Congrats to everyone who received good news on Monday. Unfortunately, I know many great applicants slip through the cracks of our system and go unmatched. For those of you trying to decide what to do next, I would strongly recommend you consider a research fellowship. It allows you to focus on and learn about orthopaedics for a full 12 months and you can use the year as a springboard for an academic career (opposed to doing a prelim year, which offers little career development). A research fellowship also generally provides you the advantage of a flexible schedule, which makes planning and attending residency interviews much easier than if you are locked into a prelim position.
We recently started an orthopaedic research fellowship at the University of Illinois. Although each individual situation is different and there can be no sure things in life the program has successfully matched its first three fellows into orthopaedic residencies (we'll find out on Friday about the results for our fourth fellow) and we are now seeking applications for the next/fifth fellow for the 2015-2016 academic year.
The research position is at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It is a one-year salaried full-time non-accredited research position in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (
chicago.medicine.uic.edu/cms/One.aspx?po...506244&pageId=647041). The fellow primarily participates in clinical research, with opportunities to work on basic science projects, with several members of the orthopaedic faculty at the University of Illinois (including the department chairman, Dr. Mark Gonzalez, and the residency program director, Dr. Alfonso Mejia). There are no clinical responsibilities, but the fellow is welcome to attend morning conferences (daily), Grand Rounds (weekly), sawbones workshops, and social events with the Illinois residents. You will learn a great deal about both research and orthopaedics through working in the department among great teachers and residents.
While the start time is flexible, we would like the fellow to start by June 1st (though earlier is better) so that the previous fellow can train the new one. I would encourage everyone to give the position serious consideration in the event of a "Black Monday".
If you are interested, please email your CV (include your phone number and any board scores - official report not required), personal statement for orthopaedics, and a brief statement explaining your interest in the research position to IllinoisOrthoResearch@gmail.com. Please note, this position is not open to individuals who have matched into an NRMP residency/training program for the 2015-16 academic year or have any other contractual commitment through NRMP. We'll be accepting applications from now until 1pm EST on 3/20/14. Phone interviews will then be conducted and the position is expected to be filled late this week or early next week.
Thanks and good luck!
