Couple of FREIDA questions

[Arch Guillotti]

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So I have been poking around on FREIDA and can't figure something out. I have been looking at medicine programs to fulfill the first year of anesthesiology training (for 1-3 programs where the internship is separate). Each program lists whether or not it has preliminary positions, and the number of total positions. A program that has 2 positions might list 8-6-6 positions (years 1,2,3). Or a program with none might list 10-10-10 positions. What the heck does it mean when a program states it has preliminary positions but then lists something like 12-12-12?

Also when an anesthesiology program ofers preliminary positions, does this simply mean that you can do your internship there before proceeding on to your residency? (basically a 1-4 setup). The numbers on FREIDA are sometimes a mystery to me.

Arch

 

[emdoc21]

The number of residents in a program won't always add up the way you think they should. The number of residents taken in a program for different spots (categorical 1-4 vs. advanced 2-4) does change from year to year. It is unlikely that a program would have major changes in the # of residents, but slight variation is common. Money available to the department could increase or decrease the number of internship positions offered. Relationships with other departments that may cosponsor interns may change. Some programs may withhold a couple of advanced positions for residents transfering from other fields and these positions may not be among those listed. Also, many programs were accredited for a certain number of residents, but due to less interest a few years ago, they may not have filled all of their spots and senior classes could be smaller. In addition, programs can change the number of spots they are offering through the match for a given year until sometime in Jan/Feb and that may differ from what is listed in Frieda. There may be less fluctuation of numbers due to positions filled outside of the match now that there is a new rule about all positions of a program being listed. Hope that helps.

 

[painres]

If an anesthesiology program doesnt require previous GME, then this means that they have an intern year integrated into their program, and when you match both the intern, and CA1-3 years are included. This, is IMHO how it should be, makes interviewing much easier. These programs often have intern years specifically tailored for anesthesiology, so that you get expsosure to the areas of medicine that you need to practice. This is a much better alternative than a surgical intern year.