Contacting programs for unexpected openings

[pedstorads]

I'm in my first year of peds residency and have fallen in love with radiology. I heard from a friend of a friend that a PGY2 spot may have opened up at my dream program for this summer. Is it acceptable to contact the program director and program assistant with my CV to express my interest in being considered if they have any openings? Does this violate the match and do I need my current PD's approval before reaching out like this? Am I better off applying this fall, matching next spring, finishing my peds program and then starting rads -- that seems like a very long way away. Thanks for your advice!

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[LurkerOnHigh]

I'm in my first year of peds residency and have fallen in love with radiology. I heard from a friend of a friend that a PGY2 spot may have opened up at my dream program for this summer. Is it acceptable to contact the program director and program assistant with my CV to express my interest in being considered if they have any openings? Does this violate the match and do I need my current PD's approval before reaching out like this? Am I better off applying this fall, matching next spring, finishing my peds program and then starting rads -- that seems like a very long way away. Thanks for your advice!

You need to talk with your current PD about the situation. If your PD agrees, you can contact the other program. You need to do right by where you are now because if the rads program does have an opening and wants your CV and stuff, they will certainly want a letter from your current PD. You don't want to burn any bridges if you end up staying where you are. It does not violate the match.