Change to I6 integrated thoracic residency

[cutandsew]

Not quite midway through my third year. I've been interested in another surgical sub-specialty since my M1 year, but got some exposure to cardiac surgery during in a previous rotation and absolutely loved it. I've been able to get a fair amount of exposure to each field to help me decide but I'm still stuck. If I had to plan my fourth year sub-i's right now, I'd probably try to do 2 in each.

My concern is that I've read thoracic residencies are understandably big on having students who are 100% committed to the specialty. I see myself being 100% committed to whichever I chose, but I'm worried when program directors see I've done sub-i's in another field and question my commitment. I'm hoping someone here has had experience, either as an applicant or from evaluating applicants, can shed some light on this subject.

Edit:
Paging @ctsprospy and @themockjock . Would very much value y'all's input!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[doc05]

Depends on a lot. What other specialty are you considering?

Also, what school do you attend? The I6 programs are very competitive and you need to go to a top med school to have a chance

 

[cutandsew]

Depends on a lot. What other specialty are you considering?

Also, what school do you attend? The I6 programs are very competitive and you need to go to a top med school to have a chance

Another surgical subspecialty, not offered as a fellowship after general surgery. Don't want to delve into too much more detail and risk outing myself if I can avoid it.

Biggest concern is perception of doing away rotations for both during my fourth year. But interested in your comment about needing to come from a top school. Haven't heard this elsewhere in my research but not doubting you, just curious to hear what you're basing this from--are you a current thoracic resident, attending at an institution that has a thoracic program? Thanks for your input!

 

[daenschl]

Being from a top school surely helps a lot, but I disagree that it's necessary. I'm from a mid-tier state school and over the last 3 years we've had several people match at integrated I-6 programs at top places. Granted those individuals has been preparing for a CT career (research, etc.) since undergrad and had the grades, board scores, AOA, etc. to help them out

 

[cutandsew]

Being from a top school surely helps a lot, but I disagree that it's necessary. I'm from a mid-tier state school and over the last 3 years we've had several people match at integrated I-6 programs at top places. Granted those individuals has been preparing for a CT career (research, etc.) since undergrad and had the grades, board scores, AOA, etc. to help them out

Thanks for the input. For anyone else interested, I looked into the name school thing and there is some credence to it based on the NRMP charting outcomes. You'll have to go to the AAMC Careers in Medicine page for thoracic information). 48% of accepted thoracic applicants graduated from a top 40 school. Certainly not "all," but a sizable portion and the highest of specialties in the Charting Outcomes by a large margin and only one other specialty is in the 40s.

AOA was a totally different subject. Only 18% we AOA, compared to numbers in the high 40s or low 50s for other highly-competitive specialties.

Still looking to find out more about perceived commitment from doing Sub-Is in 2 different competitive fields. Grades and Step score are solid and I've got some good research experiences with a couple of manuscripts in process, just not in thoracic.

 

[ncrassa]

I6 programs have significant attrition and are very much interested in candidates wholly committed to CT surgery. You may get interviews doing subIs in different specialties, but you may well not make it to the top of the rank list to ultimately match. Know that it is easy to fill all the spots and then some with people who have been committed to CT surgery throughout medical school.

I would not ascribe too much significance to the name of your school especially with such a small population as I6 candidates. Your commitment to CT surgery, your subIs, your letters and connections, your research, and of course your academic credentials are what matter most.

 

[dienekes88]

Not quite midway through my third year. I've been interested in another surgical sub-specialty since my M1 year, but got some exposure to cardiac surgery during in a previous rotation and absolutely loved it. I've been able to get a fair amount of exposure to each field to help me decide but I'm still stuck. If I had to plan my fourth year sub-i's right now, I'd probably try to do 2 in each.

My concern is that I've read thoracic residencies are understandably big on having students who are 100% committed to the specialty. I see myself being 100% committed to whichever I chose, but I'm worried when program directors see I've done sub-i's in another field and question my commitment. I'm hoping someone here has had experience, either as an applicant or from evaluating applicants, can shed some light on this subject.

Edit:
Paging @ctsprospy and @themockjock . Would very much value y'all's input!

Applying in two subspecialties does not look good. If you think you'd be happy and 100% committed in another field, I strongly suggest you consider the other subspecialty. Cardiac surgery is a rough road.

With respect to your research. It's already done. You can't change what your research is in. Whether it looks good or bad is immaterial if you make your decision to apply in cardiac surgery.

Unfortunately, you just need to make a decision.

 

[cutandsew]

Applying in two subspecialties does not look good. If you think you'd be happy and 100% committed in another field, I strongly suggest you consider the other subspecialty. Cardiac surgery is a rough road.

With respect to your research. It's already done. You can't change what your research is in. Whether it looks good or bad is immaterial if you make your decision to apply in cardiac surgery.

Unfortunately, you just need to make a decision.

Thanks for the thoughtful response and I think I've reached a similar conclusion regarding applying to both after speaking with my advisor this week. Not only would applying to both hurt me in terms of perceived commitment, but it would also necessarily prevent me from giving both my best effort. Ultimately I'll need to decide on one, but luckily I still have a few months before that decision needs to be made. Thanks to everyone who replied.

 

[Chemdoc13]

Hey OP, what did you end up doing?

EDIT** Just realized I looked at the date wrong and you are still in third year/haven't applied yet. Still interested to hear which path you're pursuing though!