hand rumors

anybody heard any rumors about hand fellowships this year?

I dont think Indy sounds as competitive nowadays (hearsay).

Trauma heavy fellowships dont give you any vacations for the year (a number of fellowships).

Looks like Loma Linda is closing their hand fellowship.

Some of the fellowships talk a big shoulder game but are just offering cursory experience. One said they had a new shoulder guy but it turns out the fellows do not even rotate with that guy.

Best true shoulder experience seems to be AGH.

Best academic experience is Seattle.

any takers on anything I have said? registering to comment is easy and anonymous.

What are you hearing about Indy that gives you that impression?

Hand fellowships are nothing like residencies in terms of competitiveness. For example, AGH (Allegheny General Hospital, in Pittsburgh) and the Indiana Hand Center are very different. I agree that AGH has a great shoulder experience if that's what you want - a fellow I talked to there wished he weren't doing so many shoulder replacements during that particular month.

There is much more variability among "hand" programs than among residencies.

Number one: know what you want.

Number two: talk to several fellows or former/recent fellows at programs you're interested in. Talking to other applicants doesn't count, trust me.

Number three: programs change, faculty change, and perceptions of these (programs and faculty) change over the years. Often times applicants are operating using two and three year-old information. For instance, Dr. Gelberman at Wash U had a bad reputation for several years among applicants for some reason. The current fellows know this and can't say enough good things about him.

Facts are hard to come by. I have found a paucity of critical information about a lot of places.

When no one at a program can tell you why they have not gone on vacation in a six month period, then there is something wrong, no?

I wish there was a place where a person could look under the hood of a program and find out what the life is really like.


Indy may be great but covering that ER at all hours seems less than a learning experience. Granted, that may be true for some and not true for others.

The point about asking former fellows is a great one.

Current fellows can be misleading. If you meet a fellow who is joining the practice after finishing, the guy may paint a rosy picture. Anybody who interviewed this year can name a couple of clowns who just turned you off.