Advanced Fellowships and Professional Development

Profound changes are occurring in the U.S. healthcare system. Rapid technological advances, changing economic and demographic factors, and the growth of managed healthcare have caused dramatic shifts and demands in patient care. The VA Advanced Fellowships Program helps address these demands by offering post-residency fellowships to physicians and dentists in emerging health professions of particular importance to VA and the nation. The program provides outstanding opportunities for post-residency research, education, and clinical training in these emerging professions. Through creative partnerships, use of new technology, and innovative educational modalities, the VA Advanced Fellowships Program promotes and fosters the highest standards of leadership, intellectual integrity, research, and patient care.

Background

In 1978, the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) began the VA Special Fellowships Program, which was renamed in 2007 to VA Advanced Fellowships Program,  to accomplish the following purposes:

• Develop physician and dentist clinical proficiency, academic scholarship and leadership in emerging areas of health care important to VA
• Contribute to a talented, well trained recruitment pool for VA
• Foster an atmosphere of scientific inquiry and excellence within VA.

The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and Fellowship Program in Geriatrics were the first fellowships started in 1978. Over the years new fellowships were added to meet emerging healthcare needs important to VA. Highly skilled in treatment and research, the pool of physicians and dentists participating in the program has made significant contributions to health care in VA and the nation. Notable examples include nationally recognized programs and research in geriatrics, substance abuse treatment, and spinal cord injury medicine. VA support of fellowship programs in these and other areas has changed physician and dentist training in America.

Program Operations

Physician and dentist Fellowship Program Directors manage the fellowship programs at VA facilities. Working closely with their affiliates, Program Directors plan didactic experiences, clinical rotations, and research training for the fellows. Most fellowship sites are selected through a competitive request for applications administered by OAA. Fellowship participants serve as trainees on a temporary, full-time employment basis at one of the fellowship sites for the duration of the appointment period. VA provides two or three years of stipend/salary support for each fellow. Most stipends/salaries are based on the post-graduate (PG) level the fellow attained through previous Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) residency training. The stipend is related as closely as possible to local affiliate fellowship stipend levels.

Applicant Requirements

To apply to VA's Advanced Fellowships Program, interested applicants can explore the Advanced Fellowships menu and send a cover letter and curriculum vitae to the local fellowship site. Applications are processed at the local level, and OAA provides final approval. An applicant must have completed residency specialty training and be a board certified or board eligible physician with an active, unrestricted license to practice medicine in the U.S. (residency training licenses are considered restricted licenses.) Any international medical graduate must have an unexpired visa and an Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certificate that is valid indefinitely. Applicants on J-1 visas must have the required ECFMG sponsorship.

Summary

The VA Advanced Fellowship Programs have been extremely important to VA's clinical, educational, and research missions and the nation's workforce and health-care needs.