med/peds thread

I'm not sure of what your definition of reasonable is... but I've been described as affable if that helps.

Because med/peds is still a relatively new combined residency there is not that much info available. I am currently at University of Louisville in KY. This med/peds program is very strong as it started from very strong peds and medicine programs to begin with. There is also a med/peds program at the University of Missouri - Columbia campus, where I went to school. That is also a very strong program, but not as well known.

As for interviewing in med/peds... I can't give any insight as I was an emergency med applicant who wound up scrambling into med/peds. I would assume it will be much like interviewing in both specialties. They will want to know why you chose med/peds... in other words, why subject yourself to an extra year just to be double boarded?

As for how competitive... there were still many open slots during the scramble, so I think it would be reasonable to say anyone has a good shot at getting a spot (hey, I'm a poet and don't even know it... hee hee... OK, I'm post call and a little loopy).

A good place to start for info on programs is FRIEDA. You can get a complete list of programs there, as well as contacts for the program, and even some program web addresses. I would start there to find programs in your desired geographical area.

Good luck!!

The program is really great. There have been some changes recenlty. The program director just took over last summer, but she had already been with the program for quite some time prior to that. She's made some changes, including a startup clinic specifically for med/peds rather than having us alternate between medicine and pediatrics clinics every week. She's made a few other minor changes too, but nothing big. There were a couple of residents who left, but not because of the change. One was academic I think, and the other transferred for personal reasons.

I really like this program. I have already learned more in the past two months than I remember learning my third year (or maybe I'm just old).

Sorry, I can't help with info on Lexington, except that the town is smaller than here. If you email the contact person there they can hook you up with some one there who can give you more info from a resident's perspective. Anyway, let me know if you have any other questions.

What's a reasonable number to apply for med-peds programs?

jdsmurph said:

I'm applying to 14 programs. Will probably only interview at 8-10 programs. Have heard from people at my institution that Med-Peds is not very competitive, but that's coming from a place w/o med-peds, a place with few faculty and advisors who are knowledgable on the topic... How many are others applying to?

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Just a question, can you work the ER after med/peds residency? I've seen where some grads do that, but is it in rural areas?

i'm not going into med peds, but i have a really close friend thats a med peds resident.

her scores were 248/97 for step1 and step 2.

from what i hear, med peds is a very intellectual field, additionally its VERY competitive.....atleast here in the midwest. Nevertheless, it's doable. just apply widely i suppose.

Would you rank med peds competitiveness about the same as dermatology or ophthalmology?
I know it's more competitive than IM by itself, but how much more?

Peeshee said:

Would you rank med peds competitiveness about the same as dermatology or ophthalmology?
I know it's more competitive than IM by itself, but how much more?

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i cant really say for sure...But i know that the place where my friend got in, there were only 4 med peds spots. I know optho and derm, etc typically have more than just this.

i think the recent increase in interest has certainly made the field more competitive, welcoming smarter and smarter students each yr.

my two cents

im currently applying for a residency in med/peds....they have a pretty decent website www.medpeds.org that answers a lot of questions here...

unfortunately, its hard to tell whos for real, who is full of s*#t, and who has no idea what they are talking about because every question (how competitive? which programs are good? how many programs?) is met with lots of different answers

that being said, i understand med/peds to be somewhat more competitive (but not too much more) than either peds or im or fm

as for me, im probably gonna apply to 8-10 programs, only because i live out west and wanna do my residency out here...beyond that, im gonna back up with a handful of im and fp residencies out west as well

i'm a lowly premed here, but my brother did med/peds at ecu and liked it. i don't know about the specifics of his application, and he started in 2000 anyway. but, i doubt he had a super wonderfully fantastic application. if anybody has any specific questions about ecu, i can probably ask him for some info. one thing i can say is that he never seemed to be majorly stressed out during his residency, and he liked the people he worked with.

jdsmurph said:

I'm applying to 14 programs. Will probably only interview at 8-10 programs. Have heard from people at my institution that Med-Peds is not very competitive, but that's coming from a place w/o med-peds, a place with few faculty and advisors who are knowledgable on the topic... How many are others applying to?

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I'm a Med-Peds Program Director and I lurk about here this time of year.

The number of programs you describe is typical.

dacunc1 said:

im currently applying for a residency in med/peds....they have a pretty decent website www.medpeds.org that answers a lot of questions here...

unfortunately, its hard to tell whos for real, who is full of s*#t, and who has no idea what they are talking about because every question (how competitive? which programs are good? how many programs?) is met with lots of different answers

that being said, i understand med/peds to be somewhat more competitive (but not too much more) than either peds or im or fm

as for me, im probably gonna apply to 8-10 programs, only because i live out west and wanna do my residency out here...beyond that, im gonna back up with a handful of im and fp residencies out west as well

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All kinds of ways to measure competitiveness. Having said this, the most competitive time was around 1996, at the peak of interest in primary care. Never, ever could be compared to Derm or Ophth.

Rather than encourage speculation, I suggest all of you should review the match data of programs that interest you, and look over the assessment of the 2005 match at http://www.im.org/AAIM/PublicPolicy/Docs/2005MatchData.htm

I'll crosspost this to the the other Med-Peds thread.

The first meeting of the Philadelphia Med-Peds Society will be on Tuesday,

September 27th at 7pm in the Blumle Life Sciences Building (Room 100). Come
hear residency directors from 5 of the Philadelphia area Med-Peds programs
in
an informal Q&A, where you can learn more about Med-Peds and speak with the
directors of various programs individually. In addition, Dr. Allen
Friedland,
the President of the National Med-Peds Residency Program, will also be
answering questions. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about an
exciting residency choice. You will also get the chance to meet students
from
the other four Philly med schools who are interested in Med-Peds. And of
course, food will be served! If you are interested in attending or have any
other questions, please RSVP at [email protected] so I know how much
food to order.
Thanks and hope to see you there!

Benjamin D'Souza, MSIII
President, The Philadelphia Med-Peds Society
President, Clowns for Medicine (Jefferson Clowns)

jdsmurph said:

Thanks for the info.
-How 'bout a little more Med-Peds banter.
Anybody else out there doing Med-Peds? Where are you applying, and what have you heard about specific programs?

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Planning on med-peds, backing up with peds. I come from a school with one of the oldest med-peds programs in the country, so there's more info out there. I think med-peds varies in its competitiveness, but still nowhere near derm or ophtho (thank goodness!). I'm applying to 6 med-peds programs (in chicago, phoenix, and LA). Does anyone have any insight into LA programs?

ruthmd said:

Planning on med-peds, backing up with peds. I come from a school with one of the oldest med-peds programs in the country, so there's more info out there. I think med-peds varies in its competitiveness, but still nowhere near derm or ophtho (thank goodness!). I'm applying to 6 med-peds programs (in chicago, phoenix, and LA). Does anyone have any insight into LA programs?

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You mean Los Angeles, not Louisiana, right?

Don't know the UCLA program; suspect it may have formed in anticipation of the closure of the Cedars-Sinai program. As far as LAC+USC, if you love large urban county hospitals and all that comes with that environment, good and bad, you'll be giddy with excitement.

There's another med-peds link around here, you'll find some definitive numbers related to competitiveness. More competitive than FP.

forncroj said:

You mean Los Angeles, not Louisiana, right?

Don't know the UCLA program; suspect it may have formed in anticipation of the closure of the Cedars-Sinai program. As far as LAC+USC, if you love large urban county hospitals and all that comes with that environment, good and bad, you'll be giddy with excitement.

There's another med-peds link around here, you'll find some definitive numbers related to competitiveness. More competitive than FP.

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I did mean Los Angeles and not LA - thanks