What is a Fellowship?
A fellowship is 1 additional year of training following graduation from residency. At the conclusion of a 5 year residency in orthopedic surgery, graduates are trained to begin practice in general orthopedics, which technically includes just about any aspect of orthopedic surgery the graduate is competent in. Some graduates choose to focus specifically on 1 subspecialty of orthopedic surgery and enter a fellowship. Fellowships, in general, include: Foot and Ankle, Hand, Joint Replacement, Pediatric Orthopedics, Shoulder and Elbow (Upper Extremity), Spine, Sports, Trauma, and Tumor.
A fellowship can have several different definitions, depending upon the extent of the fellowship, what it offers, and what it requires. Most often fellowships are monetary awards (scholarships), connected to working in a specific field, usually at the graduate or post-graduate level. While former or continuing graduate students complete extra training in a field, or have funding to continue research, they usually receive a stipend, slightly above living wage, from either a private or public institution. This allows them to complete their training, internship or research without having to devote time to working outside their field, or to resorting to additional loans for support. There are some very specific uses of the word fellowship in the medical field. Doctors who are completing training in advanced specialties, like oncology or pediatrics, are normally given a fellowship (stipend) while they complete their training and work for a hospital, and they do indeed work hard during this
National fellowships are competitive, merit-based awards that fund graduate study, usually in research programs (such as study leading to a Ph.D. in history—or study leading to a master’s degree when the master’s is the highest degree awarded in a given discipline). Some fellowships fund study for professional degrees (such as study leading to a law or medical degree). Other fellowships support study abroad or experiential learning following the bachelor’s degree. For students who plan to pursue a graduate degree, a few competitive national scholarships fund the last year or two of undergraduate education. Developing a strong application for a fellowship should begin long before you decide that a given fellowship is the one you will pursue. Ideally, you should meet with the fellowship advisor in your freshman or sophomore year to develop a plan of action for your undergraduate years that will build your skills and credentials (achievements for which you have been recognized or which ar
