Did not match in desired fellowship , what to do next ?

[Daenerys Targaryen 1]

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Hi everyone, I did not match into my desired fellowship (Rheum) and I have no idea what to do next ?
Do I :
1. go into Nephrology , there seems to be lot of unfilled spots and maybe reapply after 2 years (hopefully, i'm not miserable and bitter by then)
2. go into geriatrics for 1 year and then reapply
3. go into primary care /hospitalist

I have no idea what route to take hence the post.The first option seems ...depressing , the 2nd option is for 1 year so it can't be that bad ( or maybe i'm wrong) , the third option is me giving up I guess.
Please suggestions are welcome. Thanks .

 

[Animalcules]

Hi everyone, I did not match into my desired fellowship (Rheum) and I have no idea what to do next ?
Do I :
1. go into Nephrology , there seems to be lot of unfilled spots and maybe reapply after 2 years (hopefully, i'm not miserable and bitter by then)
2. go into geriatrics for 1 year and then reapply
3. go into primary care /hospitalist

I have no idea what route to take hence the post.The first option seems ...depressing , the 2nd option is for 1 year so it can't be that bad ( or maybe i'm wrong) , the third option is me giving up I guess.
Please suggestions are welcome. Thanks .

Sorry to hear that. If you are interested in rheumatology, I would say nephrology is the most logical option- hands down. There is significant overlap in patient populations and you may be able to strengthen your application by doing some research on SLE, GPA, etc etc. All the best.

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

I would go for option #3 and reapply next year. Try and buff up your application in the meantime. From the threads it seems like rheum was more competitive this year.

I would not do a nephrology fellowship just to "buff" up an application for rheumatology. at least with option #3 you get paid an attending salary. nephrology fellowship is not easy time wise either.

 

[Daenerys Targaryen 1]

Yeah it really was competitive this year .... it's truly heart breaking . My concern is that if i go for option 3 , would I have the exposure to work with rheumatologists/obtain LORs ..etc , compared to option 1 and 2 where there might still be a chance . Also nephrology truly makes me feel depressed ,I just don't know how to convince myself to spend 2 years of my life doing something I do not like just to hopefully get into something I like in the long run. I'm truly confused about what the next step is . All the same thanks guys for your suggestions

 

[Instatewaiter]

Don't do nephrology if you don't want to end up in nephrology.
Don't do geriatrics if you don't want to end up in geriatrics.

If you have to, be a hospitalist and on your days off, do a lot of rheum research.

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

not much else to add, except that doing nephrology will not help in anyway when applying for rheumatology. makes no sense to me.

 

[jdh71]

Hi everyone, I did not match into my desired fellowship (Rheum) and I have no idea what to do next ?
Do I :
1. go into Nephrology , there seems to be lot of unfilled spots and maybe reapply after 2 years (hopefully, i'm not miserable and bitter by then)
2. go into geriatrics for 1 year and then reapply
3. go into primary care /hospitalist

I have no idea what route to take hence the post.The first option seems ...depressing , the 2nd option is for 1 year so it can't be that bad ( or maybe i'm wrong) , the third option is me giving up I guess.
Please suggestions are welcome. Thanks .

Go find a sleep spot. Then reapply to your first choice.

If it still does work out, make plenty of money and live a good life.

 

[gutonc]

Go find a sleep spot. Then reapply to your first choice.

If it still does work out, make plenty of money and live a good life.

This. If you wanted to do renal, you would have applied this year. Same for Geri. Pick a Gen Med path (inpatient, outpatient, combo) and either learn to love it or re-apply next year.

 

[rokshana]

or talk to the rheum PD at your program (by making an appt not just stopping them in the hall) and ask them to go through your application to see what you need to do to improve it or what was a red flag...and then work for the next 6 months to see if you can do some of those things...and then do something next year that will give you either time to do more in rheum or give you time to go to meetings and make contacts...

if it makes you feel better, have a friend who applied for rheum for 3 cycles, then finally got a spot.

did you try to scramble into an unfilled spot?

 

[Daenerys Targaryen 1]

or talk to the rheum PD at your program (by making an appt not just stopping them in the hall) and ask them to go through your application to see what you need to do to improve it or what was a red flag...and then work for the next 6 months to see if you can do some of those things...and then do something next year that will give you either time to do more in rheum or give you time to go to meetings and make contacts...

if it makes you feel better, have a friend who applied for rheum for 3 cycles, then finally got a spot.

did you try to scramble into an unfilled spot?

Thanks Rokshana , yeah I went over my application , I had publications , good scores , good letters , really don't know what the issue was, trying not to dwell it /fighting off depression at this point. I'm leaning towards geriatrics because I hope (correct me if i'm wrong) will leave me with some time to do some rheum related activities by the side , be in contact with rheumatologist in the hospital and reapply next year . I just don't see that happening with nephro (time consuming/intense) or as a hospitalist/primary care . My other concern with hospitalist/primary care is being able to obtain LOR's when you've been years outside residency (once again I could be wrong , please feel free to correct me)

 

[BICpaid]

Yeah the letter thing is the most annoying, and they have to be on ERAS, it's not like you can just store them on one of those mail services

 

[Mad Jack]

Go find a sleep spot. Then reapply to your first choice.

If it still does work out, make plenty of money and live a good life.

Is there much of a market for sleep without pulm?

 

[jdh71]

Is there much of a market for sleep without pulm?

Yup. Definitely.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

Yeah, rheum unfortunately got hot this year.

IIRC 28.2% didn't match (highest for any specialty aside from GI). Apps went up by about 25%, and there aren't all that many spots to begin with.

Solid advice above - I would try to reapply to rheum next year. Sleep may be a good bet as stated above.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Thanks Rokshana , yeah I went over my application , I had publications , good scores , good letters , really don't know what the issue was, trying not to dwell it /fighting off depression at this point. I'm leaning towards geriatrics because I hope (correct me if i'm wrong) will leave me with some time to do some rheum related activities by the side , be in contact with rheumatologist in the hospital and reapply next year . I just don't see that happening with nephro (time consuming/intense) or as a hospitalist/primary care . My other concern with hospitalist/primary care is being able to obtain LOR's when you've been years outside residency (once again I could be wrong , please feel free to correct me)

Don't do Geri unless that's what you want to do if Rheum doesn't work out. As mentioned above, work as a hospitalist. Talk to your Rheum PD and get honest feedback. Have your IM PD talk to your Rheum PD to get honest feedback. Do more Rheum research now. Don't forget that next year's Rheum application season will open on July 1. All of your letters / application contents will be from your residency program. Maximize Rheum experiences now. Plan next year as-if you don't match into Rheum again, then you need a Plan B.