Also, the patient population in the community affects the individual orthopaedic surgeon's pattern of practice. The specialist has had a fellowship early on or late in the course of practicing orthopaedics and has concentrated on that particular specialty. Information gleaned from the Piedmont poll showed that those orthopaedic surgeons who completed training thirty years ago are less inclined to have taken a fellowship than those who completed training during the past ten years. The older orthopaedic surgeons have gradually moved into subspecialization and superspecialization by choice and by practice pattern within their practicing group. Currently, this year, fellowship following standard orthopaedic training is desirable.
Fellowship allows the resident to assimilate and gather pertinent information.
The young clinician who finishes a fellowship has knowledge equivalent to that of the older physician in the community except for judgment and repetitive experience. The older clinician has had a greater opportunity to see and manage complications either from his own patients or referred patients. The fellowship year, once completed, provides a model for future academic activities even in a non-academic setting. Also, the post fellowship applicant has something special to offer the members of a group looking for a new surgeon. The orthopaedists who answered the Piedmont alumni poll showed that those surgeons who completed a fellowship and those who did not were doing about 50 percent general orthopaedics and 50 percent subspecialization.