HELP. I need advise!

[Seba]

So, I am a month into my IM residency. I am hating every minute of it and realizing I should have applied to Anesthesia. I am seriously thinking about looking into applying to anesthesia programs for the upcoming match. Has anyone out there left a residency after one or two years and matched into anesthesia? Does anyone know if there are any unfilled spots any where? Any advice is very much appreciated.

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[LonghornJPS]

Yep. It isn't as uncommon as you might think. Lots of programs hold spots outside the match for people who want to switch. Start making phone calls. Good Luck.

 

[2ndyear]

So, I am a month into my IM residency. I am hating every minute of it and realizing I should have applied to Anesthesia. I am seriously thinking about looking into applying to anesthesia programs for the upcoming match. Has anyone out there left a residency after one or two years and matched into anesthesia? Does anyone know if there are any unfilled spots any where? Any advice is very much appreciated.

Sit back, relax, and take a deep breath. Make a list of what you don't like right now. Realize that many of these things can/will get better with time. Also, consider what you want when you're done. Have you done an anesthesia rotation in med school? If not, can you do one as an intern? Are you a budding cardiologist, or planning on slugging it out in primary care? Hospitalist jobs seem nice, I have a friend that does that and has a great schedule. Tough work though repleting potassium, ruling out MI's, all of the intern stuff that well, interns normally do.

I think most people hate their first few months of anything new. My first few months of anesthesia were fun, but very stressful as well. Whatever you do you'll need an intern year and staying where you're at is the best plan. You should be able to go outside of the match, and spots open up all the time, you just can't be picky about location.

 

[fakin' the funk]

Is the Converting To Anesthesiology thread #4 since July 1?

 

[Seba]

Well I have been thinking about this non-stop since posting the thread. I have made a list of things I don't like about IM and its a loooong list. I guess I applied to IM because it was sort of crunch time and I had to decide and IM was the rotation I had the most fun on and a couple of close friends were going IM. It must have been the residents and attendings I worked with on my IM rotations that made it seem fun. So far in residency it is not fun at all! I hate clinic and following patients. I knew this in med school but thought that it would be better once I was not just shadowing an attending or resident. Sorry for the rant.

When should I start calling PDs? Is now too early? Will they think that I am jumping the gun on switching or is it never too early?

 

[ozzie20]

who cares what other people think, its your life, and if you're sure about it, no program director should give their opinions on how to run YOUR life. They are only concerned with the possibility that if you skipped out on IM, you might skip out on anesthesia, so you just have to convey the fact you're sure you want anesthesia and nothing else.

 

[CambieMD]

Well I have been thinking about this non-stop since posting the thread. I have made a list of things I don't like about IM and its a loooong list. I guess I applied to IM because it was sort of crunch time and I had to decide and IM was the rotation I had the most fun on and a couple of close friends were going IM. It must have been the residents and attendings I worked with on my IM rotations that made it seem fun. So far in residency it is not fun at all! I hate clinic and following patients. I knew this in med school but thought that it would be better once I was not just shadowing an attending or resident. Sorry for the rant.

When should I start calling PDs? Is now too early? Will they think that I am jumping the gun on switching or is it never too early?

I was a practicing FP doc when I applied to gas outside of the match.
Start calling programs now. Pre-match positions usually are locked down early. I was offered a spot in October. By September @ the latest, your application should go out. I was in your position as a med student. Nothing grabbed me so I went into primary care by default.

Securing a position outside of the match is not as hard as you may think, it can be done.

All the best,

Cambie

 

[pjl]

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