Categorical vs Advanced vs Physician Only spots for Radiology

[Warped Apostle]

Filling out ERAS and wanted to know the difference between Categorical, Advanced, and Physician Only spots. My current understanding is as follows

1. Categorical - traditional match process that requiring a prelim year and radiology matriculation in 2 years.
2. Advanced - Spot is available two year from now. Available to a candidate that has already competed an prelim year.
3. Physician Only- starts next year and fills a vacancy or opening. Candidate has already completed a prelim year and possibly years of residency.

Let me know if I am close. Thank you!

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[clutch21]

1. Categorical: Radiology program which starts in 2 years but has an integrated and/or attached intern year. Do not need to match into a separate internship. This is rare for radiology.

2. Advanced: Vast majority of programs fall into this category. Rads program starts in 2 years. Need to apply and match into separate internship.

3. Your assessment of this one is correct .

 

[CallMeBigJeff]

Filling out ERAS and wanted to know the difference between Categorical, Advanced, and Physician Only spots. My current understanding is as follows

1. Categorical - traditional match process that requiring a prelim year and radiology matriculation in 2 years.
2. Advanced - Spot is available two year from now. Available to a candidate that has already competed an prelim year.
3. Physician Only- starts next year and fills a vacancy or opening. Candidate has already completed a prelim year and possibly years of residency.

Let me know if I am close. Thank you!

Categorical = comes with a prelim year, you're starting there this coming July
Advanced = does not come with a prelim year, you gotta match separately to one. You're starting next July (2022)
Physician only - you're currently a prelim and you start this coming July.

If you're an MS4 you're applying to categorical and advanced

 

[Warped Apostle]

Switching into Radiology from another specialty, so I have already completed a prelim year therefore will apply to physician only and advanced. Thanks for the input!

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

I heard from a couple residents that categorical programs are not allowed anymore for rads, but there are definitely still categorical programs on ERAS, anyone have insight on this?

 

[scoopdaboop]

I heard from a couple residents that categorical programs are not allowed anymore for rads, but there are definitely still categorical programs on ERAS, anyone have insight on this?

That sounds annoying. Why is advanced more common? Do they enjoy making applicant lifes hell?

 

[Chordae tendinae]

If I am already in a TY year, I am assuming I will be applying to physician only and advanced. Say if I match into advanced will I need 1 more TY year before the residency starts since advanced positions do not start until 2022?

 

[m2k]

If I am already in a TY year, I am assuming I will be applying to physician only and advanced. Say if I match into advanced will I need 1 more TY year before the residency starts since advanced positions do not start until 2022?

No, you don't have to. You can take a year off/ explore whatever you like.

There's also chance that a spot will open up for July 2021. Contact programs.

 

[guytakingboards]

That sounds annoying. Why is advanced more common? Do they enjoy making applicant lifes hell?

My program used to have a deal with the IM program that anyone accepted to radiology would automatically be accepted to the IM prelim program. The thought being: the radiology residents are overall better academically so they'd at least be decent IM interns.

Then, near radiology's lowest competitive point in the last decade, we took some sub-par radiology residents who were so lazy and terrible during their intern years that IM pulled the deal. They were so bad in medicine that the IM program director threatened to not graduate them at all. Ultimately the IM prelim program graduated them just to get rid of them but the courtesy IM prelim year was over.

As with most things in life, when something seemingly nice goes away you can bet it's because people abused it.

The older I get, the more and more I mutter to myself: "this...... this is why we can't have nice things..."

 

[guytakingboards]

If I am already in a TY year, I am assuming I will be applying to physician only and advanced. Say if I match into advanced will I need 1 more TY year before the residency starts since advanced positions do not start until 2022?

No, you don't have to. You can take a year off/ explore whatever you like.

There's also chance that a spot will open up for July 2021. Contact programs.

As Chordae said, no you don't have to. I've met several people in your situation. Some chose to sling barium, i.e. be the physician on a mobile GI fluoroscopy bus that goes around nursing homes doing esophagrams on elderly people. Some did urgent care type work. Some did research/research program for a year.

If you wanted to do something in clinical radiology, you could do a 1-year nuclear medicine "fellowship" in the radiology department if they have one. That way you could either be already sub-specialty trained after finishing the radiology program, or if you did another fellowship afterwards, be double-specialty trained when you're finished.

Alot depends on your financial status. You could do absolutely nothing during that gap year. You'd have to explain it on credentialing/licensing documents why you did nothing for a year but people do it.