Chief year then subspecialty?

[Handsome88]

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On many of the program's match lists I see residents match in a competitive specialty, top program (i.e JHU- Cardiology) even from a small community hospital, but it says they start a year later (i.e 2016) and that they're doing chief year in 2015-2016. Some times they do a year of fellowship first in i.e. echoardiography/heart failure/research and then guaranteed cardiology after at a different program. How does that happen?
Do they enter the match and on their CV it says "will be chief year next year", thus making them competitive for such placement and will match in 2016? Or do they go to the interview and ask to be matched a year later because they're working on research and/or doing chief year? Or do they match and then decide to do chief year? Or does the program tell them we will help you with placement in so and so program if you do a chief year? What's the deal here?

 

[IM2GI]

You would apply third year, and not second year, if you were going to be a chief. Therefore it is already on your application. Programs pick their chiefs before fellowship applications go out. The benefits of doing a chief year are questionable from a fellowship perspective, and has the most pull at your home program. Don't do it just because you think it will help with fellowship, you will be miserable.

Doing things like an echo year, or a hepatology year, used to be back-doors into a fellowship spot. It is generally understood that if you are doing this you failed to get a real spot, and I believe they are cracking down on this pathway.

 

[Raryn]

On many of the program's match lists I see residents match in a competitive specialty, top program (i.e JHU- Cardiology) even from a small community hospital, but it says they start a year later (i.e 2016) and that they're doing chief year in 2015-2016. Some times they do a year of fellowship first in i.e. echoardiography/heart failure/research and then guaranteed cardiology after at a different program. How does that happen?
Do they enter the match and on their CV it says "will be chief year next year", thus making them competitive for such placement and will match in 2016? Or do they go to the interview and ask to be matched a year later because they're working on research and/or doing chief year? Or do they match and then decide to do chief year? Or does the program tell them we will help you with placement in so and so program if you do a chief year? What's the deal here?

I don't seem to get what is so difficult to understand. If you're starting a year later, you enter the match a year later than all your classmates. I.e. 2 weeks after finishing residency rather than 2 weeks after starting PGY3. You can apply for subspecialty at any time...

 

[Handsome88]

I don't seem to get what is so difficult to understand. If you're starting a year later, you enter the match a year later than all your classmates. I.e. 2 weeks after finishing residency rather than 2 weeks after starting PGY3. You can apply for subspecialty at any time...

I understand that. But the websites mention that they're doing chief year and then they say "then Cardiology fellowship at XYZ (after their chief year)". I was an idiot and forgot that they can go back to last years list and ad he "then Cardiology fellowship" and that it wasn't there the year they became chiefs.

Anyways, if Chief year doesn't help, then why is it that chief residents get the best placements? Is it because of extra year of research?

 

[Raryn]

I understand that. But the websites mention that they're doing chief year and then they say "then Cardiology fellowship at XYZ (after their chief year)". I was an idiot and forgot that they can go back to last years list and ad he "then Cardiology fellowship" and that it wasn't there the year they became chiefs.

Anyways, if Chief year doesn't help, then why is it that chief residents get the best placements? Is it because of extra year of research?

Twofold
1) It does help. Just maybe not as much as some people might think. It won't cause an otherwise terrible applicant to get in to the top program in the country, but it may help one get in to a better program than they would otherwise get.
2) Even if it didn't help, the tendency is for programs to pick their better residents as chiefs. Not necessarily their best residents (maybe those people don't want the gig) but they obviously don't try to finangle the crappiest ones into the job.

 

[235009]

You would apply third year, and not second year, if you were going to be a chief.

No one applies during second year anymore. The "straight through" path is now during third year.

 

[IM2GI]

No one applies during second year anymore. The "straight through" path is now during third year.

Get off my lawn 😛

My point remains though, is that those that are going to be chief, know that they will be chief before they need to apply. It is intentionally done that way so those that do not get chief and wanted it, still have the ability to right into fellowship

 

[Lccjblu]

Assuming you do need the extra year to beef up your CV. Is a chief year preferred to a year off as a hospitalist?I would expect that with a hospitalist job, you would be more adept at treating patients, no?

 

[gutonc]

But a chief year proves you're willing to bend over and take it from attendings just to buff your CV, while a hospitalist year proves you're willing to do that only if you get paid well for it.