Is it easier to get into Internal Medicine THAN Family Medicine?

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Lee Ik-jun MD

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Most students think, if you get low board scores, you choose Family Medicine.
IF you can't get into Internal Medicine/Peds/Psych/Neurology , you go to Family Medicine.
if you have the least chance of getting matched.. you got Family Medicine
Anyway...

Our program director showed as the NRMP match stats a few days ago..
THIS:
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Main-Match-Results-by-State-and-Specialty-2016.pdf

And i was surprised how fewer slots Family Medicine has compared to Internal Medicine. ( i know FM has fewer slots BUT not as much as this)

and here in California, it's mostly US seniors and graduates who got these position.
Alaska has 7 slots and taken by 7 US seniors.. but that's Alaska, maybe they're ALL locals.

I'm originally from the East Coast, and our school has a primary care track reputation.
That's why most of us went with IM/pediatrics/FM/General Surgery/ OB-GYN and Psychiatry.
anyway, looking at NY where there's 199 slots for FM vs 1507 for IM.

what are your thoughts?

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Most students think, if you get low board scores, you choose Family Medicine.
IF you can't get into Internal Medicine/Peds/Psych/Neurology , you go to Family Medicine.
if you have the least chance of getting matched.. you got Family Medicine
Anyway...

Our program director showed as the NRMP match stats a few days ago..
THIS:
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Main-Match-Results-by-State-and-Specialty-2016.pdf

And i was surprised how fewer slots Family Medicine has compared to Internal Medicine. ( i know FM has fewer slots BUT not as much as this)

and here in California, it's mostly US seniors and graduates who got these position.
Alaska has 7 slots and taken by 7 US seniors.. but that's Alaska, maybe they're ALL locals.

I'm originally from the East Coast, and our school has a primary care track reputation.
That's why most of us went with IM/pediatrics/FM/General Surgery/ OB-GYN and Psychiatry.
anyway, looking at NY where there's 199 slots for FM vs 1507 for IM.

what are your thoughts?
IM has a wide range of competitiveness. I would bet that a lot of the 'surplus' of IM spots in excess of the number of FM spots are the most competitive ones. If you remove those (not that you necessarily should), then there are probably more accessible FM spots than accessible IM spots.

There's also a regional issue. In the Eastern US, there aren't as many FM spots compared to IM. In the western US, there are relatively more FM spots, but they also tend to me more competitive.

I would be careful with your assumption that only people who can't match IM or Peds go into FM. Especially on a forum full of very happy family physicians. There is an assumption that FM is inferior to other primary care specialties. That assumption is false, and I say that as a 4th year student who probably isn't going in to FM, but respects the heck out of the specialty.

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IM has a wide range of competitiveness. I would bet that a lot of the 'surplus' of IM spots in excess of the number of FM spots are the most competitive ones. If you remove those (not that you necessarily should), then there are probably more accessible FM spots than accessible IM spots.

There's also a regional issue. In the Eastern US, there aren't as many FM spots compared to IM. In the western US, there are relatively more FM spots, but they also tend to me more competitive.

I would be careful with your assumption that only people who can't match IM or Peds go into FM. Especially on a forum full of very happy family physicians. There is an assumption that FM is inferior to other primary care specialties. That assumption is false, and I say that as a 4th year student who probably isn't going in to FM, but respects the heck out of the specialty.

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I would definitely second the above. One look at charting outcomes tells me that the majority of US seniors who go into FM match with board scores that would likely get them into IM, Peds, Psych, etc with minimal issue with a good application strategy. From my personal experience I've met many residents and physicians who would easily have been competitive for other specialties, including my home school preceptor who graduated AOA, who were set on FM and do not regret their career choice. You wouldn't know it from this forum, but there ARE people who choose a specialty based on what they find satisfying rather than strictly prestige/money.

Also not FM myself either. I start IM residency in 2 weeks.
 
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It's unfortunate that many avoid family medicine due to underlying insecurity. It's a great field. Once in practice no one is clapping for you, grow up and do what you enjoy.
 
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IM has a wide range of competitiveness. I would bet that a lot of the 'surplus' of IM spots in excess of the number of FM spots are the most competitive ones. If you remove those (not that you necessarily should), then there are probably more accessible FM spots than accessible IM spots.

There's also a regional issue. In the Eastern US, there aren't as many FM spots compared to IM. In the western US, there are relatively more FM spots, but they also tend to me more competitive.

I would be careful with your assumption that only people who can't match IM or Peds go into FM. Especially on a forum full of very happy family physicians. There is an assumption that FM is inferior to other primary care specialties. That assumption is false, and I say that as a 4th year student who probably isn't going in to FM, but respects the heck out of the specialty.

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i'm a PGY-2 in Family Medicine.. and FM is my first choice.. so i have ALL the love for Family Medicine :)
the assumption that FM is inferior might be a thing of the past as well.

i have above average scores ( enough for IM,General Surgery etc) and a well put CV, strong LOR's bust mostly from the East Coast docs
and i manage to get some interviews from a Massachusetts program.

and it only landed me to my 2nd choice here in California ( first choice is a California program as well)
i DID feel the competitiveness of California, i feel they prefer their locals vs out of state seniors.
you have a lot of them here, UCLA, USC, UCI for Irvine? etc.

Honestly, i feel that having family back in the East Coast and none here made them think twice to rank me higher..
( or maybe i just did average on that interview) i really don't know ;)
But past is past and i'm very happy with my program and strongly considering a fellowship with them as well.

And no plans of leaving California in the near future as well.
 
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i'm a PGY-2 in Family Medicine.. and FM is my first choice.. so i have ALL the love for Family Medicine :)
the assumption that FM is inferior might be a thing of the past as well.

i have above average scores ( enough for IM,General Surgery etc) and a well put CV, strong LOR's bust mostly from the East Coast docs
and i manage to get some interviews from a Massachusetts program.

and it only landed me to my 2nd choice here in California ( first choice is a California program as well)
i DID feel the competitiveness of California, i feel they prefer their locals vs out of state seniors.
you have a lot of them here, UCLA, USC, UCI for Irvine? etc.

Honestly, i feel that having family back in the East Coast and none here made them think twice to rank me higher..
( or maybe i just did average on that interview) i really don't know ;)
But past is past and i'm very happy with my program and strongly considering a fellowship with them as well.

And no plans of leaving California in the near future as well.

What?

You feel that FM was competitive because you matched 2nd to a highly desirable region that you have no connection to?

You do realise that many California programmes have an institutional mandate to train physicians that will serve California residents? And that the only reliable predictors of where you'll practice is where you were born, where you grew up, and where you went to school (in that order, with some jiggling for spouses)? And that the California schools you cited are extremely well-regarded, so why wouldn't applicants from those schools be very competitive in the first place?

It's not just about your undoubtedly superlative academic achievements... it's called "the Match" for a reason.

I'm genuinely curious if you've sat on your programme's ad-com, and I have all of this information totally wrong.

Also, it's supply and demand. It doesn't matter if there a billion Beanie Babies in the world; if a billion plus 1 people really, really want them, well, there's going to be competition.
 
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Yes, FM is easier to match into than IM

But the question was, Is it easier to get into Internal medicine Than Family Medicine... ;)
So you meant No, right Doc? peace!

i remember this Hem/Onc doc Conrad Fischer from New York,
he said.. What the boards in asking and what you think it means is totally 2 different things.
the question asks " what's the next step" and we think it means " what's the best diagnostic test" for this patient.
so the correct answer is EKG and we just answered Echo.
and that's how a lot of students get into trouble.
 
But the question was, Is it easier to get into Internal medicine Than Family Medicine... ;)
So you meant No, right Doc? peace!

i remember this Hem/Onc doc Conrad Fischer from New York,
he said.. What the boards in asking and what you think it means is totally 2 different things.
the question asks " what's the next step" and we think it means " what's the best diagnostic test" for this patient.
so the correct answer is EKG and we just answered Echo.
and that's how a lot of students get into trouble.
After reading these jumbled stream of consciousness posts I have to ask: have you suffered a head injury?
 
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But the question was, Is it easier to get into Internal medicine Than Family Medicine... ;)
So you meant No, right Doc? peace!

i remember this Hem/Onc doc Conrad Fischer from New York,
he said.. What the boards in asking and what you think it means is totally 2 different things.
the question asks " what's the next step" and we think it means " what's the best diagnostic test" for this patient.
so the correct answer is EKG and we just answered Echo.
and that's how a lot of students get into trouble.

I looked at your past posts. You've been kind and helpful to others, so kudos and much respect. But I have no clue what you're trying to say here. It honestly reads like a Zen koan or a Jaden Smith tweet.
 
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i'm a PGY-2 in Family Medicine.. and FM is my first choice.. so i have ALL the love for Family Medicine :)
the assumption that FM is inferior might be a thing of the past as well.

i have above average scores ( enough for IM,General Surgery etc) and a well put CV, strong LOR's bust mostly from the East Coast docs
and i manage to get some interviews from a Massachusetts program.

and it only landed me to my 2nd choice here in California ( first choice is a California program as well)
i DID feel the competitiveness of California, i feel they prefer their locals vs out of state seniors.
you have a lot of them here, UCLA, USC, UCI for Irvine? etc.

Honestly, i feel that having family back in the East Coast and none here made them think twice to rank me higher..
( or maybe i just did average on that interview) i really don't know ;)
But past is past and i'm very happy with my program and strongly considering a fellowship with them as well.

And no plans of leaving California in the near future as well.
Sorry, not sure why I assumed you were a med student or FM-hater. My bad.
 
After reading these jumbled stream of consciousness posts I have to ask: have you suffered a head injury?

When you're OFF the next day after 9 consecutive days of being " on call", my mind wanders. LOL!
And to my defense, i was with a med student and we were discussing Board questions while i was online,
I advice her to read the question correctly before choosing the answer.
Anyway.....back to my regular programming of binge watching
 
But the question was, Is it easier to get into Internal medicine Than Family Medicine... ;)
So you meant No, right Doc? peace!

i remember this Hem/Onc doc Conrad Fischer from New York,
he said.. What the boards in asking and what you think it means is totally 2 different things.
the question asks " what's the next step" and we think it means " what's the best diagnostic test" for this patient.
so the correct answer is EKG and we just answered Echo.
and that's how a lot of students get into trouble.
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
 
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But the question was, Is it easier to get into Internal medicine Than Family Medicine... ;)
So you meant No, right Doc? peace!

i remember this Hem/Onc doc Conrad Fischer from New York,
he said.. What the boards in asking and what you think it means is totally 2 different things.
the question asks " what's the next step" and we think it means " what's the best diagnostic test" for this patient.
so the correct answer is EKG and we just answered Echo.
and that's how a lot of students get into trouble.

"The Fisch" is an internist.. just sayin'. Boss status.
 
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"Is it easier to get into Internal Medicine THAN Family Medicine?"

This reminds me of the "Is it easier to become a DO/MD than a Veterinarian?" The responses can pretty much go wherever you like because both are very poorly defined questions. Also, with both questions, the best answer is probably...it depends.
 
"Is it easier to get into Internal Medicine THAN Family Medicine?"

This reminds me of the "Is it easier to become a DO/MD than a Veterinarian?" The responses can pretty much go wherever you like because both are very poorly defined questions. Also, with both questions, the best answer is probably...it depends.

There's a huge spectrum of competitiveness in IM where the top tier IM programs have residents that could have potentially gotten Derm/Ortho/Other surgical specialty if they wanted it. Then mid-low tier university and some of the stronger community affiliates where if you are a USMD with no red flags you are probably competitive. Then there are the pure community programs that fill predominantly with IMGs and the occasional AMG who SOAPs in. This spectrum exists for family medicine as well but it's less extreme. That's why it's hard to give a blanket answer to that question. It really comes down to which specific programs you are talking about.
 
FM is easier to match into compared to IM. But the good news is that the salaries for both specialties are similar.
 
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