Can you practice medicine after passing step 3 and not finisihing residnecy?

[Dawso]

Hey Guys
I was just wondering if you could still work in clinic if you passed step 3, but did not finish residency, say you resigned during your 2nd or 3rd year of residency.

thanks

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[mig26x]

some states requires step 3 and one year of residency to obtain a full license. BUT, some workplace requires you to be board elegible in the specialty they are looking for, which you cannot be if you dont finish residency.

so I think its more of GP type of practice. maybe like an urgent care clinic.

 

[smq123]

so I think its more of GP type of practice. maybe like an urgent care clinic.

Maybe....although a lot of the urgent care clinic job listings online and in the AAFP journal specify that they would really rather only hire BC/BE physicians.

 

[gutonc]

This has been asked and answered numerous times.

The short-ish answer is that, while it's technically and legally possible to practice medicine without completing a residency (assuming you meet requirements for state licensure), in reality is is nearly imposible to get hired (by a hospital or group) or get paid by insurance if you try to practice independently, if you are not BC/BE. There are clearly exceptions, but they are rare and shouldn't be counted on.

 

[turquoiseblue]

with a license, i know you can work with insurance companies, do h&p's, medispas, cruise ships, etc., although it's not the greatest or a complete doctor job, it has decent pay.
i've always wondered how to start up a practice with just a license. they do exist. they just take out of pocket pay from patients. sometimes it is good because you can potentially make things cheaper and uninsured pts. can come to you. sometimes a physician in practice can hire you to work with them if you are licensed, although it may be rare.

good luck

 

[JaggerPlate]

Kind of ironic that a physician who has spent a least some time in residency or completed an internship has limited options, but an NP who completed a six week "residency" in dermatology is good to go.

 

[mig26x]

Kind of ironic that a physician who has spent a least some time in residency or completed an internship has limited options, but an NP who completed a six week "residency" in dermatology is good to go.

is ironic and very sad. I just finished residency training yesterday in IM and I had clinic on tuesday and it was very funny/ironic that I had to precept with an attending but the NP in the clinic was treating patient w/o any supervision.

 

[dragonfly99]

Agree with mig27x

 

[whournameiz]

there are jobs...such as urgent care, comp health and the ones mentioned above but you will be competing with PAs and NPs who can do the same thing 😱

A clinic can hire them for 40$/hr or you....so it is much cheaper for them. And even if they hire you it wont be too much more than what they can get a PA for. If you are not BC/BE then your not worth the extra pay Again this is just for primary care jobs... if there were no PAs NPs then the market would be a lot better for a general practitioner.

Sadly if you look on any job posts there are waaaay more posts for NPs and PAs than docs for these primary care positions 🙁

 

[Clemson Doc]

I am giving the general practitioner idea a lot of thought lately. I just started my internship a couple of weeks ago, and I am miserable. The thought of doing this for three years is a very unpleasant one. Doing it for the next year is not very exciting either, but the thought of sucking it up this year, passing Step 3, and being licensed has definitely crossed my mind.

All I have ever wanted to do is have a private practice. I hate the hospital, and I have never had a desire to subspecialize. Give me a group of private pay patients, give me the freedom to treat them through conventional and alternative means, and let me be able to order lab work and I'll be happy. At the same time, I don't want to limit myself in the future - especially since it would not be feasible to go back later and do the last two years of residency if I needed or wanted do.

 

[dragonfly99]

I think you'll have a hard time finding enough patients if you can't be credentialed by insurance companies, and the vast majority of them won't if you haven't finished residency.

Remember, being an intern sucks but being an upper level FP or IM resident does not suck as bad.

1 year of residency really isn't enough experience to be treating patients on your own in your own clinic. Most of the time, probably nothing big would go wrong, but if you see something and don't know what to do, or you see someone really sick and don't realize how sick he is, you're screwed.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Also don't forget that malpractice insurance providers may not want to cover you without having completed a residency.

 

[PharmaTope]

I think you'll have a hard time finding enough patients if you can't be credentialed by insurance companies, and the vast majority of them won't if you haven't finished residency.

Remember, being an intern sucks but being an upper level FP or IM resident does not suck as bad.

1 year of residency really isn't enough experience to be treating patients on your own in your own clinic. Most of the time, probably nothing big would go wrong, but if you see something and don't know what to do, or you see someone really sick and don't realize how sick he is, you're screwed.

tell that to all the midlevels......

 

[Taurus]

is ironic and very sad. I just finished residency training yesterday in IM and I had clinic on tuesday and it was very funny/ironic that I had to precept with an attending but the NP in the clinic was treating patient w/o any supervision.

That's why I think that it is imperative that we inform and educate the public, insurance companies, and law firms out there about the training differences. NP's who want to practice independently should pay more in insurance premiums and be at higher risk for malpractice lawsuits. Anything less is unacceptable. I've started to reach out to people in positions to make a difference. Let's just say I've gotten a warm reception.

One person can make a difference.

 

[whournameiz]

tell that to all the midlevels......

What's really said is if you go on any of these chain urgent cares or comp health places, there will be 10:1 job openings for PA/NP : MDs

It truly is sad that you can't get hired after 1 year of experience and 4 years of med school when you have so many NP/PAs getting the jobs with no med school and no residency.

you need to show your BC/BE to be of any value or its the cheaper alternative.

Just another way doctors screwed themselves in the long run...

 

[PharmaTope]

i dont know why after completing internship you cannot be a GP. This was how it was before. Instead you delay GP's from entering out into practice and are allowing midlevels to take over.

 

[JaggerPlate]

i dont know why after completing internship you cannot be a GP. This was how it was before. Instead you delay GP's from entering out into practice and are allowing midlevels to take over.

I feel the same way. I don't understand why the health care disaster bill didn't give GPs more clout instead of doing things like letting mid-wives get reimbursed at OB levels. I think you'd find a lot of people who would be content to do an internship and then practice PC fields ... hell, I'd highly consider it.

 

[PharmaTope]

I feel the same way. I don't understand why the health care disaster bill didn't give GPs more clout instead of doing things like letting mid-wives get reimbursed at OB levels. I think you'd find a lot of people who would be content to do an internship and then practice PC fields ... hell, I'd highly consider it.

i think you are correct. would make much more sense and would definitely address the primary care shortage.

 

[turquoiseblue]

maybe we should talk to congress about it at congress.org
or find their contact info and contact them (http://www.contactingthecongress.org/)

maybe they can do something. we shouldn't let ourselves be oppressed by the officials we vote for. they're doing all of this and letting it happen. nurses are using their lobbying powers, so why can't we.

 

[Envmed]

I agree with everything that has been said, and I think that it should be possible to open your own office and charge cash. Also I think that there is at least 1 insurance company that doesn't require BE/BC physicians and also Medicaid/Medicare. It seems to me that if the Feds could streamline paperwork for Medicaid/Medicare that doctors could actually afford to do that kind of work in a barebones office without losing money.

 

[Vaderize]

What you want is to be a concierge physician; however you need to be board certified to build a client base.

Patients will not pay cash to see you otherwise.

 

[mohderm]

It also depends on where you want to practice. If you are willing to practice in a small rural community you can definitely find a job with just one year of residency, as long a you are licensed obviously. There are three docs in my hometown, each with their own clinic. Only one of the three is board certified, the other two are not even board eligible. They just completed an internship, worked with an established doc in the town for 2-3 years and then opened up their own practices. They do very well. The sad truth is, most board certified physicians don't to live in a rural town (im talking less than 10,000) but you can make major bank if you are willing to do it.