Choosing your fellowship and getting the most out of it – advice from Fellows

Abstract

SummaryChoosing a place for fellowship can be challenging. Every young ophthalmologist looks for a rewarding experience, trying to improve his/her knowledge in a specific area. Achieving this might be dependent on multiple factors. First, it's important to do some research about places where our area of interest can be mastered. After this, comes the “geographic” decision. Time away from family and friends is important for most people, and so is being able to visit them. Besides this, it's crucial to have at least a basic knowledge of the main language that will be spoken. English is widely spoken in most fellowship opportunities, but in my case it was of master importance to be fluent in the local language. Another factor to consider is the size of the hospital/clinic. Is it better to choose a big center with a lot of other residents or is it worth to choose a one‐on‐one experience, where you can sit side by side in an everyday basis with your tutor? For me, this second option worked perfectly and I will explain why. According to my expectations and personality, all the objectives were achieved. I'll try to explain this experience in every important detail and will also discuss some pros and cons of different types of opportunities.