can anybody do more than one residencies

[peace zealot]

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It seems like a stupid question but I want to know about that.Suppose sombody does IM and after completing residency wants to do something different like radiology or surgery.Is it possible and what are the chances?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Its possible and depends on a program's interest in taking you. ACGME residencies get about 50% of CME funding for second residencies so they may be less interested in taking you over someone who's fresh out of medical school, but there are no rules stating you can't do a second residency.

 

[peace zealot]

Thanks Dr. Cox.But that can be an option for an IMg.Say if an IMG gets residency at rural health care programe but wants to do something that is more competetive say IM or Derma etc. or even more competitive than these then his chances to get the residency (with experience at america) may increase.What is your opinion.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thanks Dr. Cox.But that can be an option for an IMg.Say if an IMG gets residency at rural health care programe but wants to do something that is more competetive say IM or Derma etc. or even more competitive than these then his chances to get the residency (with experience at america) may increase.What is your opinion.

I suppose US experience in the way of doing a US residency could potentially increase one's chances at getting into a second residency in something more competitive, but considering some programs will not consider anyone for a second residency it seems a poor way to go about it.

Remember, Derm in particular has no shortage of well qualified applicants. For them to take someone and get 50% less CME funding would seemingly be unlikely. But as always, there are exceptions, just don't expect to be that exception.

 

[Blade28]

I don't think you should plan on doing a residency just to beef up your CV for a second residency.

 

[TRAMD]

Thanks Dr. Cox.But that can be an option for an IMg.Say if an IMG gets residency at rural health care programe but wants to do something that is more competetive say IM or Derma etc. or even more competitive than these then his chances to get the residency (with experience at america) may increase.What is your opinion.

IM is not competitive but some of the subspecialties are. If you don't get into derm right out of medical school then you aren't going to be a dermatologist.

 

[peace zealot]

I think I am irritating you people by asking again and again but for that I say sorry before asking a question.
Ok lets say I want to do IM and is unable to get into IM residency right after completing school,and no money to spend on doing electives at united states.Then is it a positive move to get first residency at whatever programme and then afterwards try for IM.In that case if I don't get IM residency afterwards I will be able to practice at states.
That's for sure I am not planning to do that to increase my chances but I should keep in mind the worst that can happen.I hope after 4 or 5 years I will do my best at USMLE and become able to secure IM residency.

 

[deleted6669]

with enough time you can collect as many residencies and board certifications as you want. my current em chief has 5:
fp
im
pulmonology
em(grandfathered and boarded without residency)
anesthesiology

he gets bored easily apparently and goes off to do something new every decade or so but always comes back to em.....

ps general IM residencies aren't that tough to get.....only fp is easier.....

 

[Faebinder]

with enough time you can collect as many residencies and board certifications as you want. my current em chief has 5:
fp
im
pulmonology
em(grandfathered and boarded without residency)
anesthesiology

he gets bored easily apparently and goes off to do something new every decade or so but always comes back to em.....

ps general IM residencies aren't that tough to get.....only fp is easier.....

WTF??? A resident forever??? If he says he wants to go to another residency make sure to tell him that Faebinder says, "Gosh, will you just let it go and give us new comers some space! If you are bored, consider cooking."

 

[RTrain]

I think I am irritating you people by asking again and again but for that I say sorry before asking a question.
Ok lets say I want to do IM and is unable to get into IM residency right after completing school,and no money to spend on doing electives at united states.Then is it a positive move to get first residency at whatever programme and then afterwards try for IM.In that case if I don't get IM residency afterwards I will be able to practice at states.
That's for sure I am not planning to do that to increase my chances but I should keep in mind the worst that can happen.I hope after 4 or 5 years I will do my best at USMLE and become able to secure IM residency.

Not irritated in the least - folks are just being direct in answering the question. 🙂

IM is not a particularly competitive specialty - many FMG's are successful in matching into it. FP is somewhat less competitive than IM and has some overlap in scope of practice, so if you think you would be happy doing FP and you do not believe yourself to be a competitive applicant for IM, you can always apply for FP.

While you CAN try to do a second residency after a first, I think you could end up burned out and bitter with that strategy.

 

[peace zealot]

I think it is too early ,for me,to think that I am not competetive enough to get IM residency.I have just passed two years of my medical education out of total five that catered only anatomy,physiology and biochemistery.Its a long way for me to improve my chances,rather I should say to start making my chances.My grades in these two years are average but I hope things will get better.I have heard that a lot of students doing better as they enter the clinical years.
For IMGs I think its the USMLE score that is life changing because their school grades worth less,and Dean's letter are also of little worth,so I should work hard for USMLE...am I right?

 

[peace zealot]

That's irrelivant but Blade is looking great with christmas cap....its COOL!

 

[Winged Scapula]

I think it is too early ,for me,to think that I am not competetive enough to get IM residency.I have just passed two years of my medical education out of total five that catered only anatomy,physiology and biochemistery.Its a long way for me to improve my chances,rather I should say to start making my chances.My grades in these two years are average but I hope things will get better.I have heard that a lot of students doing better as they enter the clinical years.
For IMGs I think its the USMLE score that is life changing because their school grades worth less,and Dean's letter are also of little worth,so I should work hard for USMLE...am I right?

Grades obtained at a school outside of the US or Canada are practically meaningless when it comes to applying for a US residency. It is almost all USMLE Step 1 and USCE.

As others have noted, IM is not particularly competitive but you can increase your chances to match into anything but doing some US electives. if you don't have the money to do that, I'll warn you...you won't have the money to take the USMLEs and apply for US residencies. Most of us spent at least a few thousand USD, for FMGs it can be even more as they tend to apply to more programs and have to travel farther.

So, yes when evaluating students trained abroad, US faculty do not know what to make of foreign grades and Dean's letters, so Step 1 is the most important.

 

[peace zealot]

O yes I have a rough idea of the amount of money that is required for the whole process(exam fee,ticket,appications,residence,and few other expences),but have no idea of money required for doing electives.If anybody can tell about that it would be helpful for me.

 

[Blade28]

O yes I have a rough idea of the amount of money that is required for the whole process(exam fee,ticket,appications,residence,and few other expences),but have no idea of money required for doing electives.If anybody can tell about that it would be helpful for me.

Well the cost of a month-long rotation can be anywhere from free (for many US med students) to a 1/12th of what it costs for a year's worth of tuition. For some places, this can be $3-5k. Figure in travel costs, rental car (if necessary), lodging, etc. and you're talking quite a hefty sum.

The major cost of the application process for the Match is in travel expenses - airfare, rental cars, transportation, hotel/motel rooms. If you need a suit that'll increase your budget. Applying to the programs themselves, especially if you apply broadly, can cost a lot as well.

That's irrelivant but Blade is looking great with christmas cap....its COOL!

Why thank you very much! I actually have Depakote to thank for the Santa hat.

 

[peace zealot]

So I can think for electives at somewhere that will cost me less.
If by suit you mean clothing(pants n coat etc.)I will, for sure ,manage it at my country as it will cost the least....you will never know why...
Anyways,there are still many years remaining,may be I will win some big big prize money,who knows!

 

[Winged Scapula]

So I can think for electives at somewhere that will cost me less.
If by suit you mean clothing(pants n coat etc.)I will, for sure ,manage it at my country as it will cost the least....you will never know why...
Anyways,there are still many years remaining,may be I will win some big big prize money,who knows!

There are many places in the US that will allow visiting electives for free or just a few hundred dollars (usually to cover the cost of medical malpractice insurance which is usually not offered by foreign schools to cover in the US).

Most of the big name places like Harvard and Stanford will charge you whatever the going rate is for their medical school tution, which can be $3,000 a month as Blade notes. There is very little reason, IMHO, to spend that kind of money for an elective.

 

[peace zealot]

Ofcourse I am never going to spend that much money on electives.Actually before you and Blade enlightened me I thought ,for doing electives everywhere needs $3ooo or more....So now I can easily do electives...spending few hundred dollars is not a very big deal.Thanks again!
Most of students that I know(my seniors at my own school and others belonging to my country) prefer to do electives when they go to america to take CK and step 3 of USMLE.

 

[peace zealot]

Can anybody please tell me what USCE stands for?I am very poor at knowing abbreviations.😳

 

[Winged Scapula]

Can anybody please tell me what USCE stands for?I am very poor at knowing abbreviations.😳

USCE = United States Clinical Experience

 

[Blade28]

Most of the big name places like Harvard and Stanford will charge you whatever the going rate is for their medical school tution, which can be $3,000 a month as Blade notes.

Caught red-handed. 😳

 

[peace zealot]

Caught red-handed. 😳

How are you caught red handed?sorry,but unable to understand😕

 

[Blade28]

How are you caught red handed?sorry,but unable to understand😕

I was talking about various private places, but in particular had the Harvard programs on my mind, as I rotated at one of their hospitals as an MS-IV.

 

[peace zealot]

Oh ok,so you spent a lot of money for electives.Why is that so some places charge a lot and some offer free electives?
I am in a process to learn more and more about American Medical World and my only source is SDN.I don't browse different sites and don't have contacts beyond SDN.🙂

 

[Blade28]

Oh ok,so you spent a lot of money for electives.Why is that so some places charge a lot and some offer free electives?

Some of the bigger, private programs probably charge more while the state-funded programs may be free.

I didn't have to pay as I was a US med student.

 

[peace zealot]

There is a question if someone wants to do General surgery and is not competitive enough and go to preliminary programme.Then after one year would he be applying similarly for match and also how much is the surity he would get into programme?

 

[Winged Scapula]

There is a question if someone wants to do General surgery and is not competitive enough and go to preliminary programme.Then after one year would he be applying similarly for match and also how much is the surity he would get into programme?

There is no "surity" that you would get into a categorical general surgery track after doing a preliminary gen surg year.

If you do well, you might be offered a position to stay at the program where you are doing your Prelim year, but expect to have to start over from year 1 again.

The multiple prelim years can be a graveyard for the FMG resident...if you take one, its a year long interview, you'll have to work harder than anyone else and in the end, there is no guarantee that you'll match or be offered a position anywhere else. However, it does give the hospital a chance to see you in action so it probably offers you a better opportunity to get a position than anything else.

 

[Blade28]

There is no "surity" that you would get into a categorical general surgery track after doing a preliminary gen surg year.

Unfortunately, there are no "surities" in life. 🙁

 

[peace zealot]

yeah Blade is quite right.I asked this question because I thought after preliminary year one directly goes to the residency programme.My style of asking question was somewhat wrong...🙂

 

[Blade28]

yeah Blade is quite right.I asked this question because I thought after preliminary year one directly goes to the residency programme.My style of asking question was somewhat wrong...🙂

If doing a year of Prelim Surgery guaranteed a Categorical spot, then all the Prelim spots would be competitive. Which would defeat the whole purpose of having Prelim spots that were easy to get into. 🙁

 

[peace zealot]

So is this prelim programme offered in every field?and what I get is its purpose is mainly to increase clinical experience and chances for match.

 

[Blade28]

So is this prelim programme offered in every field?and what I get is its purpose is mainly to increase clinical experience and chances for match.

Pretty much just Internal Medicine and General Surgery.

Edit: a forum search will reveal lots of info on Prelim vs. Transitional vs. Categorical residency positions.

 

[RockfordWF]

It seems like a stupid question but I want to know about that.Suppose sombody does IM and after completing residency wants to do something different like radiology or surgery.Is it possible and what are the chances?

Yes. It happens all the time. There are several EM residents who have completed family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics.