FP as intern year

[MSc44]

hi all
i always hear how most people do a year of internal medicine or surgery as an intern year then go into anes, rads, peds, derm or any other specialty, is it possible to do a year of family practice as well. the reason i sak is b/c i never herd of it, has any one else heard of someone doing a year of FP as their intern year

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[Winged Scapula]

It would be program specific, but most programs will want you to have some ICU time (ie, SICU, PICU, MICU, etc.) which FP usually won't offer as well as other rotations. Check with the programs but most specialties you've listed require either TY, IM or Surg as 1st year.

 

[edfig99]

Many IM programs offer prelim spots designed with the one year commitment in mind. Some surgical programs I'm aware of also create extra "prelim" spots to get enough surgical interns to cover the services without seeking an increase in the total number of program spots in the categorical surgery line. And TYs are designed purely as something to do for a year.

FM is designed to be an integrated 3 year experience and lacks the flexibility that a one year Prelim or TY creates. While we do have required critical care experiences, programs vary as to when that is offered -- some offer it PGY-1, others PGY-2 (which would make it too late for the specialties that require that extra year). Plus, the RRC-FM expects that programs will attract residents and retain them for the three years, so if people started to leave after year 1, irrespective of the reason, the program could be threatened with citations and even closure. so that's probably why you haven't heard of it as an option.

 

[Gauss]

My impression was that FP for intern year was no longer an option. Something about rules being changed.
Personally I'd rather deal with floors and a month of ICU than deal with ob/gyn for the entire year

 

[hawkdoc05]

I am currently in an FP program for my intern year. I will be starting anesthesia elsewhere come July. I have a med school friend at a nearby program that is also doing FP. He will be starting Rads next year. It can be done, but is likely program dependant, as was said earlier. However, anesthesia does not require a specific type of intern year. You can do pretty much anything.

However, it is rather difficult to get an FP intern year as you can imagine. No one wants a resident for just one year. You will have to rely solely on the scramble to gain a spot. They will wait until there isn't a chance for them to fill before they will offer a position to you, you can be assured.

I don't regret doing it at all. I was able to stay close to my family and girlfriend for this year. My program has been pretty good to me, and allowed me to do an additional month of ICU time over the 1 month allotted to interns. On the downside, we do an incredible amount of Ob/gyn (2 months plus ob issues on call) as was alluded to in a previous post. I still say it beats a prelim IM or surgery year.

Hope that helps.