On the verge of graduating from MBBS? Congratulations! After all those tough nights you have finally earned the title of Doctor! But the journey is not yet over. To become successful and recognized, you must have knowledge, practice, experience, and be abreast with the current trends in medicine.
During your journey of becoming a competent and successful medical practitioner, you must have understood the value of being up to date about your respective field. With new innovations in the medical field happening every day, there are a lot of courses out there that will get you up to speed with current trends in your field of interest.
There are a plethora of courses and workshops available that will help you gain mastery in a particular discipline of healthcare. Choosing one from the variety of courses out there can be intimidating. Fret not, we are here to help you!
A type of course that you can pursue after your MBBS is a Fellowship. Fellowship courses allow you to train and groom yourself in a specific speciality of medicine. Read on to find out more about fellowship courses!
What is a Fellowship?
A fellowship course in medicine will give you the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a certain field of medicine. Upon completion of this course, you will be adept at dealing with difficult complications that can occur in patients. The duration of the course usually depends on the field of speciality you choose, however, the average length of courses most institutions offer lasts from 1 to 3 years.
Why a Fellowship?
Wondering why a fellowship will benefit your career? A fellow in a particular speciality is highly sought after due to their knowledge and training as compared to other MBBS graduates. Upon completion, this course will open up additional avenues for your career. Here are some merits of pursuing a fellowship after graduation
- Holistic treatment of a patient: You will gain exposure to the recent techniques in diagnosis, treatment strategies, and surgery.
- Forms a base for further specialization courses
- You identify and rectify any deficits in your previous training
- Costs are less as compared to other postgraduate programs. Also, you get paid a stipend for your training and practice
We hope that the article so far has piqued your interest in this course. If so, then great! Let us look at some courses that can benefit your career.
Postgraduate fellowship in Accident and Emergency Medicine
Are you someone who is interested in helping accident victims and emergency trauma care? Then this is a course you can opt for. A fellowship in accident and emergency medicine provides you with in-service training in handling emergencies and early management of trauma. The training will also involve rotations of various critical care units such as the anesthesiology department, coronary care unit, pediatric emergency department.
- Eligibility: An MBBS degree from an MCI recognized institution
- Duration of course: 2 years
Your course work would include maintaining a logbook and completing a scientific research project by the end of the course. These would be subject to regular evaluations. For successful completion of this course, the trainees must pass the theory and clinical examinations usually held in the second year of training. In addition to this, the trainees are given a stipend and are provided with accommodation.
A fellowship in emergency medicine usually follows the curriculum as mentioned above, however, it may change from university to university.
Fellowship in General Medicine
Being a jack of all trades in medicine may not be possible but this course will bring you the closest to it. A fellowship in medicine will give you the skills and experience to handle anything that is thrown at you!
- Eligibility: A completed MBBS degree from a Medical Council of India (MCI) recognized institution
- Duration of course: This program lasts for 3 years
- Course work and curriculum: Over the three years of this course you will gain experience in the following areas
- Outpatient/Inpatient care
- Managing medical emergencies independently
- Performing medical procedures independently
- Clinical rotations that last from six months to one year in specialties like cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, hematology, nephrology, and MICU
- Interpretation of reports
- Teaching junior residents
- Use of computers in medicine
In addition to this, your course work involves the completion of a dissertation within the three years of your training. The topic of the dissertation will be provided to you by the university. Furthermore, good grades in your regular evaluations and examinations are necessary for the completion of your fellowship.
Fellowship in Gynecology and Midwifery
Reproductive health, maternal health, and neonatal care are promising areas in the field of medicine. Due to the ever-increasing demand for OB-GYNs, choosing to specialize in this field is worthy of consideration.
- Eligibility: MBBS from an MCI recognized university
- Duration of course: 3 years
The syllabus for this course encompasses obstetrics, gynaecology, neonatal care, and family planning. Here are some of the subjects that you will be learning:
- Obstetrics
- Anatomy of the fetus and fetal growth
- Fundamentals of reproduction
- Early recognition and management of pregnancy complications
- Normal pregnancy, Labour & Puerperium
- Infections in pregnancy
- Management of pregnancies complications
- Obstetric analgesia and anaesthesia
- Drugs used in obstetric practice
- Operative obstetrics
- Gynecology
- Anatomy of the female reproductive and urinary system
- Development of female reproductive system and associated malformations
- Physiology of menstruation, ovulation, and spermatogenesis
- Common menstrual disorders-Diagnosis and management
- Reproductive Endocrinology
- Early diagnosis and management of benign and malignant tumours found in the female reproductive system.
- Prevention, Diagnosis, and management:
- Reproductive tract infections
- Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
- HIV/AIDS
- Genital tuberculosis
- Operative gynaecology
- Recent advances in gynaecology: Diagnostic and therapeutic
- Neonatal care
- Proper care of a newborn: Normal and High-risk
- Neonatal asphyxiation and resuscitation
- Prevention, detection, management of
- Neonatal sepsis
- Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia
- Birth trauma
- Congenital malformations: Detection and management
- Fetal therapy
The teaching method varies institution wise but the usual norm involves seminars, group discussions, case reviews, clinic rotations, etc. Most universities would also require you to submit a thesis at the end of your fellowship. Furthermore, you will have a regular theory and practical exams to evaluate your progress.
Postdoctoral fellowship programs
Wanna dive deeper into a field of your choice? Then postdoctoral fellowships are one of many ways to go! These fellowships are for doctors who have completed their postgraduate studies (MD/MS/Other) and usually last for a year or two. The eligibility criteria also vary from institute to institute. Some universities or hospitals might require you to have some work experience in your field of interest before granting you admission. Here are a few courses to look out for
| Field | Courses (Fellowship in) | Eligibility | Duration |
| Anesthesia | Pediatric anesthesiaCardiac AnesthesiaNeuro. Anesthesia | MD/DNB (Anest.) | One year |
| Cardiology | Pediatric cardiologyPreventive cardiologyAdvanced echocardiography | DM/MD/DNB (Cardio.) | One year |
| Pediatrics | Pediatric NephrologyPediatric Emergency MedicinePediatric NeurologyPediatric Intensive CarePediatric HepatologyNeonatal Intensive Care | MD/DNB (Pediatrics) | One year |
| General Surgery | Minimal Access Surgery Diabetic Foot Surgery | MS/DNB (Gen. Surgery) | Two years One-year |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | Reproductive MedicineFetal Medicine | MS/MD/DNB (Obstetrics and Gynecology) | One-year |
| Ophthalmology | OculoplastyRefractive SurgeryPediatric OphthalmologyRetinal Surgery | MS/MD/DNB (Ophthalmology | 1-2 years |
The course work will usually involve seminars, case discussions, and presentation, clinical rotations just like the courses in the postgraduate fellowship programs. Also, such courses usually require you to perform your own research and present it in a seminar or publish it in a recognized journal.
Doing such courses opens up various opportunities for you. Here are some career paths that you can opt for after completing your fellowship.
- Government service: You can get appointed as a Junior Medical Officer in various government facilities such as AIIMS, UPSC, JIPMER
- Corporate Hospitals: Corporate hospitals give you an opportunity to work in a well-organized team and a competent staff. Also, you will get a handsome fee for your service
- You have an opportunity to try out clinical research: A clinical research fellow is a doctor who is especially employed for research projects. His/her role spans from answering basic scientific questions to helping conduct clinical trials
- Set up your own clinic/hospital. Confident enough in your skill? Upon completion of a postdoctoral fellowship, you can start your own practice! A dream come true for most doctors.
We hope that this article has highlighted the benefits and volume of fellowship courses that are available to you! Hope that you found some of the courses mentioned above interesting. We would also like to wish you good luck in your future endeavours.
References:
- Gurnani B et al. Insights into career prospects after post-graduation in ophthalmology. Indian journal of ophthalmology. 2021 Dec 1;69(12):3709-18.
- Addy C et al. Clinical Research Fellow. The Ulster Medical Journal. 2019 Jan;88(1):60.
- Christian Medical College Vellore: Prospectus Admissions 2021-2022. Available from: https://www.cmch-vellore.edu/sites/education/prospectus.pdf Accessed on 14th February 2022.
- College of Physicians and Surgeons of Mumbai: Courses. Available from http://www.cpsmumbai.org/Courses Accessed on 14th February 2022.
Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme: Medical, Surgical, and Dental Sciences. Available from: https://www.tnmgrmu.ac.in/index.php/courses/post-doctoral-fellowship-medical-dental-courses.html Accessed on: 14th February 2022.