Med/Peds: switching to pure peds

[medblazer21]

When I went on the interview trail, several people commented on this, and they all implied that the program directors of both med and peds are fine if you decide to switch into one or hte other.

Is that really teh case, or are htey making it out to be a lot more simple than it really is?

Also, when do people switch? After the first year, first block, etc?

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[oldbearprofessor]

When I went on the interview trail, several people commented on this, and they all implied that the program directors of both med and peds are fine if you decide to switch into one or the other.

Is that really teh case, or are they making it out to be a lot more simple than it really is?

Also, when do people switch? After the first year, first block, etc?

I've seen it done a few times, much more common in my experience is to complete the 4 years and then just practice one or the other or do a fellowship in one or the other. I know a few med/peds folks who did neonatology fellowships so I'm pretty sure they aren't using much of their adult medicine training. I suspect the ease of switching is program dependent. To finish in 3 years you'd have to switch very early which is why I suspect it isn't common.

 

[DarthNeurology]

I've seen it done a few times, much more common in my experience is to complete the 4 years and then just practice one or the other or do a fellowship in one or the other. I know a few med/peds folks who did neonatology fellowships so I'm pretty sure they aren't using much of their adult medicine training. I suspect the ease of switching is program dependent. To finish in 3 years you'd have to switch very early which is why I suspect it isn't common.

A lot of Med/Peds programs alternate between Medicine and Pediatrics so you maybe do both in the first 1-2 years. Most Med-Peds (~80%) practice both contrary to popular opinion, after residency, in a primary care setting. To get out of being locked into one or the other you would probably have to go to the programs that start out two years of peds, or two years of medicine, I think some do this, . . . I think Med-Peds are a lot more competitive than straight Medicine, and more competitive than Pediatrics, i.e. a lot of Med/Peds have a PhD or extra research or excellent curriculars, so if you are sure you want to do just one, then shoot for that and you might have a better choice of interviews and programs. . .

 

[johnnywalker]

From my experiences on the road, interviewing in all sections of the country for MedPeds (Cali, Texas, the midwest, NC, and the NE), my thoughts

Most (if not all) MedPeds programs rotate every 3-4 months between specialties over the course of 4 years. I dont know of any programs (of the eighty or so out there) that have 2 years of one then 2 years of the other.

80% is too high a number. More MedPeds graduates seem to be either going into a subspecialty of some sort or are doing international work, but PC is still a big part of the employment demographic. I'm at a loss for a specific number as i'm not with any of my interview data at the moment.

I never heard mention of anyone leaving a program for one side or the other, but i suppose it could happen. I never dared to ask, seems like a question that if asked incorrectly on an interview could get you on the defensive about how committed you are to MedPeds as a career...

In my opinion, MedPeds is competitive for spots. 2007 MedPeds had about 10% the total number of spots that categorical medicine had, and many of the institutions were around 4 PGY-1 positions per year. It is not as competitive as say Uro, Derm or the like with limited spots and average mean Step One board scores in the low 240s and other competitive features. It is competitive as you realize that there is, for instance, one program in new york city & 4 in the state of California, which is considerably smaller that the number of individual Peds or IM programs in those areas. So, If you are dead set on doing residency in a specific area or program, you should realize this fact...


Some States courtesy of NRMP ::
For US Seniors who matched
2007 MedPeds applicants mean USMLE Step1 scores were 221 (Medicine 222, peds 217)
IM and Peds had a higher mean number of abstracts/presentations versus MedPeds 2.2/1.7/1.3
and while MedPeds had a higher number of seniors with advanced degrees (13.1 versus 10.6 & 8.3) a higher percentage of either IM or Pediatrics had a PhD degree (1.5 versus 3.4 and 5.8)

For all the data check out these links from last years match.
http://www.nrmp.org/data/resultsanddata2007.pdf
http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2007.pdf

Your goal is to establish a resume of someone who is sincerely interested in the things that MedPeds has to offer and convey that information to the places you apply, just as you would for IM or peds or any other area for that matter.

feel free to add to my post fellow interviewees from this past year.

 

[ekydrd]

We've actually had residents go both ways in my program. Two transferred in to my class, one from Peds and one from FM, then one of those two transferred to IM. One of the original residents in my class transferred to IM, and is now transferring to path after having her 2nd baby. It doesn't happen often, but does happen.

As for the number of people who go into practice doing both IM and Peds, it is a large portion of the specialy, but there are a fair number who do fellowships in either an IM sub-specialty or a Peds sub-specialty. There may be good reason to do this too... adult pulmonologists are now treating adult CF'ers, and treatment of many chronic problems has improved to the point that people live nearly normal life spans. This means that the physicians who take care of them as adults need to be familiar with childhood diseases, and many pediatric sub-specialists take care of their patients well into adulthood, and need to know the special needs of adults as well.

 

[DarthNeurology]

Med/Peds feels very competitive for foreign grads too as the percentage in Med/Peds is much lower than in internal medicine, plus the Med-Peds spots in the Scramble seemed to go pretty quick.