Some general residency questions I have:

[katvu]

I'm still in my senior year of undergraduate work, but I was hoping somebody could answer some questions about planning my medical school and residency years. Some issues that maybe you could answer directly or point me in the right direction:

1. Timeline for when to take USMLEs and boards and all other such exams and apply for residencies

2. What are residencies and how do they work? Does everybody go through GP/family first, and then specialize like they do in many foreign countries? Or do you go straight from med school into the field you choose?

3. When and how to apply for residencies? Do you always get a residency in the specialty you want?

4. How do you choose a specialty? Just by volunteering and clinical rotations?

5. SOMETIMES THE MOST TELLING QUESTION OF ALL: What do YOU wish you had known or done during medical school or residency?

Thanks! I would really appreciate some insights, as I'll be the first of my family to choose this career path!

Katvu

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[USCDiver]

1. Step 1 at the end of M-II year, Step II during M-IV year, Step III during residency usually end of PGY-1 (post-graduate year 1) or during PGY2.

2. Residencies are for specialty training. You go straight from medical school to the residency field of your choosing (for the most part, their are exceptions) You are trained under the supervision of upper level residents and attendings. In the past some MDs would choose to do an intern year (PGY-1), finish their licensing exams, get their permanent license and open a practice as a GP. This is rarely if ever done anymore.
A residency last from 3-7 years depending on your specialty.

3. Applications for residency are very similar to applications for Medical School. You begin in the summer before your M-IV year. Written applications are submitted in the fall. Interview during the wintertime and find out where you end up in the spring. You do not always get into the residency you choose (the exceptions mentioned above) especially if you choose a particularly competitive specialty such as dermatology.

4. You choose a specialty by examining your own interests and abilities. You ask questions and shadow and pay attention during your clinical rotations.

5. I can't remember what I didn't know. I had to push all those memories out to make room for pathology and pharmacology.

 

[katvu]

Thanks, USCDiver!

Anybody else? Especially the question about things you wish you had done or known during med school/residency ...

 

[Jaded Soul]

Anybody else? Especially the question about things you wish you had done or known during med school/residency ...

I wish I would have known what I wanted to go into earlier in med school so I could do more to buff my application. I decided early in 3rd Year and still had time to do some research, but it wasn't as strong as others who knew earlier.

The only way to figure it out quickly is to get first hand experience as early as possible. In the first 2 years, join the student interest groups for the various specialties. Ask attendings/residents if you can shadow. Be open and don't rule anything out until you've experienced it. Study hard and do well in school and on Step 1 so that you don't close any doors, but realize that residency application is far more than just your Step 1 score. If you figure it out, get involved in the field as early as possible by getting onto some sort of research project.

And while you're doing all of this, stay normal and don't turn into a gunner, otherwise your classmates will hate you.

 

[dry dre]

I wish I would have known what I wanted to go into earlier in med school so I could do more to buff my application. I decided early in 3rd Year and still had time to do some research, but it wasn't as strong as others who knew earlier.

Consistent with the above reply, I wish I had been more involved with research in med school.

If you have time and interest, it certainly can't hurt you to get involved with something. If you know what you're going into...all the better...hook up with someone in that specialty and do some work. If not, try to get involved with something that is of interest to multiple specialities and/or that at minimum gets you familiar with the research process.

 

[U4iA]

hello all....

when do you find out where you matched? isn't there a specific date? if you're starting the application process at the beginning of the third year, doesn't it make it really difficult to make an educated decision about the residency you would like to choose? can you get good spots for training during the scamble (i would assume not)?

does anyone have a list of the residencies with the corresponding number of years associated with them? i am really curious how long it takes to do the IM sub specialties.

do you have any advice for a first year who is interested in radiology or cardiology?

thanks for everything..

 

[Jaded Soul]

hello all....

when do you find out where you matched? isn't there a specific date? if you're starting the application process at the beginning of the third year, doesn't it make it really difficult to make an educated decision about the residency you would like to choose? can you get spots for training during the scamble (i would assume not)?

NRMP Match Day this year is March 15, 2005, I believe. Early match specialties (ophtho, neuro, neurosurg, ENT, urology) find out in January 2005. I think plastics doesn't find out until like May 2005.

You don't start the actual application process in the beginning of third year, you start it at the beginning of fourth year. You should be using third year and your early fourth year electives (if needed) to figure out which specialty you want to persue. I don't understand your question about the scramble. All the people who don't match can still find a residency position in the scramble.

does anyone have a list of the residencies with the corresponding number of years associated with them? i am really curious how long it takes to do the IM sub specialties.

do you have any advice for a first year who is interested in radiology or cardiology?

thanks for everything..

Washinton U and UC Irvine have very good residency overviews online:
http://medicine.wustl.edu/~residenc/outside/spec/byspec.html
http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/com/meded/...s/OfficeCurricularAffairs/residencyselection/

If you are interested in things now, do something about it. Find a faculty mentor, shadow, do research. Explore those things and see if they are really for you.

 

[Amxcvbcv]

does anyone have a list of the residencies with the corresponding number of years associated with them? i am really curious how long it takes to do the IM sub specialties.

Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2997.html

 

[U4iA]

Thanks for the resources Jaded Soul and Amxcvbcv...

There are some other issues that were on my mind.. if anyone can answer I would appreciate it.

When do you decide on pursuing a fellowship? What is that process like? Also, what exactly is a transition year, and if you pursue one, do you match in to both your transition year (PGY1) and your actual residecy (PGY2) at the same time? or do you go through the match process twice?

thanks for the input..

 

[BeastNovot]

Thanks for the resources Jaded Soul and Amxcvbcv...

Here's something else U4ia...
Crush Step I if you can. Get review books and start reviewing them as soon as you can, and constantly be reviewing questions as you go through your classes. If you aren't getting much from lectures, don't go and go to the library and study. Step I and II scores are very important for the competitive subspecialties.

Something else you'll want to seriously ask yourself: Do you really want to be a "non-person" for the next 10 years? I'm in my seventh year of post-college training/school right now, and frankly it wears on you. I've got at least 3 more years to go. I also was the first in my family to go this route, and didn't completely understand what the commitment was, in time and money.
What's worse, is that some people get through med school and then don't even get the residency program they wanted, so they are stuck in some other area of medicine which they really didn't want to do. Before you start, make sure this is the only thing you think you could do with your life. Otherwise, I'd consider doing something else.

Now, having said that... good luck with your application process and everything else!

 

[Winged Scapula]

When do you decide on pursuing a fellowship? What is that process like?

Some decide early on in their career, others take longer. I cannot give specifics about medical specialties but most surgical fellowships require application anywhere from nearly two years ahead of start date (ie, plastics) and others early in your final year of residency.

The process varies with field and program. Some have centralized service like the San Francisco match (http://www.sfmatch.org), others use the NRMP, and still others have you apply directly to the program itself. You will generally provide LORs, list of rotations, and interview just as you would for residency programs.

 

[Chris_Topher]

5. SOMETIMES THE MOST TELLING QUESTION OF ALL: What do YOU wish you had known or done during medical school or residency?

Become an architect!

 

[Hercules]

NRMP Match Day this year is March 15, 2005, I believe.

Not to get side-tracked, but isn't Match Day on Thursday March 17th this year? I know we find out if we matched on the 15th, but I think they tell us where until the 17th.

 

[Jaded Soul]

Not to get side-tracked, but isn't Match Day on Thursday March 17th this year? I know we find out if we matched on the 15th, but I think they tell us where until the 17th.

March 17th. You are right.

http://www.nrmp.org/res_match/yearly.html