I just wanted to relate my experience with the research fellowship at the University of Cincinnati for those considering the position. First off, I want to offer my condolences to those who didn’t match. I was right there last year and truly understand the shock and disappointment. That being said, I met many residents and attendings that didn’t match on their first application cycle. It can be done with some hard work and a little bit of luck. There have been five research fellows at University of Cincinnati, and all have matched successfully.

I think the UC Research Fellowship is certainly one of the better options in the country. I clearly have a biased opinion so please take it with a grain of salt:

Here at UC, the exposure to the academic side of orthopaedics is great. You will attend all fracture conferences, grand rounds, M&M's, as well as journal clubs. Additionally, you can shadow in trauma clinic twice a week. You’ll spend March in the clinical skills lab and go to AAOS. I also spent quite a bit of time dissecting cadavers and performing surgery on mice.

Another benefit of the position is that you are free to go on all interviews you get. The research fellowship substantially bolstered my interview invitations. I was fortunate and ended up receiving 40 interview invites this year, of which I attended 24. (For reference, last year I had 16 invites and attended 14).

I think the best thing about the position is that the research fellow is treated like a member of the team from day one. You will be a medical school graduate and be treated like a doctor. The residents and faculty are tight-knit and were both welcoming and supportive. You certainly will be given the opportunity to display your character and work ethic to the team. It can be a very productive year if you dedicate yourself to the position.

If you are in the unfortunate situation of not matching, I'd definitely consider the research fellowship at University of Cincinnati. If you have additional questions about the position, please let me know. Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Steven Dailey
daileysk@ucmail.uc.edu

Thank you to all of the applicants who applied to our research fellowship position. The position has now been filled for the upcoming 2014-2015 year. Thank you!