The Fellowship Council

President’s Welcome

Welcome to the Fellowship Council website!

It is with great honor and humility that I assume the leadership of this vibrant and dynamic organization.

I have personally followed the dramatic development of the Fellowship Council (FC) since its inception and have witnessed its rise from a loose amalgam of like-minded innovative and progressive surgeon educators, to becoming the world’s predominant body for the oversight, matching, and accreditation of non-ACGME fellowship programs.

The FC is a dynamic volunteer organization that is energized by forward-thinking surgeon-educators who willingly commit their valuable time towards the noble mission of safe-guarding the overall well-being of our fellows and supporting their program directors, thereby ensuring the delivery of the ideal educational and training experience. The FC is an umbrella organization of member non-ACGME fellowship training programs that qualify by meeting stringent criteria in faculty composition and case log volume. The Board of the FC and all its committees are composed of representatives from its sponsoring societies, including AHPBA, AHS, ASCRS, ASMBS, SAGES and SSAT. These societies provide the relevant educational and training curricula, all of which are standardized, creating one of the essential pillars for accreditation. The accreditation process is robust and is itself a central tenet of the FC that serves to minimize variance in quality of training, and helps set the tone for continued excellence in the training experience for both trainers and learners.

I have always been proud to declare that I am a product of such a fellowship program (Emory University 2000-2002). Based on my experience, I can attest to the fact that your fellowship will be the most influential and consequential stage of your long training. It will firmly set you on a track of progressive proficiency of skills, inquisitive research, scholarly contributions and, importantly, the transfer of such attributes to the next generation of master surgeons, should this be one of your aspirations.

We are so pleased to have you engaged with the FC. Whether you are an applicant applying to the matching process, a program director who is seeking information regarding our processes, or a program coordinator who provides the “glue” that keeps programs smoothly running, we warmly welcome you.

Samer G. Mattar, MD, FACS
President
The Fellowship Council

COVID-19 Statement

The Fellowship Council is continuing to monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation.  

The Fellowship Council is aware of the disruption that the COVID-19 outbreak has had on society, academic institutions and hospitals, and, consequently, on the 2021-2022 fellowship year Advanced GI, Advanced GI MIS, Bariatric, Flex Endo and HPB interview process. As a result, the Fellowship Council strongly advises that all future non-local fellowship interviews be conducted via alternative interview methods, which may include teleconference interviews. The Fellowship Council asks that programs make every effort to accommodate those affected and do not penalize them for their inability to physically visit your institution. 

Website Updates

The Fellowship Council website is moving towards being mobile-friendly. We have a new look and expect to make upgrades to the user experience in the near future. Stay tuned for more updates!