Question of fellowship.

[Neurologo]

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I have been debating between fellowship vs private practice and have been leaning toward private practice with an option of doing a fellowship later if I see a need for it. But today a fellow advised me that I should pursue a fellowship since it will give me more opportunities and higher compensation even in private settings. But when I look at job listings, most are looking for general neurologist. Unlike sleep, pain and vascular critical care, for which one must have fellowship training, EMG, EEG, movements, dementia, MS, headaches can be relatively well practiced by general neurologists with continued self-education, I believe.

I am mostly interested in private practice and do not wish to limit my scope of practice to any one area. The fellowship I would be interested in would be EMG. I feel I should be able to learn EEG on my own. One attending is suggesting I go into pain fellowship but I do not have enough exposure to it so far.

I would love to hear your experienced advice. Thank you.

 

[soulofmpatel]

I think that if you plan to do a fellowship later, you should just do it now. If you think that you don't want to do fellowship, you should go into private practice. I think that specialization makes a difference in all fields, not just the ones you selected out.

It's really an individual decision.

 

[donegal]

I wonder the same thing at times too
Most job postings are for general neurology positions
I wonder how much of your sub specialty interest would you be able to focus on if you are hired as a general neurologist
Another question I am already planning on doing an epilepsy fellowship,would doing an MS fellowship as well make any sense
I have discovered that I really like neuroimmunology/MS and would actually enjoy a year of fellowship if I ended up doing one

 

[BlackFrancis33]

This has been discussed on the forum a multitude of times. If you want to go the private practice route, a fellowship is not necessary. Especially, if you don't have any qualms about living in the middle of the country. A fellowship may be helpful in large, competitive job markets, still probably not a necessity. In private practice if you have a fellowship, you can become the go-to MS guy/gal. There will still be plenty of general neuro to fill up your remaining clinics as it will likely be hard to fill your whole schedule with your subspecialty. Over a period of years, you may be able to dedicate more and more of your time to your subspecialty as you accumulate patients (MS patients live a normal lifespan, usually) and develop a local reputation.

 

[bustbones26]

I have been debating between fellowship vs private practice and have been leaning toward private practice with an option of doing a fellowship later if I see a need for it. But today a fellow advised me that I should pursue a fellowship since it will give me more opportunities and higher compensation even in private settings. But when I look at job listings, most are looking for general neurologist. Unlike sleep, pain and vascular critical care, for which one must have fellowship training, EMG, EEG, movements, dementia, MS, headaches can be relatively well practiced by general neurologists with continued self-education, I believe.

I am mostly interested in private practice and do not wish to limit my scope of practice to any one area. The fellowship I would be interested in would be EMG. I feel I should be able to learn EEG on my own. One attending is suggesting I go into pain fellowship but I do not have enough exposure to it so far.

I would love to hear your experienced advice. Thank you.

Many of those that did a neurophysiology fellowship would argue that the fellowship would enhance your abilities as a general neurologist. You just have to decide what makes you happy and go for it.

 

[Woatalk]

You will be able to negotiate a higher starting salary (even for general neurology positions) with a fellowship under your belt.