Musings and Rheumination
I was once told that residency training is what you make of it. I think this could not be truer for fellowship. With all the pathologies we need to learn, new treatments, new indications for existing treatments, new literature we need to keep up with, presentations we need to do, journal clubs, clinical duties, research, and everything else in between, it is easy get inundated with ‘tasks’ we need to check off. Before we know it, fellowship is about to end, and we think back on how meaningful our training has been or whether we were simply going through the motions, so to speak.
In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges that mentors face when it comes to current generation of learners is finding ways to have and keep them engaged. According to NRMP Specialties Matching Service Results and Data 2017, 332 applicants vied for 217 Rheumatology positions in the most recent match. This is an overall increase of 88 applicants compared to 2013. Data also show that there has been a steady rise in the number of residents applying for Rheumatology fellowship over the past 4 years that they have tracked.
There clearly is growing interest in Rheumatology; however, encouraging trainees to be more involved in activities that appear to be outside the scope of direct patient care can be quite difficult. Maybe it’s a difference of values. Maybe it’s due to career goals and how much involvement trainees intend to have outside of clinical practice, during and after fellowship. Or maybe, they just don’t have the time to be as involved as their mentors would want them to be. However, participation comes in different forms.
One of the easiest ways to get involved is to be informed. In my own experience, I have not had much exposure to advocacy until I started my fellowship. ACR’s website has dedicated a full section to this and provides excellent resources. It gives a snapshot of all the achievements related to advocacy for the past year. It also gives details about initiatives being done at the state level, primarily through the efforts of local societies. There is also information on the use of different social media platforms for this purpose.
Maybe some of these causes will resonate with your values, or your own experience with your patients. Maybe one will inspire you to be a little more informed, be a little more involved – even just signing up with your state society as a start.
In a professional community as small as ours, no amount of effort is insignificant and every voice can speak volumes.
Abraham Tacang, MD
Rheumatology Fellow
Geisinger Medical Center
In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges that mentors face when it comes to current generation of learners is finding ways to have and keep them engaged. According to NRMP Specialties Matching Service Results and Data 2017, 332 applicants vied for 217 Rheumatology positions in the most recent match. This is an overall increase of 88 applicants compared to 2013. Data also show that there has been a steady rise in the number of residents applying for Rheumatology fellowship over the past 4 years that they have tracked.
There clearly is growing interest in Rheumatology; however, encouraging trainees to be more involved in activities that appear to be outside the scope of direct patient care can be quite difficult. Maybe it’s a difference of values. Maybe it’s due to career goals and how much involvement trainees intend to have outside of clinical practice, during and after fellowship. Or maybe, they just don’t have the time to be as involved as their mentors would want them to be. However, participation comes in different forms.
One of the easiest ways to get involved is to be informed. In my own experience, I have not had much exposure to advocacy until I started my fellowship. ACR’s website has dedicated a full section to this and provides excellent resources. It gives a snapshot of all the achievements related to advocacy for the past year. It also gives details about initiatives being done at the state level, primarily through the efforts of local societies. There is also information on the use of different social media platforms for this purpose.
Maybe some of these causes will resonate with your values, or your own experience with your patients. Maybe one will inspire you to be a little more informed, be a little more involved – even just signing up with your state society as a start.
In a professional community as small as ours, no amount of effort is insignificant and every voice can speak volumes.
Abraham Tacang, MD
Rheumatology Fellow
Geisinger Medical Center
