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Advantages of Postgraduate Residency and Fellowship Programs

Why attend a postgraduate residency or fellowship program?

Whether or not you are a current physician assistant student, a recent graduate, or an experienced physician assistant considering a residency or postgraduate program, you are probably asking yourself some of the following questions:

  • Why should I attend a residency/fellowship program or any other type of postgraduate program?
  • Why not just take a job in orthopedics, emergency medicine, primary care, surgery, dermatology, or other specialty area and learn that specialty from an employer?
  • What advantages will an organized specialty program or residency offer me and how will it help my career?
  • Will I get a certificate or advanced degree from the training?

These may be just a few of the questions you may and should be asking.

Residency/Fellowship programs and other types of postgraduate specialty training provide very intense, organized educational programming that offers the participants a wide variety of experiences in a short period of time. Most residency programs can be completed in twelve months, some require a longer time frame. In a short period of time you are able to develop confidence and experience that would otherwise take years to attain. This experience will make you a much more attractive candidate to an employer and hopefully, allow you to start your career with a higher level of responsibility and salary. If you are an experienced physician assistant, it may provide opportunity for you to change specialty areas or to significantly advance your skills and knowledge in your current employment.

As you consider postgraduate training, please feel free to contact any of our member programs directly. By contacting programs that are members of APPAP, you are assured of both clinical and didactic training. Ask lots of questions so you can make a very informed decision about your career. Best of luck to you in your educational endeavors!