Are you stuck in PCP if you go through LECOM's 3-year PCP pathway? Hospitalist?

[ILikeDrugs]

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LECOM offers a 3-year program and you have to make a commitment to becoming a PCP by doing a residency in either IM or FM. Well, let's say after a couple of years you just don't like it and would like to move into the hospital setting as a hospitalist. Since you can become a hospitalist by having done an IM/FM residency, do you think this would be possible? Would a hospitalist be required to have the 4th year electives under his/her belt?

 

[painmd87]

LECOM offers a 3-year program and you have to make a commitment to becoming a PCP by doing a residency in either IM or FM. Well, let's say after a couple of years you just don't like it and would like to move into the hospital setting as a hospitalist. Since you can become a hospitalist by having done an IM/FM residency, do you think this would be possible? Would a hospitalist be required to have the 4th year electives under his/her belt?

According to Dr. Moore, you are required to practice IM/FM/OB/GYN/Peds for at least 5 years. If you subspecialize prior to that, you owe a 4th year of tuition to LECOM.

At my interview day, I asked if missing 4th year rotations would hurt one's competitiveness for fellowship if one decided to subspecialize after those 5 years and couldn't get an answer. You don't miss all of the MSIV rotations; you cram a lot more into MSIII though.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

LECOM offers a 3-year program and you have to make a commitment to becoming a PCP by doing a residency in either IM or FM. Well, let's say after a couple of years you just don't like it and would like to move into the hospital setting as a hospitalist. Since you can become a hospitalist by having done an IM/FM residency, do you think this would be possible? Would a hospitalist be required to have the 4th year electives under his/her belt?

A hospitalist isn't a PCP. From my understanding, the vast majority of work as a PCP involves outpatient treatment. Hospitalists only deal with inpatient medicine. So I can't imagine why they would be considered PCPs...

 

[JeetKuneDo]

According to Dr. Moore, you are required to practice IM/FM/OB/GYN/Peds for at least 5 years. If you subspecialize prior to that, you owe a 4th year of tuition to LECOM.

At my interview day, I asked if missing 4th year rotations would hurt one's competitiveness for fellowship if one decided to subspecialize after those 5 years and couldn't get an answer. You don't miss all of the MSIV rotations; you cram a lot more into MSIII though.

Do most who do this program get residencies at community programs? I could see how it could be cool to skip out on a year of med school, go straight into residency and then do a fellowship and just pay off that one year of schooling.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

LECOM offers a 3-year program and you have to make a commitment to becoming a PCP by doing a residency in either IM or FM. Well, let's say after a couple of years you just don't like it and would like to move into the hospital setting as a hospitalist. Since you can become a hospitalist by having done an IM/FM residency, do you think this would be possible? Would a hospitalist be required to have the 4th year electives under his/her belt?

Technically I think you'd be just fine, being a hospitalist=practicing general internal medicine.

 

[cabinbuilder]

You can be family practice and be a hospitalist. Just be sure you do a residency where you get plenty of inpatient time and ICU rotations so you are comfortable taking care of very sick, complicated patients. Larger cities prefer IM hospitalist but in the smaller cities and rural towns you just need to verify competency from your residency that you are qualified in that regard. I did FM residency and all of our inpatient rotations where internal medicine/hospitalist with ICU so there was no designation between the two. Really depends on where you want to work in the country and how diverse your residency is. Be sure you learn ventilator mgmt and can put in a central line if you need to.

 

[Got Em]

Do most who do this program get residencies at community programs? I could see how it could be cool to skip out on a year of med school, go straight into residency and then do a fellowship and just pay off that one year of schooling.

So this is all you need to do? I mean wouldn't this be too good of a deal? You basically go to med school for 3 years, do 3 years residency, and 3 years of fellowship. You only pay for one year of tuition, but the one extra year that you're working as a cardiologist/GI is 10x the amount of that one year of tuition.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Do most who do this program get residencies at community programs? I could see how it could be cool to skip out on a year of med school, go straight into residency and then do a fellowship and just pay off that one year of schooling.

I don't get this, all that work to be further ahead by a single year? Being a sketchoid + denying someone else who may actually want the spot (these are very few spots) all to end up coming out one year ahead. Not to mention the fact you're probably putting yourself behind the 8-ball to qualify for the fellowship when they ask you "so why only 3 years of medical school". I don't think the program is in place to be taken advantage of so much as continue to fill a shortage.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

Thanks for all the info. 😀

 

[group_theory]

My understanding is if you were to pursue the Primary Care Scholar Program at LECOM, you're limiting yourself to the residency programs affliated with LECOM OPTI (however, I'm not certain that you are 100% commited to LECOM's OPTI for residency). I'm pretty sure than an ACGME residency is out of the question. When it comes time for fellowship, the competitive ACGME fellowships (cardiology, gastroenterology, heme/onc) is out of the question since you won't be eligible for the ABIM board or ABIM subspecialty board (and AOA residencies are not usually associated with strong university programs, which you will need if you are interested in ACGME competitive fellowships). You can probably pursue the few cardiology/GI/heme-onc AOA spots, but you will be OUT of residency for a few years before you even become eligible for fellowship (per your contract with LECOM, unless you want to pay that 4th year tuition). You will be competiting with current residents with face-to-face time with fellowship directors (and faculty attendings).



"The pathway curriculum is directly linked to primary care residency programs in Lake Erie’s Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institute and to other osteopathic primary care residency programs nationwide."
-Shannon, Ferretti, et al. The Challenges Of Primary Care And Innovative Responses In Osteopathic Education. Health Aff May 2010 vol. 29 no. 5 1015-1022

 

[JeetKuneDo]

So this is all you need to do? I mean wouldn't this be too good of a deal? You basically go to med school for 3 years, do 3 years residency, and 3 years of fellowship. You only pay for one year of tuition, but the one extra year that you're working as a cardiologist/GI is 10x the amount of that one year of tuition.

Yep, too good to be true. Just like when Amazon was selling "PS3's" for 40 bucks a couple weeks ago.

I don't get this, all that work to be further ahead by a single year? Being a sketchoid + denying someone else who may actually want the spot (these are very few spots) all to end up coming out one year ahead. Not to mention the fact you're probably putting yourself behind the 8-ball to qualify for the fellowship when they ask you "so why only 3 years of medical school". I don't think the program is in place to be taken advantage of so much as continue to fill a shortage.

Yeah, I don't think the program is meant to be used how I described it as well. It was just an interesting thought that came to mind when reading this thread, since someone above posted that it might be possible to get out of the contract by paying a year's tuition.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

My understanding is if you were to pursue the Primary Care Scholar Program at LECOM, you're limiting yourself to the residency programs affliated with LECOM OPTI (however, I'm not certain that you are 100% commited to LECOM's OPTI for residency). I'm pretty sure than an ACGME residency is out of the question. When it comes time for fellowship, the competitive ACGME fellowships (cardiology, gastroenterology, heme/onc) is out of the question since you won't be eligible for the ABIM board or ABIM subspecialty board (and AOA residencies are not usually associated with strong university programs, which you will need if you are interested in ACGME competitive fellowships). You can probably pursue the few cardiology/GI/heme-onc AOA spots, but you will be OUT of residency for a few years before you even become eligible for fellowship (per your contract with LECOM, unless you want to pay that 4th year tuition). You will be competiting with current residents with face-to-face time with fellowship directors (and faculty attendings).



"The pathway curriculum is directly linked to primary care residency programs in Lake Erie’s Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institute and to other osteopathic primary care residency programs nationwide."
-Shannon, Ferretti, et al. The Challenges Of Primary Care And Innovative Responses In Osteopathic Education. Health Aff May 2010 vol. 29 no. 5 1015-1022

From the people in the pathway that I have talked to, all of them say you are not locked into LECOMs residencies; however you are locked into AOA residencies. If one is really wanting to be eligible for ACGME boards, I don't think anything is keeping these people from going to a dual residency.