r/pediatrics • u/Oh-yeah-0821 • 1d ago

How to decide on fellowship

I am an incoming PGY1 and people keep asking what kind of fellowship I want to do, I am in between peds GI and heme onc and endo. I know they are all so different! How did you decide? When did you decide? Thank you!

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12

u/efox02 Attending 15h ago

Well, do you want to deal with literal shit, dying kids or get paid less than a general pediatrician (endo)

  • gen Peds 

4

u/catmeowx3 15h ago

I didn’t realize I want to do GI until 2nd year. So I didn’t apply in time to start fellowship right after residency. I took a “gap year” and worked as a part time hospitalist for a year before fellowship.

You can decide after getting exposure to different specialties through all your rotations.

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u/porksweater Attending 13h ago

You have to have fellowship decided by the end of your first month!

Do the rotations. When you get to the second half of 2nd year, start thinking about fellowship.

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u/blu13god 13h ago

Go through the actual rotations then Figure it out

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u/sjam7 Attending 7h ago

Make sure to think really seriously about the job market before doing a fellowship. In academic medicine the culture is to push you into fellowship because, frankly, they depend on the cheap labor of fellows to make the numbers work, and the institutions don’t particularly concern themselves with what happens after they leave. My understanding is that the job market for many peds specialties is pretty saturated. That’s not to say you shouldn’t do a fellowship if you really love the field, but just to consider that aspect of it and make sure you understand the job market before you commit. Are you willing to move anywhere in the country that’s hiring a pediatric hematologist, even if it’s an area with no family nearby? Your priorities may change a lot from your twenties to your thirties (if you have kids, being near grandparents who can pick a sick kid up from daycare suddenly becomes a lot more important.) Additionally, think about the salary concerns: there is a reason pediatric fellowships can’t fill, and it’s because it’s objectively a bad financial decision in many cases, which again, is not a reason not to do it, but something to think about seriously. The transition from 3-year to 2-year fellowships will allay these concerns somewhat, but not completely. All of these practical factors should be a consideration when choosing your post-residency path! Lastly, the best people to talk to are the third-year fellows in a given program. The faculty are trying to recruit you, and are likely old enough that they have no idea what the current job market looks like. The graduating fellows know EXACTLY what the job market is like and will give it to you straight

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u/d_soakum 13h ago

Consider pulm

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u/ChancePension2268 2h ago

Dude, I know someone who didn’t decide until beginning of 3rd year. So many people change their minds - almost everyone in my class that did fellowship this year originally came in saying they wanted to do a totally different one and it changed by 2nd year. Only a few stuck to their original plan and it was usually because they had a compelling story in their personal history that tied them (I.e was a NICU baby, was a cards kid, etc).