A research fellowship is a great back-up plan...especially for the applicant that had some red flags on his application (e.g. low Step 1 score, low clerkship grade, etc). In a sense, it is like an opportunity to redeem yourself and show that you are not throwing in the towel, that you will work hard and fight until you get in.

HOWEVER...it is important to keep in mind that a 1-year position will not offer much of an advantage for the following reason: you will have only 2-3 months to try to publish and be productive, which in reality is not practical. Nobody you work with can give a very credible LOR after only working with you for a few weeks. Therefore, if you're going to take this route, I would recommend a 2-year position. This would allow you ample time to work on many projects and publish several papers in time for the application a year later. Also, during this time you will be able to build contacts and connections and might even find a window to do an away rotation. Getting into ortho the 2nd time around will be an uphill battle for most reapplicants. You really need to present a whole new package for programs to give you serious consideration.

That's my 2 cents.

I did a year of research at Scripps in San Diego (across the street from the Torrey Pines golf course)

I am not sure what their plans for a position next year are, but feel free to PM me if you are interested.

There is a poitn to 1 and 2 year fellowships. It is tough to get a publication(read impossible) in 3 months, but it's not hard to dive in, make a great impression on people and establish some strong LOR's. It's also possible to develop poster submissions and really start a strong wave of research. However it is imperative that you do this somewhere that is productive and supportive. Choosing the right place to do research is probably just as important as working hard, and not just big name, but highly motivated group that will go to bat for you during the next round of applications!!! Here are the ones I found(No judgement on quality of any of these):

Rubin Instituted mzywiel@lifebridgehealth.org (Dr. Zywiel) and
mmcgrath@lifebridgehealth.org (Dr. McGrath)

HSS stoeckleinh@hss.edu (Dr. Scott Wolfe)

University of Cincinnati Shelley.hampton@uc.edu (Dr. Toan Le)

North Carolina Orthopedic Clinic selene.parekh@gmail.com (Selene G.
Parekh, MD, MBA)


Mayo fax:507-266-1803 (Michael J. Stuart)

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

If you are referring to the Mayo Clinic Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship, then I would just like to let anyone interested know that it is an UNFUNDED position. That being said, having matched this year (after the tremendous disappointment of last year) makes it all worthwhile. If you have any questions about the fellowship or about not matching ortho, please don't hesistate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Jay P. Shah
Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Research Fellow
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
shah.jay@mayo.edu
Pager: (507) 286-9040 x06610
Fax: (507) 266-1803

thank you for your replies . I think 2 of the above are unfunded . I would be applying only to the funded one