Sports Medicine and Fitness

Fellowships are common in many countries, whereas other countries do not offer special training after residency. Therefore many doctors seek for a fellowship after completing their residency. Fellowships became an essential part of professional medical training. Finding a suitable fellowship is essential. Physicians and institutions may have different expectations regarding fellowships, which can lead to frustration and wasted resources for both. One obstacle for doctors is finding reliable feedback from previous fellows regarding a specific fellowship and being able to contact that person for further advice. In addition, for both doctors and institutions alike, financing a fellowship can also prove a challenge. A website and an online survey were created. The project was initiated during an international Orthopaedic and Trauma meeting in Switzerland in December 2018. Moreover, the website was posted frequently on Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and a newsletter explaining the project was sent to 1749 doctors worldwide per e-mail. The results of our surveys suggest that there is an interest in an online fellowship- advisor including a database for fellowships worldwide, a platform for fellows to connect to each other with the ability to give and receive feedback about a fellowship. Accordingly an IT company built the platform according to the results and the platform was launched on May 6, 2019. Financing a fellowship remains a challenge for many participants.