Hand Fellowship 2010-11

[mnteer]

This post is for all of those that have recently finished the whole application/match process for Hand Fellowships. I will be applying for next year's match and just have a few questions:
1) Is there one standard application like the residency match or do you have to send individual applications/letters of rec/essay to each program
2) Is it possible to get a fellowship outside of the match and if so, is this the exception or the rule
3) How many interviews on average did you take and what time of year did you interview

Thanks to anybody who can help

[podling]

1. There is a Universal Fellowship Application on the Americal Society for Surgery of the Hand website (ASSH.org) that you can print, fill out, and send to the programs of your choice. This application is a standard application that includes a personal statement. There are some versions of the Universal Fellowship Application that can be filled out before being printed out, but you'll have to search the web for this format as it is not available on the ASSH site. There is no fee for the application or its submission. Check with each individual program to see what they require with regards to # of LOR's, etc. The only expenses you should incur are for your interviews and registering for the match (NRMP).

2. I believe all the accredited hand programs go through the match. Not certain that you can obtain one of the accredited positions outside the match unless there are unfilled positions after the match.

3. Although hand fellowships dont always fill, the specialty is becoming more competitive. Determining how many interviews to go on is a personal choice. My feeling is that it is always easier to cancel an interview than to deal with not having enough interviews. I applied to 15 programs & chose to go on 11 interviews. There were 4 programs I decided not to rank after interviewing with them.

Best of luck. Hope this helps

[mnteer]

thanks alot for your help