Can someone explain to me what is residency and moonlighting?

[raindropx]

I think what I was going for was, if most residents feel like they aren't prepared enough when they exit residency, why not just lengthen it another 6 months to a year?

Although there is an obvious conflict though with a large debt looming over many of their heads.

Did you miss the several posts by @mimelim and @Law2Doc addressing how lengthening the residency is undesirable? How about you stop posting ignorant questions and you'll stop getting backlash.

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[Mad Jack]

You have 240 posts in 1.5 days. Figured you had the time to walk me through it.

It's generally a 6 (Med school)+5 or 6 (residency) model, with fellowships taking an additional one or two years. That leads to an age range of 29-32 (though some finish our equivalent of high school at 16, leading to a range of 27-30) for practicing physicians in most European countries and Japan. Basically, they enter practice at the same time as American physicians, but with much fewer practice hours and a less diverse undergraduate education. There's also the issue of actually being able to practice post-residency as an attending- some countries, such as the UK, limit attending physician positions (consultants) and you can only apply for them when a consultant gives up their position. This can leave you stuck as hardly better than a resident for years.

 

[raindropx]

It's generally a 6 (Med school)+5 or 6 (residency) model, with fellowships taking an additional one or two years. That leads to an age range of 29-32 (though some finish our equivalent of high school at 16, leading to a range of 27-30) for practicing physicians in most European countries and Japan. Basically, they enter practice at the same time as American physicians, but with much fewer practice hours and a less diverse undergraduate education. There's also the issue of actually being able to practice post-residency as an attending- some countries, such as the UK, limit attending physician positions (consultants) and you can only apply for them when a consultant gives up their position. This can leave you stuck as hardly better than a resident for years.

Actually, a consultant is sort of a leader of a team of doctors. All residents become doctors, but the best become consultant. General practitioners are completely separated from specialists.

 

[mimelim]

I guess my question is here, do residents want more cases in the same period of time, or are they strictly against lengthening residency to get more cases in. What is the solution to that?

There must be a number that can be agreed on. Maybe even the current length at 100-120 hours a week isnt enough?

Gottcha, I mistakenly presumed that raindropx was simply being rude since he couldn't of known that not many people are familiar with other education systems since he has only been here since Wednesday.



I think what I was going for was, if most residents feel like they aren't prepared enough when they exit residency, why not just lengthen it another 6 months to a year?

Although there is an obvious conflict though with a large debt looming over many of their heads.

While most surgical residents feel the, "I'm not ready" feeling, most of them are very well prepared to start practicing. Everyone needs help, even the best of us, but how we train residents puts out good products at the end. By the same token, when you are 11 years after graduating college, most people are a decade or closing in on a decade into their career. I'm half way through my residency and I have former classmates on Forbes lists, running for political positions, making partner in law firms, etc. The prospect of adding more time to training is hard to stomach. That is the visceral response, but as highlighted previous, you give up a tremendous amount of money every extra year of training you do. That means retiring later or making less money, something people don't want to do.

 

[Law2Doc]

While most surgical residents feel the, "I'm not ready" feeling, most of them are very well prepared to start practicing. Everyone needs help, even the best of us, but how we train residents puts out good products at the end. By the same token, when you are 11 years after graduating college, most people are a decade or closing in on a decade into their career. I'm half way through my residency and I have former classmates on Forbes lists, running for political positions, making partner in law firms, etc. The prospect of adding more time to training is hard to stomach. That is the visceral response, but as highlighted previous, you give up a tremendous amount of money every extra year of training you do. That means retiring later or making less money, something people don't want to do.

Agreed. Most people in long residencies would gladly up the hours to get the same experience in fewer years, graduate earlier. There is very little interest in lengthening it to make the hours more palatable -- that's something that sounds much more important to someone who has never done a 80-100 hour week. Residency is a place where you learn a lot but need to lower your head and push through. It's a gauntlet you are running, not a fine wine you want to sip and enjoy. its really only premeds that worry about the lack of beauty sleep to the point a longer residency seems palatable, in my experience. Once you've actually been down this road, the hours aren't the deal breaker, the years are. Weeks when you are always at work fly by faster anyhow.

 

[Goro]

Guess who'll be saving their butts when they have a ballooning AAA or a clogged coronary artery????

I'm half way through my residency and I have former classmates on Forbes lists, running for political positions, making partner in law firms, etc.