Applying to two competitive specialties

[2012mdc]

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How rare is it for a person to apply to two different competitive specialties?

For example if someone wants to do derm but would also be happy with EM. Does this happen at all?

 

[md2010sgu]

Yeah I have a classmate applying for Neurosurgery, ENT, and Neurology.... hmm....

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Like you implied, it's a little more common for those students applying to very competitive specialties as a way of hedging their bet and making sure they get into an acceptable residency. I've known people who applied to Integrated Vascular Surgery and General Surgery, Derm and IM, Integrated Plastics and General Surgery, and Integrated CT and General Surgery. Notice a theme for the direct surgical subspecialty pathways? Those people who don't get into e.g. an integrated plastics residency can always do a plastics fellowship after gen surg residency. I've heard it's pretty common for people applying to Derm to apply to other specialties, as well.

Frankly, I'll never understand how people can apply to Neurosurgery and Neurology together (though I've heard of this happening). They are vastly different in terms of scope of practice, philosophy, and lifestyle... they only have the central nervous system in common. To me, it's like wanting to be either a (renal) transplant surgeon or a nephrologist and applying for both.

 

[md2010sgu]

Frankly, I'll never understand how people can apply to Neurosurgery and Neurology together (though I've heard of this happening). They are vastly different in terms of scope of practice, philosophy, and lifestyle... they only have the central nervous system in common. To me, it's like wanting to be either a (renal) transplant surgeon or a nephrologist and applying for both.

👍You and me both my friend... they are completely different just like you said. 👍

 

[2012mdc]

👍You and me both my friend... they are completely different just like you said. 👍

So it's common for those you want to do surgery to apply to a subspecialty and gen surg.

But it's rarer for someone to apply to Derm and EM or Derm and Radiology for example since those specialties don't have much overlap.

I was just wondering since Derm is one of the most competitive ones if people apply to other relatively less competitive but still competitive overall specialties like Radiology, Anesthesiology, and EM. With great stats is it too arrogant to have something like EM as a backup?

Is it common for people to be legitimately interested in two very different fields or are these people just drawn in by the lifestyle?

Thanks for the replies guys

 

[WhoisJohnGalt]

So it's common for those you want to do surgery to apply to a subspecialty and gen surg.

But it's rarer for someone to apply to Derm and EM or Derm and Radiology for example since those specialties don't have much overlap.

I was just wondering since Derm is one of the most competitive ones if people apply to other relatively less competitive but still competitive overall specialties like Radiology, Anesthesiology, and EM. With great stats is it too arrogant to have something like EM as a backup?

Is it common for people to be legitimately interested in two very different fields or are these people just drawn in by the lifestyle?

Thanks for the replies guys

Why is this important to you? What competitive fields are you interested in?

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Is it common for people to be legitimately interested in two very different fields or are these people just drawn in by the lifestyle?

It shouldn't matter if it's common. You have to decide what's right for you. Try not to think about what people will think of you if you apply to X specialty or A, B, and C programs. It's your life, and you're the one who has to be fulfilled and satisfied for many decades.

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

It happens all the time. Sometimes people can't decide, sometimes they want a backup. EM isn't a "competitive specialty", it just isn't family med or a lower tier IM program.

 

[beefballs]

One of my classmates aplied to bth neuro surg & neurology, he told me ideally he would like to work on the CNS but the CNS was what tickled his fancy. He is a smart guy and it made sense to me.

Derm and IM and Derm and Rads in my class as well.

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

One of my classmates aplied to bth neuro surg & neurology, he told me ideally he would like to work on the CNS but the CNS was what tickled his fancy. He is a smart guy and it made sense to me.

Derm and IM and Derm and Rads in my class as well.

No beef with that, the neuros make total sense. The Derm/Rads crowd just screams "I want the easiest life possible". Basically if I don't get the sweetest gig in medicine, I'll take the next sweetest gig. I have no problem with that rationale cause hey, I'd probably have it too in that situation, and I'll take a good schedule and compensation any day. I'm sure there is a less sincere reason claimed for it, though.

 

[2012mdc]

Why is this important to you? What competitive fields are you interested in?

I'm thinking about Rads, Ortho, and EM

 

[PhakeDoc]

One of my classmates aplied to bth neuro surg & neurology...

Out of curiosity, to which, if either, did he end up matching?

 

[CyberKnife19]

How rare is it for a person to apply to two different competitive specialties?

For example if someone wants to do derm but would also be happy with EM. Does this happen at all?

It definitely depends on which competitive specialties you are talking about.

Personally, I do not think that applying to two competitive specialties is a wise idea. Program directors will see your transcript and will notice a trend (hmm...Dermatology elective and Radiation Oncology elective) and see the number of electives that you do in each field, which is important b/c you have to do at least 2 electives in both Derm and RadOnc, etc. to generate any useful LOR's.

Program directors love their field and want you to love their field/be totally committed to it because they don't want to take the chance that you "change your mind" halfway through your residency and then they are stuck finding your replacement.

The only field that you may be able to get away with this is if one of your specialties is Radiology. My understanding (you Rads people can correct me if I am wrong) is that you probably only need 1 LOR from a Radiologist. Therefore, a PD in a competitive field may just think that you did an elective in Radiology to improve your ability to read films and make you a better physician in the future...therefore, not thinking much of the Radiology elective. Best of luck.

 

[2012mdc]

It definitely depends on which competitive specialties you are talking about.

Personally, I do not think that applying to two competitive specialties is a wise idea. Program directors will see your transcript and will notice a trend (hmm...Dermatology elective and Radiation Oncology elective) and see the number of electives that you do in each field, which is important b/c you have to do at least 2 electives in both Derm and RadOnc, etc. to generate any useful LOR's.

Program directors love their field and want you to love their field/be totally committed to it because they don't want to take the chance that you "change your mind" halfway through your residency and then they are stuck finding your replacement.

The only field that you may be able to get away with this is if one of your specialties is Radiology. My understanding (you Rads people can correct me if I am wrong) is that you probably only need 1 LOR from a Radiologist. Therefore, a PD in a competitive field may just think that you did an elective in Radiology to improve your ability to read films and make you a better physician in the future...therefore, not thinking much of the Radiology elective. Best of luck.

Thanks that's the issue I was a little worried about. What do Rads PD's think when they see you do 1 Rad elective and 2 EM/Ortho/Derm etc electives?

 

[MrBurns10]

Thanks that's the issue I was a little worried about. What do Rads PD's think when they see you do 1 Rad elective and 2 EM/Ortho/Derm etc electives?

They won't care. I had a classmate who did a ton of urology electives and a year of urology research with numerous publications, then changed his mind and applied radiology. It happens. Regardless, your transcript is uploaded Sept 1 when you transmit ERAS. The chances of you having 1 rads and 2 EM/derm/whatever electives by that point are slim to none anyway.

 

[thedrjojo]

They won't care. I had a classmate who did a ton of urology electives and a year of urology research with numerous publications, then changed his mind and applied radiology. It happens. Regardless, your transcript is uploaded Sept 1 when you transmit ERAS. The chances of you having 1 rads and 2 EM/derm/whatever electives by that point are slim to none anyway.

My school transmits our transcript in october, which includes up to 6 months of elective time (2 2week 3rd year electives, and electives for June, July, August, September, and October [mine this year did not include october]). So I had ENT (2wk), Transplant Surg (2wk), General Surgery x 2, and Surg Onc x 2 as electives on my transcript. I see no stretch of the imagination for me to have had Rads in June, EM in July (which is a mandatory rotation in my 4th year... which I will take in May then immediately graduate 🙁 ), Derm in August, Another elective in September...

 

[pntgrd]

Like you implied, it's a little more common for those students applying to very competitive specialties as a way of hedging their bet and making sure they get into an acceptable residency. I've known people who applied to Integrated Vascular Surgery and General Surgery, Derm and IM, Integrated Plastics and General Surgery, and Integrated CT and General Surgery. Notice a theme for the direct surgical subspecialty pathways? Those people who don't get into e.g. an integrated plastics residency can always do a plastics fellowship after gen surg residency. I've heard it's pretty common for people applying to Derm to apply to other specialties, as well.

Frankly, I'll never understand how people can apply to Neurosurgery and Neurology together (though I've heard of this happening). They are vastly different in terms of scope of practice, philosophy, and lifestyle... they only have the central nervous system in common. To me, it's like wanting to be either a (renal) transplant surgeon or a nephrologist and applying for both.

Just because 2 things are different doesn't mean one can't like them both very much.

 

[MrBurns10]

My school transmits our transcript in october, which includes up to 6 months of elective time (2 2week 3rd year electives, and electives for June, July, August, September, and October [mine this year did not include october]). So I had ENT (2wk), Transplant Surg (2wk), General Surgery x 2, and Surg Onc x 2 as electives on my transcript. I see no stretch of the imagination for me to have had Rads in June, EM in July (which is a mandatory rotation in my 4th year... which I will take in May then immediately graduate 🙁 ), Derm in August, Another elective in September...

Man, your school is doing its students a severe disservice not getting the transcripts in until October.

But again, I don't see it as being much of a problem regardless.

 

[smq123]

Frankly, I'll never understand how people can apply to Neurosurgery and Neurology together (though I've heard of this happening). They are vastly different in terms of scope of practice, philosophy, and lifestyle... they only have the central nervous system in common. To me, it's like wanting to be either a (renal) transplant surgeon or a nephrologist and applying for both.

I knew a neurosurg resident who switched into neurology. She said that her "procedural itch" was satisfied with interventional neuroradiology, which she could get through neurology (and still have some semblance of a personal life).

 

[kitsunepixie]

I knew a neurosurg resident who switched into neurology. She said that her "procedural itch" was satisfied with interventional neuroradiology, which she could get through neurology (and still have some semblance of a personal life).

I was also debating whether to do neurosurgery vs. neurology + fellowship in neurocritical care vs. interventional neuroradiology. If you love the nervous system, it makes sense to me how any of these specialties would be appealing. I've also known people split between neurosurgery and plastics, and have met an attending who specialized in both (he does a lot of craniofacial reconstruction). What really gets me are the people who are split between Neurosurg and Derm.