after residency... time off?

[Nestle]

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how often is it that people take a few years off between residency and fellowships? is that unheard of? or maybe not actually take time off, but just work for a while before going on to subspecialize. i've heard some fellowships are worse than residency ...

 

[ERMudPhud]

In several hospitals where I worked, many of the hospitalist were IM residency grads working for a few years before going on to fellowship. Most of them also made sure to take off a few months for vacation before starting their fellowships

 

[edfig99]

i think it's a matter of how much you owe, and how quickly you want to start paying it back. i know many residents that opted to stay on as hospitalists as above. i also know quite a few that took a research year or two. i personally went straight into a fellowship, but it's an atypical one -- i get paid to get my mph.

my friends who opted to go into the workforce took varying amounts of time off -- some waited 2 or 3 months, others took longer than that.

most fellowships, however, would like you to start on July 1. a couple will let you start off cycle, but it's probably something you have to negotiate when you interview.

some fellowships can be worse than residency, however, if it's an acgme-accredited fellowship then they have to follow the work hour and other acgme restrictions.

 

[Sessamoid]

I don't know your financial status, but if you've got a lot of loans in deferment from residency, most will enter repayment status almost as soon as you leave your training. If you go straight into fellowship, at least some of those will continue to be deferred.