Fellowship Matching & Career Development

Due to our residents having a wide range of clinical interests, we have designed our program to create maximum flexibility to allow residents to achieve their unique future goals:

1. Quarterly Career & Fellowship Meetings with Program Director: meetings are divided into individual subspecialties (i.e. Sports, Pain, Interventional Spine, Neurorehab).  Meetings involve discussing extra-curricular opportunities, updates in fellowship / job application process, CV building, coordination of research, mentorship, etc

2. Mentorship: Residents are encourage to have both a “life mentor” (i.e. gives guidance on work-life balance, wellness, etc) and a “career mentor” (i.e. someone to guide to match into a Fellowship).  Residents are given freedom to chose their own mentor regardless of location, discipline in medicine, etc.  They are required meet with at least one of their mentors twice a year (spring and fall).  Mentors are easy to find for our residents due to our approachable faculty, expansive Alumni network including multiple alumni working in the Chicagoland area, and our location within a large metropolitan area

3. Flexible 3rd Year Schedule:  Residents are given three months electives to be able to complete Audition Electives in anticipation of applying to Fellowship.  

4. Flexible 4th Year Schedule (Create a “Mini-Fellowship” your Last Four Months of Residency): Residents have a total of 5 months of elective during residency.  The rotations are structured to allow residents to have up to 3 months elective during their last four months of residency.  As a result, some Residents have created their own “mini-fellowship” prior to starting work, fellowship, etc by working with their mentors, unique departments within the hosptial, etc.  For example, residents going into a Neurorehabilitation practive have worked with our Movement Disorders & MS clinic, spent time with neuroradiology, and completed a Sub-Attending experience.  

5. Opportunity for Extracurricular Activities: due to our proximity to a large metropolitan area, our residents have opportunities exposed to a variety of experiences that can help shape their future career including:

   • Research
   • Sports Medicine Experiences (i.e. Race Medicine, Sports Sideline Coverage, Pre-participation Physicals, etc.)
   • Lectures / Teaching sessions for Medical Student and Residents
   • Didactic Lectures (e.g. weekly Sports Medicine Conference)
   • Disability Advocacy and Speaking Engagements
   • Research
   • Community Service and Outreach (e.g. MSK Community Clinic,Westside Walk for Wellness)
   • DEI advocacy
   • Secondary Degrees (Masters of Science in Health Systems Management)
   • Health Equity Education 
   • Financial Support to Attend Conference Fellowship Fairs

 

Our success in Fellowship matching could not be done without the assistance of our active Alumni Network who continue to provide mentorship well after their graduation.  Residents meet Alumni via our Annual Alumni event at the AAPM&R and/or via introduction by the Program as they demonstrate interest in a career path shared with a former alumnus.

 

Fellowship Matches