Academic/Research Fellowships vs. Industry Fellowships. What's the difference?

I know this is the "Residency Preparation Blog" but why not include fellowships?  There are a lot of similarities between residencies and fellowships but a few important differences in terms of what these opportunities have to offer as well as how to go about applying for a position.  There is just one potentially confusing thing to clear up first since there are two types of post-graduate fellowships in pharmacy.  According to ASHP, an academic pharmacy fellowship (usually 2 years, possibly 3) is a "directed, highly individualized, postgraduate program designed to prepare the participant to become an independent researcher."  These types of programs are almost always affiliated with an academic institution and are peer-reviewed by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, which has rigorous standards for quality and types of activities.  Some may offer graduate degrees as well.  Pharmacists completing an academic pharmacy fellowship often go on to work in academia but some may also work in a research area for a pharmaceutical company as well.

A postgraduate industry fellowship, on the other hand, is a one- or two-year position with the pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical industry designed to prepare a pharmacist for a pharmaceutical industry career.  While many are affiliated with academic institutions, the primary experiential learning occurs with a sponsor company in a specific focus area.  The academic affiliation allows for didactic teaching and precepting opportunities as well as faculty collaboration to help with scientific publications and presentations.  Fellows also become integral parts of the day-to-day functions of their pharmaceutical industry department while learning how to problem-solve and become an active member of a project team.  As many as 17% may not be affiliated with a college of pharmacy, so it is important to make that distinction when researching programs if the goal is to work with pharmacy faculty and students.

In a recent survey of industry fellowships affiliated with colleges of pharmacy published in AJHP in 2012, the following trends were identified:

• 64% were headquartered in New Jersey, 14% in Massachusetts, and 11% in North Carolina.
• Medical affairs (medical information, medical communications, medical science liaisons) fellowships made up 39% of fellowship positions available followed by clinical research (32%), regulatory affairs (9%), commercial (8%), health economics/outcomes (8%) and pharmacovigilance (4%).
• The most common first position following completion of an industry fellowship was in the pharmaceutical industry (93%); 56% were with the same company where the graduate completed a fellowship.
• In the first 1 - 5 years after fellowship completion, 81% of the 271 graduates (from 2005 - 2009) remained with pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical companies.

There are currently only proposed guidelines for industry fellowship uniformity, so the types of experiences and oversight is likely to be highly variable.  To learn more about these proposed guidelines, review the article published by Larochelle PA and colleagues published in the American Journal of Pharmceutical Education in 2009.  

The process for peer-review of academic/research fellowships is detailed and rigorous.  To learn more about these types of fellowships and the standards for peer review, visit ACCP's Peer Review of Fellowships web page.

Roseman residency history file

On Friday, June 15th, all Roseman University P3s received an email containing a document describing where students from Roseman University have done residency in previous years.  The document also described where our faculty trained and where they are currently affiliated with residency programs.  While it is not possible to provide names of alumni, some faculty have kept in touch with these former students and can contact them on your behalf.

Residency candidates and social media

If you are a residency-bound student graduating in 2014, you are probably thinking about the contents of your curriculum vitae (CV) with some frequency.  There are numerous places where you can get feedback on your CV including the USHP CV Review Night (Sept. 23, 2013) and the ACCP CV Review Service.  While you have probably heard all of the stories about typos and irrelevant information which have appeared on "bad" residency candidate CVs, in the grand scheme of things, this is nothing compared to what could potentially be discovered about you via social media.  Consider the possibility that what you might consider typical off-work behavior might be poorly perceived by the workplace environment when an attempt is being made to judge your character or values.  As evidenced through timeline posts, comments, photographs, "likes" of companies/organizations/events, residency program directors might discover explicit language, racist/sexist/ageist remarks, evidence of substance abuse, behavior which is in poor taste, etc.  Consider the following.  In a survey conducted in 2009, 75 - 90% of residency program directors agreed or strongly agreed to the following statements:

• "Information published voluntarily online in social media should be "fair game" for judgments on character, attitudes, and professionalism."
• "Residency candidates should be accountable for unprofessional behavior discovered through social media postings."
• "Professional students should be held to higher standards than other students regarding the image they portray on social media."
• "The attitudes and behaviors displayed (e.g., comments, photos) on social media reflect upon an individual as a health care provider."
• "It is acceptable for a pharmacy residency program director to review a prospective residency candidate's social media profile."
• "If a pharmacy residency program director chooses to review a residency candidate's social media profile, it is acceptable for that information to be used when considering the candidate's suitability."

While social media might seem like a great place to showcase yourself, consider that in the same survey, of the small number residency program directors who viewed pharmacy residency candidates social media information, 52% discovered issues revealing an unprofessional attitude.  This does not mean that pharmacy residency candidates are unprofessional.  It just means that social media allowed a view into people's private or personal lives which reflected on their professional lives.  If you would not like to openly discuss your leisure time activities with an employer, make sure that "conversation" is not happening without your consent via social media.

Cain J, Scott DR, Smith K. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2010;67:1635-9.