this is a somewhat controversial subject. Not all of my questions were answered by those posts however, and I'd like to hear from those with experience. Maybe this is a subject some of you are intimately acquainted with and find annoying to talk about, but believe it or not I don't know anyone personally with much knowledge about the PSF option so it would be nice to learn from people who do before I pursue this any further.

 

[yaah]

1.) What is the app process like for a PSF? Are they competitive?

I have no clue - when I applied for mine there were only two applicants for the two spots. I don't think they are very popular, actually, especially now that they don't count.

2.) What are the pay/benefits like?

My pay was somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of a resident's salary. So not that great. I was still considered a student at the school so I kept my student benefits, still had to pay some student fees but not tuition.

3.) Is a PSF viewed as a positive on residency apps? I haven't taken Step 1 yet, but my grades so far are only so-so. I wouldn't do it just to beef up my resume, but it would be nice to do something interesting that would also impove my chances of getting into a good residency.

It cannot hurt your application. I would think it would help, but not to a great extent. It helps more in that it gives you time to get good reference letters, perhaps research projects, and give you a sense of what path is like so you know what to look for, so in those ways it does help.

4.) What is the typical structure of these programs? I'm more interested in clinical work than research.

I think they vary - most are AP related but some have CP involvement. I think the level of responsibility varies from a glorified observership to being given the responsibilities of a resident. In mine, I did rotations like the residents and took call and everything (with an attending), but others are different.