Question About Fellowship After Years In Private Practice:
I am an experienced radiologist and decided to join a fellowship after 12 years in private practice. Some people thought I was mad, and some thought I was going through a midlife crisis. I was sick of private practice work and wanted to do something new as I felt I was getting deskilled. So, I joined a fellowship in a tertiary hospital. Two weeks into the fellowship, I think I have become a bit slower and a little out of depth. I expected this change, and I thought it would take a few weeks for me to get up to speed. But now I feel I am very unwelcome because I am an outsider and there is a lot of politics.
I don’t know why I am writing to you, but I thought you might have seen a case like me and could provide some insight into my situation.
A Political Outsider
Response:
Dear Political Outsider,
I admire your tenacity to go back to fellowship. Sacrificing your current life for educating yourself after years in private practice to do something more speaks volumes about your determination and work ethic. Our most incredible residents are ones that have had prior experience. We have had one or two who completed former residencies in their own country before coming to our program.
Unfortunately, it sounds like you have entered a fellowship where education may sometimes take second priority to the whims of the folks who run the program. You have to decide if it is worth it to overlook the politics of your situation to receive the education that you wanted to get initially, Or do the politics of the place prevent you from accomplishing the goals that you had intended to get from the fellowship in the first place? It is often worthwhile to tough it out to get your education. A fellowship is for a relatively short period compared to years in private practice. So, if you can take the pain, it may be worth it. Especially if the tools you are learning will be essential to your future radiology practice.
Regards,
Barry Julius, MD
Question:
Hi Barry
Thank you so much for your feedback. Currently, I am doing the fellowship on my academic drive. It would have been nice if the department’s environment would have been additive.
I had joined the fellowship to gain more training. It appears all scans are done by consultants on weekends as they get paid extra by the department. So they have a vested interest in not letting us fellows report them.
The other day, I was in a meeting, and two radiology consultants mauled me in front of 30 doctors. They kept unsettling me while I was presenting and tried to humiliate me. I still have no clue what was their vested interest.
I want to thank you again for your encouragement.
Regards,
A Political Outsider
Response:
Dear Political Outsider,
Usually, those attendings/radiologists who exhibit bad behavior during a meeting do not reflect your competency. Instead, it measures the insecurity or mean-spiritedness of those who commit the inappropriate behavior. If these radiologists had an issue with you during the meeting, they should have taken you aside and spoken to you privately. Unfortunately, sometimes, in fellowship, you must keep a thick skin and try not to let these episodes derail your excellent work.
Good luck,
Barry Julius, MD
