In Reference to: “The Current State of Advanced Practice Provider Fellowships in Hospital Medicine: A Survey of Program Directors.” Be Careful What We Call It

I read with interest the recent article by Klimpl et al. “The Current State of Advanced Practice provider Fellowships in Hospital Medicine: A Survey of Program Directors.”¹ I appreciate the description of the variation in training as well as the discussion points about the driving forces behind the training programs. However, I am concerned about the terminology used, specifically “fellowship,” and how it can create confusion for patients. Accredited medical/surgical fellowships have a precise meaning and convey an assurance of standardized additional training. Even many non-Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education fellowships within a single field have a shared curriculum. Using the same terminology for other medical providers may be seen as equating their post-training competency with physicians who have completed fellowship training. As the authors point out, there is a wide divergence in the clinical experience required to become a licensed practitioner among NPs, PAs, and physicians. As such, using the same terminology for their respective training programs makes it difficult for the public to differentiate between them.