Question about medical specialties

[aroen]

Can a doctor who already has a specialty in (say surgery) change his specialty later on in his life to be a generalist? (say if he does not have as steady hands anymore)

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[Depakote]

It is possible to change specialties. I'm not sure of the specifics, but I do believe that shifting specialties requires one to perform a second residency.

 

[Caesar]

Depends on what you started at and where you want to go. I know a surgeon who practiced I think 15 years in surgery and is now an attending EM physician.

 

[Tired]

Depends on what you started at and where you want to go. I know a surgeon who practiced I think 15 years in surgery and is now an attending EM physician.

Quick note about the ER.

ED as a board certified specialty is relatively new. The first exam was given in 1980, and up until the late-80s it was possible to be grandfathered into board certification through the practice track (rather than completing a residency).

You will still find more than a few older physicians who are residency-trained in Medicine or Surgery who also were boarded in EM through this track. It may be that the surgeon you refer to maintained his dual certification that way.

In general, it is difficult to just switch specialties without completing another residency. At least, if you want any kind of hospital privleges anywhere.

 

[Caesar]

Quick note about the ER.

ED as a board certified specialty is relatively new. The first exam was given in 1980, and up until the late-80s it was possible to be grandfathered into board certification through the practice track (rather than completing a residency).

You will still find more than a few older physicians who are residency-trained in Medicine or Surgery who also were boarded in EM through this track. It may be that the surgeon you refer to maintained his dual certification that way.

In general, it is difficult to just switch specialties without completing another residency. At least, if you want any kind of hospital privleges anywhere.

That is indeed the track he took.

 

[deleted74029]

I know of a pretty old surgeon who is now a FM doctor. He's about 60 so I doubt he went through another residency.

 

[Caesar]

I know of a pretty old surgeon who is now a FM doctor. He's about 60 so I doubt he went through another residency.

I believe the grandfathering happened with FM as well, maybe Tired knows that for sure, but it is also a relatively new specialty.

 

[Winged Scapula]

It did occur with FM.

In the "old days", you could just take the exam without any prerequisite training, and if you passed, you could be boarded in FM. I know a general surgeon in a small town who is double boarded and practices this way.

 

[Tired]

It did occur with FM.

In the "old days", you could just take the exam without any prerequisite training, and if you passed, you could be boarded in FM. I know a general surgeon in a small town who is double boarded and practices this way.

How does he get around self-referral rules?

 

[Danbo1957]

American Board of Family Practice started in 1969.

 

[QofQuimica]

In the "old days", you could just take the exam without any prerequisite training, and if you passed, you could be boarded in FM. I know a general surgeon in a small town who is double boarded and practices this way.

This is what my dad (now retired) did as well. He never even did a residency; it wasn't required in the 1960s. After med school, he and a classmate did one year of internship and then opened their office and started seeing patients. They did everything: OB, gyn, peds, geriatrics, minor surgeries, death certificates, pathology, house calls, hospital rounds. Years later, he was double boarded in family med and geriatrics after passing exams for both specialties. A younger doc wanting to do that today would have to complete a FM (or internal med) residency and then a geriatrics fellowship.

 

[Dr.TobiasFünke]

Can a doctor who already has a specialty in (say surgery) change his specialty later on in his life to be a generalist? (say if he does not have as steady hands anymore)

good question but you dont need to even begin to worry about that yet.

 

[Terpskins99]

Can a doctor who already has a specialty in (say surgery) change his specialty later on in his life to be a generalist? (say if he does not have as steady hands anymore)

Yes. I have personally come across a former ER doc that switched to anesthesiology and a family medicine doc that switched to radiology. They were both older doctors that completed their second residency decades ago.

Recently (not sure when), there have been limits placed on total number of years of residency you may receive. A friend of mine started a general surgery residency, but left after 1 year. He practiced in the mid-west as an emergency medicine doctor for 10 years and then entered residency a second time this time for radiology. He told me that if he had stayed in his surgery residency for even one more year, he would not be eligible to pursue a radiology residency now due to the cap on total years.

Also, it is not rare for residents to switch specialties in the middle of training (though it can be quite a headache).

 

[Tired]

Recently (not sure when), there have been limits placed on total number of years of residency you may receive. . . .

He told me that if he had stayed in his surgery residency for even one more year, he would not be eligible to pursue a radiology residency now due to the cap on total years.

That's not quite true.

You have a limited number of years to receive full Medicare funding as a resident. After those years (determined by the specialty you initially started in) your available funding drops.

However, as long as your program is willing to accept the reduced funding for you, there is nothing that prevents you from doing as many years of residency as you like.

 

[Ender]

Can a doctor who already has a specialty in (say surgery) change his specialty later on in his life to be a generalist? (say if he does not have as steady hands anymore)

You can change, but I would not recommend it. It is better to start in the right one and save yourself years of pain. Residency is not something I enjoy enough to want to repeat. In my program we have a resident that completed all 3 years of training in Emergency Medicine and actually practiced for about a month. She hated it (it just wasn't for her personally), so she restarted residency in Anesthesiology and is now a few months away from finishing. She was given credit for intership year so she had to complete 3 more years. That makes 6 total (3 EM, +3 Anesthesia).

Ender

 

[Ender]

Can a doctor who already has a specialty in (say surgery) change his specialty later on in his life to be a generalist? (say if he does not have as steady hands anymore)

FYI, there really aren't any "Generalists" anymore. They have been replaced by family medicine doctors who require 3 years of residency training. You would be hard pressed to try to find malpractice insurance if you started a family practice without the proper training. Despite what TV suggests, surgeons are not prepared in any way to care for patients in a Family Medicine setting. Besides I do not know any who would feel comfortable even atempting this. However, you may be able to have a shorter residency (2 years instead of 3).

Ender

 

[docdr]

Do you know if after completing a residency the validity of the MLE scores would be an issue ? ( since they are valid for 7 years only) before switching to another residency? If not what is considered instead of the scores while applying?
Does one not get paid while doing the second residency ?
Do you know if that is an option for someone on a j1?

 

[docdr]

Do you know if after completing a residency the validity of the MLE scores would be an issue ? ( since they are valid for 7 years only) before switching to another residency? If not what is considered instead of the scores while applying?
Does one not get paid while doing the second residency ?
Do you know if that is an option for someone on a j1?

 

[Electronegative]

I'm not sure if this applies, but I met a plastics residents in a hospital and he switched to plastics in the middle of his ortho residency before completing it.