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.