UCSF 2+2 = Happiness?

[xanthines]

I feel a little guilty for posting this, as I have pretty strongly proclaimed myself to be a pathologist wannabe... but does anyone have any info/opinions on UCSF's 2+2 derm/research residency program?

I'm a 1st year student and we recently started learning about dermatology and I have found it to be really interesting. So I started thinking about derm as a possible field. Of course, I would have to interested in one of the most competitive residencies in existence!

The other thing, is that I am interested in research. I am currently in my school's MSTP (MD/PhD program), if that you give you any idea of how committed I am. From what I can tell on UCSF's website, it seems like a good fit for me as a future biomedical scientist. I feel a little silly emailing them as a 1st year student, so I'll ask you guys under the veil of internet anonymity. Any thoughts about it or know anyone who's gone through that? Is it all that it's cracked up to be? Would I be better off doing a regular derm residency and then a fellowship? Do you still have to do a prelim year (I'm guessing yes)?

Thanks for any info!

-X

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[LADoc00]

I feel a little guilty for posting this, as I have pretty strongly proclaimed myself to be a pathologist wannabe... but does anyone have any info/opinions on UCSF's 2+2 derm/research residency program?

I'm a 1st year student and we recently started learning about dermatology and I have found it to be really interesting. So I started thinking about derm as a possible field. Of course, I would have to interested in one of the most competitive residencies in existence!

The other thing, is that I am interested in research. I am currently in my school's MSTP (MD/PhD program), if that you give you any idea of how committed I am. From what I can tell on UCSF's website, it seems like a good fit for me as a future biomedical scientist. I feel a little silly emailing them as a 1st year student, so I'll ask you guys under the veil of internet anonymity. Any thoughts about it or know anyone who's gone through that? Is it all that it's cracked up to be? Would I be better off doing a regular derm residency and then a fellowship? Do you still have to do a prelim year (I'm guessing yes)?

Thanks for any info!

-X

You can sit for boards with 24 months of clinical work in derm and no transitional year?? I call SHENANIGANS on that.

 

[xanthines]

I don't think that's the way it works.

You still have to do the transitional, then you go into the categorical. I don't think you are eligible to sit for the boards until 4 years after that, but I could be mistaken. The first two years are almost exclusively clinical with the last two having a very large amount of protected research time.

As it turns out, there are apparently more programs that offer this kind of track than I previously thought. I don't know how well structured they are or how protected the research time is. I'm also not sure if this is better for an academic physician as opposed to a fellowship. It seems like a normal residency + fellowship would take just as much time but you'd be a specialist (ie Dermpath, burn spec, ped derm, etc).

Decisions, decisions... (not for me, of course. I'm just an MS1!)

-X

You can sit for boards with 24 months of clinical work in derm and no transitional year?? I call SHENANIGANS on that.

 

[LADoc00]

The fact you can be a BC derm with 24 months of clinical derm is ******ed IMO. That single fact alone says the ABMS and ACGME should revise derm credentialing to make it a subspeciality of IM/Peds/FM as it should have ALWAYS been. Just like cards/infectious disease etc. Im sick of people making the rules in one case because they want to take a short cut and make a ton of $$$.

Seriously, derm as a stand alone specialty is a flippin joke. I would say a majority of docs would agree with me.

 

[cdql]

I'm guessing skin cancer patients and those poor children with epidermis bullosa would agree with you too. If you don't like derm, that's fine.

Venting about it on a derm forum, however, ranks pretty high on the stupidity chart.

 

[xanthines]

This might be splitting hairs, but I think the last two years still have clinical duties (probably 20-25% maybe?). That would mean 28-30 months of clinical derm, plus the transitional. I'm guessing that doesn't make a difference, in your opinion though.

I wasn't aware that dermatologists made an exorbitant amount of money. I thought is was a lifestyle thing (ie fairly easy hours).

-X

The fact you can be a BC derm with 24 months of clinical derm is ******ed IMO. That single fact alone says the ABMS and ACGME should revise derm credentialing to make it a subspeciality of IM/Peds/FM as it should have ALWAYS been. Just like cards/infectious disease etc. Im sick of people making the rules in one case because they want to take a short cut and make a ton of $$$.

Seriously, derm as a stand alone specialty is a flippin joke. I would say a majority of docs would agree with me.

 

[Jessica]

you can make more money in private practiceFrom what I understand, if academics is your thing, you'll make a lot less. The University of Michigan publishes their faculty salaries, and I think that most of the derm people made 80-90K/yr (even the Mohs surgeons). I'm assuming that they get more money somehow if they bring in grants, etc. but I don't know all of the details.

 

[cdql]

This might be splitting hairs, but I think the last two years still have clinical duties (probably 20-25% maybe?). That would mean 28-30 months of clinical derm, plus the transitional. I'm guessing that doesn't make a difference, in your opinion though.

I wasn't aware that dermatologists made an exorbitant amount of money. I thought is was a lifestyle thing (ie fairly easy hours).

-X

Probably depends on what aspect of derm. If you're interesting in doing the cosmetic stuff, I imagine those doctors must bring in tons of $$$ since a) insurance doesn't cover it and b) vain people always keep coming back for more and more treatments

 

[jjmack]

you can make more money in private practiceFrom what I understand, if academics is your thing, you'll make a lot less. The University of Michigan publishes their faculty salaries, and I think that most of the derm people made 80-90K/yr (even the Mohs surgeons). I'm assuming that they get more money somehow if they bring in grants, etc. but I don't know all of the details.

that seems really low to me.