what is a fellowship in medicine

A fellowship in medicine is a period of medical training that a physician, dentist, or veterinarian may undertake after completing a specialty training program (residency) ). During this time, the physician is known as a fellow and works closely with a specialist to deepen their knowledge and experience of the subspecialty they’re interested in. Fellows are capable of acting as an attending physician or a consultant physician in the specialist field in which they were trained, such as internal medicine or pediatrics). After completing a fellowship in the relevant subspecialty, the physician is permitted to practice without direct supervision by other physicians in that subspecialty, such as cardiology or oncology). Fellowship training is usually experiential, hands-on, and full of practical experience. The American Medical Association (AMA) has reported 5,110 specialty programs with 68 specialties and 11,767 fellowship positions for 2020-2021. Fellowship-trained doctors are specialists in their field and are highly sought after, and often highly paid.