Anyone do a second residency?

[parrotpink]

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I'm midway through a residency in Internal Medicine. I'm getting really fed up of managing chronic diseases, I can't stand clinic and hate rounding/mental masturbation. I can't see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I did a Radiology elective late in my 4th year of med school and am really contemplating finishing up this residency and applying to Radiology. I've thought about trying to swap into a program to save a year but feel like it's too risky now and a little too late. Plus I'm guessing having already completed an IM residency I would be somewhat more competitive when applying to Radiology. Looking for some insight or feedback from anyone who did two residencies. How does it work and what are the potential obstacles? Are there many advanced programs where I wouldn't have to do an intern year again (if so how do I find them outside of ERAS)? Am I just thinking the grass is greener on the other side? Appreciate anyone's input

 

[GadRads]

You wouldn't need an intern year since you have done one. I know someone who finished a residency in IM and is now a 4th year radiology resident. You will also find that radiology is more challenging than what most people think but it is better than rounding.

 

[Moose A Moose]

House is dual board certified in both nephrology and infectious disease.

 

[deleted564680]

There are multiple radiology attendings at my institution that did a residency (and even practiced a couple years in some cases) in other fields such as IM, anesthesia, and dentistry. I would say that the money/loan/etc. situation was different back then though.

 

[TCOM12]

You’re having completed a residency isn’t necessarily an advantage. The good thing is that you will be a pgy-7 when you finish. The drawback is that programs with an open R1 position are usually (but not always) less desirable. It means they couldn’t even fill after the SOAP. But there may be some rare new programs or unforeseen circumstances.

 

[Cognovi]

The programs that offer an 'R' = Resident/Physician position (rather than an 'A' = advanced position) varies from year to year. You can see which programs had a position in last year's match by looking at the NRMP main residency match results data report. Otherwise you have to look in ERAS.

 

[guytakingboards]

One of the biggest problems you'll face is funding. I'm not 100% on the details but I believe that CMS won't allow you to be funded from the CMS pool of money that hospitals receive for the number of years you've already done. I.e if you've completed 3 years of internal medicine residency then you specifically can't be paid with CMS funds for 3 years of a new radiology residency.

That's a huge issue for a lot of programs and some won't even consider you because of that. One of the people in my program who switched after two years of medicine said he was told by several programs that they wouldn't consider him because of funding.

Programs that have other sources of funding (e.g. VA or local) can be more flexible and/or the hospital/GME program can choose to eat the cost of your training.

 

[rule out normal]

I'm midway through a residency in Internal Medicine. I'm getting really fed up of managing chronic diseases, I can't stand clinic and hate rounding/mental masturbation. I can't see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I did a Radiology elective late in my 4th year of med school and am really contemplating finishing up this residency and applying to Radiology. I've thought about trying to swap into a program to save a year but feel like it's too risky now and a little too late. Plus I'm guessing having already completed an IM residency I would be somewhat more competitive when applying to Radiology. Looking for some insight or feedback from anyone who did two residencies. How does it work and what are the potential obstacles? Are there many advanced programs where I wouldn't have to do an intern year again (if so how do I find them outside of ERAS)? Am I just thinking the grass is greener on the other side? Appreciate anyone's input

I am currently a third year radiology resident (PGY-4). There's a person in my class that completed two years of internal medicine before switching to radiology. It seemed to be a smooth transition. I think it's a fairly common occurrence but don't have numbers on it.