Does reapplying to residency after finishing residency make one a stronger applicant?

[libraryismyhome]

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Out of curiosity, while checking out couple of residency programs, I checked certain programs that probably no allopathic student wants to go unless one doesn't match anywhere.

Here is one example.
I saw where these graduates were going and some of these graduates are redoing their residency in more competitive fields like derm, radiology, and anesthesiology.
http://www.usd.edu/medicine/residencies-and-fellowships/internal-medicine/recent-graduates

Does this mean applying to residency after finishing residency make one a stronger applicant?
How so? because of more training? These graduates probably have lower Step scores than their future fellow residents. Did they retake their Steps?

 

[22031 Alum]

The only residents on that site who are going to another residency were prelim residents. You can google "prelim year residency" to learn more about it, but basically there are some specialties where you do a separate intern year before starting the specialty as a PGY2.

 

[libraryismyhome]

But these graduates. They finished a university based medicine program. Though their stats back in med school would be probably low, wouldn't they do well during their "second" intern year?

the person who went to Mayo Anesthesiology did not do a preliminary yr.

 

[bashwell]

Out of curiosity, while checking out couple of residency programs, I checked certain programs that probably no allopathic student wants to go unless one doesn't match anywhere.

Here is one example.
I saw where these graduates were going and some of these graduates are redoing their residency in more competitive fields like derm, radiology, and anesthesiology.
http://www.usd.edu/medicine/residencies-and-fellowships/internal-medicine/recent-graduates

Does this mean applying to residency after finishing residency make one a stronger applicant?
How so? because of more training? These graduates probably have lower Step scores than their future fellow residents. Did they retake their Steps?

I don't think radiology or anesthesiology are competitive fields anymore, at least not for allopathic students.

 

[DrBowtie]

But these graduates. They finished a university based medicine program. Though their stats back in med school would be probably low, wouldn't they do well during their "second" intern year?

the person who went to Mayo Anesthesiology did not do a preliminary yr.

You are misreading. They graduated their prelim year.

 

[22031 Alum]

But these graduates. They finished a university based medicine program. Though their stats back in med school would be probably low, wouldn't they do well during their "second" intern year?

the person who went to Mayo Anesthesiology did not do a preliminary yr.

They're not "graduates" of a full 3-year residency. See how under each year, they list the 5 residency graduates, then there's a heading in italics that says Preliminary Residents ?? That means they finished their prelim year and moved on to their advanced spots. They did NOT go on to do a second residency after doing a first residency.

 

[bashwell]

I agree with the above people who said they are prelim. It very clearly says: "Preliminary Residents". For example:

 

[Crayola227]

Jesus kid do yourself a favor and do some reading about the basics of types of residencies and pathways and what prelim vs transitional year vs categorical vs advanced positions are and what fields that applies to before saying something insulting and a put down to programs and its graduates when it's your own ignorance

sorry, but it really rubs me wrong, the fact that you seemingly jumped to all these negative judgements, you're researching individual programs when you don't even know how training is structured
cart before the horse, it's like someone who hasn't even read the required reading coming to class and telling other people how stupid their opinions on the book are

 

[Crayola227]

Not to mention how stupid it is to think someone has **** step scores, went to a **** residency, and then matched to a program at Mayo, even for a less competitive field like PM&R

people don't usually match to a less competitive field like IM and then rematch out of a "program no allopathic student would want" to more competitive field like pathology

EDIT: OP just up and apologized, no retorts or explanations. That's a pretty mature thing to do on an anonymous forum, especially on SDN. Sorry I was so salty OP.

Good luck researching residencies, keep an open mind and look for both sides to the story and you'll do fine

 

[libraryismyhome]

I am sorry.

 

[bc65]

Does this mean applying to residency after finishing residency make one a stronger applicant?
How so? because of more training?

Yes.

These graduates probably have lower Step scores than their future fellow residents.

Not necessarily. See below.

Did they retake their Steps?

You can't retake a Step exam if you passed.


OP: Yes, those were probably preliminary slots that you saw, but the situation you refer to does happen, although not commonly and not usually intentionally. This happens most often when residents decide to switch fields. However, I would not recommend this as a strategy unless you are comfortable practicing the first specialty. Plus, I have heard that there may be a problem in getting funding to do a second residency, but I don't know anything more about that issue.

In my anecdotal experience, doing a residency in one field definitely makes you a better candidate for almost any other field. All things being equal, you will have letters of recommendation attesting to your skills as a resident, so you will be a known quantity. You won't be waking your resident in the middle of the night asking stupid questions. You will be treated with more respect by everyone.

For example, when I was a surgery resident, we had two interns (in different years ) who had completed their medical residencies and decided to be surgeons instead. As you can imagine, they were very competent interns and residents. They knew how to admit and manage patients. All they had to do was learn surgery. They were treated much differently and with more respect by residents and attendings alike. But there's no reason to do that intentionally. If you want to be a surgeon, just do surgery.

I worked with a surgery attending who had done a pedes residency first. Again, not intentionally, he just changed his mind.

Some people do medicine and go into anesthesia or other fields from there.

I know a rhuematologist who became an orthopod. ( That means he did an extra 5 years of residency.).

As you may know, plastics has two pathways: match into a combined 6 year program, or do general surgery, finish, and then do plastics (8 years total). Of course, for those programs, that's the standard route. Again, no guarantee that you'll get into plastics after doing general.

A few people, I believe, do a full medicine residency and then (re) apply to derm ( I don't have numbers, purely anecdotal ). Again, no guarantees on getting in after doing prior residencies, but if your heart is set on it, and you can live with medicine, it's worth a try. In those cases, a year of related research is a good idea as well.

 

[Crayola227]

Medicare pays for resident slots with a combo of direct and indirect funding
Direct is the resident's salary amount
Indirect is usually around 100,000 and goes to program for overhead and program costs

The issue with funding is that whatever is the FIRST categorical specialty you match to (I don't know how prelim or transitional year plays in) will determine number of years of direct funding assigned to you

So if you match to family medicine, that will be three years
If you change your mind at the end of the year or don't finish the year, it uses up one year of direct funding, if you go to psych let's say, which is 4 years, medicare will only pay for 2 remaining years of direct funding, although they still pay either all of the indirect funding or part of it for the rest of your training (I believe)

More complicated is that some hospitals/programs are certified as appropriate to train more residents than what medicare will give them funding, in which case some hospitals will have it in the budget/choose to hire more residents on their own dime, in which case they don't care about years of medicare funding left to you

As far as switching specialties, it is not that unusual for people to switch part of the way through residency, but NOT something to plan for, not easy, and sometimes impossible, and sometimes the attempt can burn bridges/bite you in the ass.

If you complete the residency it is easier to start a new one right after, if you are an attending in your field for a while there's all dorts of reasons that you would not be attractive to a residency program.

What the above poster said can be true, but also, there can also be prejudices working against you. You might be seen as malcontent, more likely to quit residency because you are still board certified and as the years go on more burn out, a potential ego issue starting as intern again, and filters programs use can filter out applicants with prior training and a certain number of years out from grad can be a filter so an app is never even considered

There's more I could type and it's not all doom and gloom

On the other hand, residency is so miserable they might know how dedicated you are to switching specialties because otherwise no one would go through that hell again