Research, network, build relationships to help with fellowship application journey
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During a session at Real World Ophthalmology, one speaker gave tips to help young colleagues in their fellowship application journey.
Andrea A. Tooley, MD, associate professor of ophthalmic plastic and orbital surgery at Mayo Clinic, began with a timeline from postgraduate year (PGY) 1, a year to enjoy, read for pleasure, look around and find a research mentor.
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“It’s also a great time to get started on a big project that might last several years. It’s a good time to get an IRB done, do a big data collection, things like that,” she said.
PGY2 is a demanding year with a high clinical volume in which residents should see patients, learn as much as possible about ophthalmology, and finalize and publish the research project started in year 1. In both year 1 and year 2, she advised young ophthalmologists to complete additional small projects, such as case reports or case series, and present them at meetings. PGY2 is also a good time to identify a specific subspecialty for fellowship as well as build advisor, sponsor and mentor relationships in that area and get involved in other major research projects.
In PGY3, start to think about the fellowship application. Networking becomes even more important to find strong reference writers within the faculty and from outside sources.
“Think about attending subspecialty meetings in your passion area ... and it’s important to have some publications,” Tooley said.
Having published work is useful, “but the most important thing, what selection committees are looking for, is have you taken advantage of all the opportunities presented to you and all the resources that you had,” she said.
Fellowship selection committees also like to see what makes each candidate unique, including specific interests and strengths, and want to make sure that future fellows will be motivated, productive and hard-working.
When choosing where to submit their application, candidates should look for places where they know they can thrive and be happy, with a culture they can embrace and that fits with their ultimate career goals. They should aim for a high surgical volume fellowship in which they can see many patients with a wide variety of pathologies and they can learn a variety of new techniques.
After the interview, it is a good time to network.
“Ophthalmology is a small world. I had so much help from my mentors who reached out on my behalf and spoke with their friends and spoke with other mentors who were able to tell people that I was going to be a good fellow or express my interest in a program,” Tooley said.
Her last tip was to enjoy fellowship and to be nice to residents.
“Be the type of fellow that you loved working with when you were a resident,” she said.
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Tooley AA. Tips for applying to fellowship. Presented at: Real World Ophthalmology; April 7, 2024 (virtual meeting).
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