“They said, ‘Let’s not talk about the cool stuff. What’s the stuff you hate to do?’ I had to ask myself, ‘If I saw nothing but patients with vertigo or sinus issues or hoarseness, would I be happy?’”
Fortunately, the answer was ‘yes,’ and Dr. Samji went on to complete a laryngology fellowship at Stanford last June before joining Camino Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic in San Jose, Calif. But the danger of choosing the wrong program is prevalent among residents, he said. “It’s easy to get seduced by a powerful mentor who just shows you the ‘sexy’ stuff. If you’re not willing to deal with the other aspects, you’re going to hate your job.”
Determine Career Goals First
It’s that potential danger that makes discussing career goals with appropriate faculty members at your residency institution the first and most important step in the fellowship process, said Edward J. Damrose, MD, FACS, director of the laryngology/bronchoesophagology clinical instructorship at the Stanford School of Medicine. “People interested in head and neck oncology may want to focus on academic or tertiary care institutions for fellowship training, where the case load is likely to be high. Residents interested in facial plastic surgery may have more flexibility, where location, the specialty of the mentor and the type of practice may have greater weight.”
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