When you finish your residency, you will be anxious to start practicing medicine on your own. The tendency can be to rush through your fellowship and discount the benefits of medical fellowship programs. But this can be one of the most meaningful times in your medical education. Slow down and gain perspective to set yourself up for a long and successful medical career.

To reap all the benefits of medical fellowship programs, follow these 5 tips:

1. Make an informed decision: when looking for open fellowship positions, use a fellowship job posting site that provides an expansive list of past, current and upcoming fellowship openings. It should be easy to navigate so you can sort through all your options efficiently. Then you will know you considered all your options before choosing among the many medical fellowship programs.

2. Ask questions: you may feel like an expert, but you lack the experience of the doctors who have been practicing for years. The more questions you ask during your medical fellowship, the more you soak up their experience. Be considerate of when and how you ask questions, but let none go unanswered.

3. Make mistakes: you are going to make mistakes, which is why you are under the careful eye of independently practicing doctors. Don’t let your mistakes knock your confidence. Admit your faults and embrace them as a learning experience.

4. Network: building professional relationships is critical in almost any career, but this is especially important as a doctor. From your supervisors to fellows, everyone can become a part of your team. This can happen in and out of the office, so take advantage of shared time in any setting.

5. Community outreach: this is not a side task of your medical fellowship. With a positive attitude, you can leverage this to help others while building a bright future for yourself. Many fellows end up practicing where they held medical fellowship positions, so these may be your future advocates or patients.

There are still many unfilled 2015 fellowship positions waiting for you to claim. Sign up today to receive updates on open fellowship programs and build your bright future as a doctor.