Doing 2 years of child psych with a gap inbetween

[Haldol Lorazepam]

Had someone left child fellowship after 1st year, would they be able to apply to& do the 2nd year later? Say 2-3 years later? I'm on H1& have only 6 years max under this visa status. With the current political situation, I don't want to risk it and do 3 ys adult+2 ya child with only 1 year left for gc application to be started. Also I don't want to do 4 years of general psych& apply to child later. Instead of pgy4 in general adult (which I believe kind of waste at least in my program), I'd rather use that time to do one of the 2 years of child training. So my plan is to finish 3 years of general psych>do 1 year of child>leave, do attending job for 1-2 years, get GC> do the 2nd year of child.
Thoughts? Does that sound feasible?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[splik]

Yes technically. However there may be issues with taking the boards as they often require the fellowship to be completed within x number of years you'll have to look it up.

Are you doing your training in an underserved area? If so then you may be able to get a green card under physician NIW after 5 years. Please consult an immigration attorney to discuss your options. Your current plan should be the last resort.

 

[hamstergang]

If you leave the child fellowship early, you may screw the other fellows a bit as they won't be set up to lose a fellow. And I don't imagine that there are many 2nd year positions, but I don't know this for sure. So while possible, it doesn't sound optimal to me.

 

[heysexylady]

Had someone left child fellowship after 1st year, would they be able to apply to& do the 2nd year later? Say 2-3 years later? I'm on H1& have only 6 years max under this visa status. With the current political situation, I don't want to risk it and do 3 ys adult+2 ya child with only 1 year left for gc application to be started. Also I don't want to do 4 years of general psych& apply to child later. Instead of pgy4 in general adult (which I believe kind of waste at least in my program), I'd rather use that time to do one of the 2 years of child training. So my plan is to finish 3 years of general psych>do 1 year of child>leave, do attending job for 1-2 years, get GC> do the 2nd year of child.
Thoughts? Does that sound feasible?

It's possible but it depends on the program director not being pissed at you for leaving the program early and later starting at a different program as a second year fellow. You will still need his or her to sign off on the transfer and his letter of recommendation. It sounds so messy and complicated. There's no guarantee that there will be a pgy 5 position in a desirable location or in a decent program.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

Regardless of the pragmatics, this just sounds mercenary. Also, I dont know if you've looked at things recently, but we need foreign-trained/born doctors and will for the forseeable future.

The H1/J1 is a quite different animal from the (tech sector oriented) H1b as well.

 

[splik]

The H1/J1 is a quite different animal from the (tech sector oriented) H1b as well.

No it isn't. It's exactly the same visa regardless of what sector you are in and hundreds of doctors will not be able to start work this year as a result of these ridiculous executive orders. While the attack on H1 visas is somewhat aimed at the tech sector it affects everyone regardless of whether you're a software engineer or a Harvard educated physician. The OP did not mention the J1 which is its own beast and comes with its own problems but the majority of J1 physicians will end up on anH1b at some point

 

[deleted736562]

No it isn't. It's exactly the same visa regardless of what sector you are in and hundreds of doctors will not be able to start work this year as a result of these ridiculous executive orders. While the attack on H1 visas is somewhat aimed at the tech sector it affects everyone regardless of whether you're a software engineer or a Harvard educated physician. The OP did not mention the J1 which is its own beast and comes with its own problems but the majority of J1 physicians will end up on anH1b at some point

AFAIK so far he only ordered a "review" with no changes of yet in policy?

 

[splik]

Sort of. The main problem is the suspension of premium processing. It used to take 2 weeks to get a visa approval now it takes 8-10 months leaving many physicians unable to start work and many hospitals have suspended considering foreign nationals on H1 visas at all. This benefits no one

 

[SmallBird]

I don't have an opinion on how feasible it would be to split a child fellowship that way, but I do think your concerns about immigration are really quite valid. There are a chorus of people saying that nobody wants to keep out doctors and that rule changes aren't targeting us, but this is not how the reality is playing out currently. The ECFMG has become almost draconian in their requirements for Statements of Need for J1 visas that a colleague of mine ultimately had to give up trying to renew his for fellowship. The suspension of premium processing is making it impossible for physicians to meet the regulatory requirement that they being working 90 days after receiving a J1 visa waiver, in addition to potentially leading to several months without authorization to earn income. And then the Conrad 30 program which every year places around 1000 physicians in medically underserved areas expired on April 28th after several years of being renewed (of course there is hope that it will still get renewed, but most people appeared to think it would get renewed before the expiration date). Luckily the OP is in a better position by virtue of being on an H1B but it is completely legitimate to be concerned about getting a green card approved timeously. One thing that immigration lawyers are attesting to is that even in the absence of law changes, generally decay in function is leading to delays in visa processing.

 

[Haldol Lorazepam]

Thank y'all for your replies& thoughts. Very much appreciated. Maybe I'd be better off doing the whole 2 years of fellowship straight after pgy3, but there will remain the risk associated with the current visa/immigration situation& the uncertainty around it.

 

[PistolPete]

Thank y'all for your replies& thoughts. Very much appreciated. Maybe I'd be better off doing the whole 2 years of fellowship straight after pgy3, but there will remain the risk associated with the current visa/immigration situation& the uncertainty around it.

Either do the 2 child fellowship years in PGY 4 and 5, and deal with the visa issue, or just do your 4 years, then get your green card, then go back to do fellowship (although odds of you doing this after you've been working as an attending is almost zero).

 

[Haldol Lorazepam]

Either do the 2 child fellowship years in PGY 4 and 5, and deal with the visa issue, or just do your 4 years, then get your green card, then go back to do fellowship (although odds of you doing this after you've been working as an attending is almost zero).

I know it's rare in Psych for someone to go back to training/fellowship after working as an attending. I've seen it happening in medicine but haven't heard of anyone who's done the same in Psych.