Hi,
I am a graduate currently applying for residencies. During my research through innumerable program websites, I've noticed a lot of programs have an ABIM-approved research track. Does anyone know how they work? And what are the requirements for admission? I don't have an awful lot of research done as an undergrad, do I still stand a chance?

Thanks a million for your help, guys!

OP

These programs are basically designed for either MD-PhD grads or MD only grads w/ significant research accomplishments (e.g. on year devoted to research a la Howard Hughes).

They let you do the following:
1. Complete an accelerated Internal Medicine residency (2 years)
2. Guaranteed acceptance into a fellowship of your choices (1-3 years)
3. Dedicated post-doc including lab time (2 years)

TOTAL = 5 to 8 years

After you are done, you can sit for the Internal Medicine and sub-speciality boards. Also you will be poised to enter a junior-level tenure-track faculty position. To sweeten the pot, some programs will increase your pay during the post-doc period (~$60,000 in some places).

Strangely enough, this program was originally designed to get people w/o PhDs interested in research as a career. In reality however, most people who are interested in doing research as a career already have a PhD so most people who do the Research Track are MD/PhD. On my interview trail last year (and I only interviewed at places w/ the Research Track), I met a grand total of 1 person who didn't have a PhD and he was only kind of interested in the program. So, if you don't have a PhD, you may actually stand out in the minds of PDs. That said, you should have a really good reason for wanting to do the program (and a guaranteed fellowship spot shouldn't be the reason...that's the residency version of doing an MD/PhD for the free med school tuition).

As for the program itself. Gfunk is pretty much on the mark except that your post-doc time is 3 years instead of 2. Basically, you swap an IM clinical year for 2 research years. In a perfect world, fellowships are supposed to have ~50% of their time for research. In other words, a Hem-Onc fellowship (which is the one I know best) is supposed to be 6 mos clinical solid onc, 6 mos clinical malignant hem, 6 mos clinical benign hem and 18 mos research. By doing a research track in H/O (or other 3 year fellowship), you only do those 18 clinical months, do 2 years of IM prior and then do 3 years of research (90% protected time).

So the overall time investment (in spite of the short-track moniker that the program gets) is slightly longer than if you did a straight residency/fellowship track (6-12 mos, depending on the fellowship). The upside is that if you want an academic job when you're done, you're more or less guaranteed a junior faculty position in most programs.

As for the boards, you can sit for IM with the rest of your entering residency class (PGY-4 year). You can sit for specialty boards when you're finished with the program.

What do you miss in these programs? The chance to chill in your PGY-3 year. Although research track folks have the same requirements for board certification as other IM residents, they have to fulfill them in the first 2 years. This means 20 months of "direct patient care" rotations. In general this means wards, unit and ambulatory months. Apparently it can also mean IM specialty consult months but those cush Derm and Neuro consult months you were looking forward to may not count. So you squeeze the important parts of a 3 year residency into 2 years and don't get to relax as much as you might otherwise in your PGY2/3 years. That said, for many of us who have done the MD/PhD thing, we're ready to finally get a freakin' job already so speeding things up a little bit is kind of enticing.

Hopefully this answered some questions you had. PM me if you have more.

BE (now PE)

Gfunk6 and I have covered this topic in the past...here is a link to a similiar thread.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=192439

I am currently a PGY-2 in a fast-track program and I agree with both what Gfunk6 and brooklyneric has posted. I also extend a hand in helping you with any thoughts or concerns you may have regarding these programs.

That's great guys, thanks for your input! It seems I'm right in assuming that I will not really be considered a candidate for a fast track programme so, with my limited research experience?

Just out of curiosity, if I am looking to practice academic medicine with lots of research, is there any other good way of getting research experience etc as a resident? Has anyone heard of people taking time off between residency and fellowship for a PhD? Is a PhD really needed, or would lots of research experience as a residence make me a strong candidate for academic fellowships anyway?

Hi!

(shameless spam)

http://www.dpo.uab.edu/~paik/rr.html

Hi!

(shameless spam)

http://www.dpo.uab.edu/~paik/rr.html
This is exactly what I have been looking for. Is it really this limited though? Or is it an incomplete list? If incomplete, where can I find more schools that participate without having to fish out all the information manually?

Regards,

-Salty

This is the most complete list you will see. The research track really can be done anywhere, and the formation of an actual program is purely up to the discretion of the residency. That's why there is no formal list on the ABIM site.


This is exactly what I have been looking for. Is it really this limited though? Or is it an incomplete list? If incomplete, where can I find more schools that participate without having to fish out all the information manually?

Regards,

-Salty