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What Does It Mean for a Doctor to Be Fellowship Trained?

Sep 9, 2015

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When you are looking for a physician to treat your ailment, whether it has to do with an injury, a chronic illness or your general well-being, it's always recommended that you find a physician who specializes in the specific type of treatment that you are seeking.

While there are physicians who specialize in general practice medicine, most will recommend that you visit with a specialist once the cause of your particular condition has been determined. Specialists spend years educating themselves in a small aspect of medicine, which gives them the unique perspective of being able to best understand issues to do with one sub-region of the body.

Fellowship training is part of this in-depth training that doctors go through in order to become a specialist. A fellowship is not a core part of the medical training regiment but instead is a privilege that the best doctoral candidates are granted.

What Sets Fellowship Training Apart?

After the original four years of undergraduate studies, and another four years of medical school, there is a five-year residency program that all physicians must complete. Following that, a select few are offered fellowship positions that last one additional year. During this year, doctors are given the opportunity to focus on studying their particular branch of medicine in a more in-depth capacity. Those leading the fellowships are regarded as the most skilled and highly respected physicians in their field, so this is truly an opportunity for a physician to learn from the best. An orthopedic doctor who completes a fellowship in knee surgeries would have the expertise to be considered an expert fellow in knee surgery, thanks to the fellowship they underwent. This provides an added level of insight, experience and expertise, which many patients are comforted by later on.

Fellowship training provides an even higher level of study and accomplishment to the already tedious medical education. Being offered a fellowship is a privilege, one that most physicians aspire to. When you hear that a physician is fellowship-trained in your particular area of need, you can rest assured that the physician has an extensive level of background knowledge and experience, and is considered a trusted resource in that field. This is the kind of reassurance that many people are looking for from their doctors.

With fellowship-trained doctors, like the ones here at PBMC, you can be sure you are seeing the right doctor for your specific needs. Contact us today.