Applying to FM with an EM 4th yr schedule

[witzelsucht]

4 Days into 4th year and i'm really hurting with the EM clerkship workload. I was pretty gung ho about EM, enjoyed it as a 3rd year elective and did the scribe thing as a premed, but im 27 and these nights are brutal. i cant imagine what thatll be like as a 50 y/o. eitherway, i enjoyed my family med and peds rotations. a lot of the stuff i like about EM exists in the FM world, undifferentiated complaints, minor procedures, diagnosis. if i decide to apply FM, can I use (some) EM letters? I can probably get an FM letter from my fm 3rd year person, and pick up an FM rotation in sept. will that cut it for decent programs? US Md, 250 step 1, mostly HPs in 3rd year (hons surg, psych). advice on how to proceed?

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[Brigade4Radiant]

4 Days into 4th year and i'm really hurting with the EM clerkship workload. I was pretty gung ho about EM, enjoyed it as a 3rd year elective and did the scribe thing as a premed, but im 27 and these nights are brutal. i cant imagine what thatll be like as a 50 y/o. eitherway, i enjoyed my family med and peds rotations. a lot of the stuff i like about EM exists in the FM world, undifferentiated complaints, minor procedures, diagnosis. if i decide to apply FM, can I use (some) EM letters? I can probably get an FM letter from my fm 3rd year person, and pick up an FM rotation in sept. will that cut it for decent programs? US Md, 250 step 1, mostly HPs in 3rd year (hons surg, psych). advice on how to proceed?

Wait until the end of your rotation and see. FM can be 9-5 but some work nights. Delivery babies taking call working on ICU. Honestly nights are a thing most doctors have to do.

 

[VenturaResident]

You'd work some nights in FM residency, but whether you work nights after residency in FM is 100% up to you. Many people take some call, but tons of others don't.

One of my application letters was from an EM doc, partially because my program is very EM heavy and I wanted to demonstrate interest in full spectrum family medicine.

 

[Board Vitals]

4 Days into 4th year and i'm really hurting with the EM clerkship workload. I was pretty gung ho about EM, enjoyed it as a 3rd year elective and did the scribe thing as a premed, but im 27 and these nights are brutal. i cant imagine what thatll be like as a 50 y/o. eitherway, i enjoyed my family med and peds rotations. a lot of the stuff i like about EM exists in the FM world, undifferentiated complaints, minor procedures, diagnosis. if i decide to apply FM, can I use (some) EM letters? I can probably get an FM letter from my fm 3rd year person, and pick up an FM rotation in sept. will that cut it for decent programs? US Md, 250 step 1, mostly HPs in 3rd year (hons surg, psych). advice on how to proceed?

Hello,
FM programs want to see that you are 100% committed to FM. Many program directors may not rank you very high, regardless of your scores, because they think that you may be applying to both EM and FM and using FM as a back up. I would definitely do an elective FM rotation and obtain one letter from a FM doctor. An EM letter is fine but I would also try to get other letters such as peds, psych etc. FM is about being well-rounded so having different letter from different specialties is okay as long as you have a FM letter and you come off as FM is your first choice. Good luck! ~M.D Author/Writer BoardVitals

 

[Frank Nutter]

You can find day shifts and out patient clinic medicine in just about in any field. Why not IM?

EM itself has options for only doing days, ie urgent cares.

Overall there are probably bigger differences between EM and FM to think about.