I have sifted through tons of similar threads and am still feeling pretty lost. I am in my intern year in a community based FM program right now and have been growing more and more certain that I am in the wrong field. I chose FM in large part for lifestyle reasons despite loving the OR and being drawn to surgery. I convinced myself that the breadth of FM and office based procedures would make the job interesting enough. As this year has gone on, I am realizing that it is necessary to refer out most of the complicated and interesting cases because I cannot be an expert in dealing with all the problems we manage. Furthermore, there are far fewer procedures than imagined and it is difficult to gain proficiency when they are so few and far between. The lifestyle concerns are obviously still a consideration, but I don't think the trade off was worth it. I have been exploring different career paths in FM and I just don't see myself being happy in any of these situations. I just recently started seriously entertaining the daunting possibility of switching programs, something I am not approaching lightly. I would say that I am leaning right now at about 60% toward switching, but am definitely still undecided. I am not going to approach my PD until I know for sure this is what I want to do, but I would obviously let him know before I approach any other programs. However, I would like to get some general guidance on the process.
Questions:
I assume that I will need to finish this year and start a surgical program as a PGY1. Is this correct? If so, do I enter the match just like I did as an MS4? Is the process pretty much the same as it was last year? We are well into interview season at this point. Is it too late to match for next year? Is there another way I should be looking for or approaching potential residency programs?
Thanks in advance!
Questions:
I assume that I will need to finish this year and start a surgical program as a PGY1. Is this correct? If so, do I enter the match just like I did as an MS4? Is the process pretty much the same as it was last year? We are well into interview season at this point. Is it too late to match for next year? Is there another way I should be looking for or approaching potential residency programs?
Thanks in advance!