fellowship position withdrawal?

[BSTE254]

I finished IM and had been considering switching specialties (ie. completing another residency) vs going for a fellowship. I spoke to a program director in my hometown which recently revealed that a PGY 2 position was open that I could potentially complete. Unfortunately I did not know this at the time and ranked the fellowships and just matched. There are really two problems that I need to overcome here...

1) It was over the holidays that I found out about the residency position and really decided this was the route I wanted to go. I need to try and get out of the fellowship so I can take the PGY2 spot (out of the match). However, if I am reading the contract correctly, if the residency director accepts me after I have a match violation, his program could be in trouble. Is this correct? He is unaware that I applied for and matched at a fellowship.

2) My fiance is 2 months pregnant and her family lives around us currently. The fellowship I matched in is across the country, which would mean my wife will either have to stay here or leave with me and be in an environment which she is no longer entirely comfortable with. I'm not sure if this would be considered a reasonable reason to get out of my matched position, but I'm definitely willing to try. Also, if I am able to get a waiver for this reason, would be residency program still potentially get in trouble if they take me for the PGY 2 spot?

Thanks for any help.

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[LoudBark]

I finished IM and had been considering switching specialties (ie. completing another residency) vs going for a fellowship. I spoke to a program director in my hometown which recently revealed that a PGY 2 position was open that I could potentially complete. Unfortunately I did not know this at the time and ranked the fellowships and just matched. There are really two problems that I need to overcome here...

1) It was over the holidays that I found out about the residency position and really decided this was the route I wanted to go. I need to try and get out of the fellowship so I can take the PGY2 spot (out of the match). However, if I am reading the contract correctly, if the residency director accepts me after I have a match violation, his program could be in trouble. Is this correct? He is unaware that I applied for and matched at a fellowship.

2) My fiance is 2 months pregnant and her family lives around us currently. The fellowship I matched in is across the country, which would mean my wife will either have to stay here or leave with me and be in an environment which she is no longer entirely comfortable with. I'm not sure if this would be considered a reasonable reason to get out of my matched position, but I'm definitely willing to try. Also, if I am able to get a waiver for this reason, would be residency program still potentially get in trouble if they take me for the PGY 2 spot?

Thanks for any help.

All of the above is a clear cut violation of the terms and conditions of the match set forth by the NRMP that you agreed to by entering in to the match. You will be in breech of contract. Having a pregnant spouse does not excuse you from getting out of the match. That would not be considered an out of the ordinary, unusual hardship that would forgive you from participating where you matched.

In addition, but not disclosing to your new program that you have just been accepted in the match in another specialty (fellowship) and pursuing this outside of the match as you have done, is expressively prohibited by the contract you have agreed to by entering the match. You do not want the new program to find out on their own. If they find out and you did not disclose this to them, they will certainly have no choice to dismiss you before you even begin as they can get in trouble with the NRMP if they are knowingly taking someone in to a specialty who has just matched in to a different fellowship. You may think you are special, but you are not that special to them and are not worth it.

The NRMP is fairly serious about people staying committed to the match and also programs not trying to get around it by recruiting people outside of it who have matched in a different specialty. Best of luck to you as you will certainly need it.

 

[BSTE254]

I understand it is a contract violation, though if I am no longer wanting to pursue this fellowship, it does no one any good for me to enter into the fellowship. Everyone is so fearful of the NRMP but it seems like they would have to understand that situations change.

If I were bailing on this program for a different program in the same specialty, it is understandable that this should be strongly discouraged.

 

[gutonc]

I understand it is a contract violation, though if I am no longer wanting to pursue this fellowship, it does no one any good for me to enter into the fellowship. Everyone is so fearful of the NRMP but it seems like they would have to understand that situations change.

If I were bailing on this program for a different program in the same specialty, it is understandable that this should be strongly discouraged.

Look...there's one set of rules. You can either abide by them or not.

If the second residency is outside the Match, you're unlikely to get much grief if you violate your Match agreement and don't show up for the fellowship. This assumes of course that you've got a signed contract in hand for that residency and that the PD knows (and doesn't care) that you're screwing the fellowship you matched into.

This could all work out just fine for you, assuming you don't want to do a fellowship after specialty #2. But it could also blow up rather spectacularly in your face and leave you with no job and nobody willing to write you a reference letter.

Good luck deciding which path to choose.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

Look...there's one set of rules. You can either abide by them or not.

If the second residency is outside the Match, you're unlikely to get much grief if you violate your Match agreement and don't show up for the fellowship. This assumes of course that you've got a signed contract in hand for that residency and that the PD knows (and doesn't care) that you're screwing the fellowship you matched into.

This could all work out just fine for you, assuming you don't want to do a fellowship after specialty #2. But it could also blow up rather spectacularly in your face and leave you with no job and nobody willing to write you a reference letter.

Good luck deciding which path to choose.

At least OP isn't totally screwed if he ends up in that scenario - he's finished a residency and can still work as a hospitalist, which is more than can be said for a lot of the panicked people we see showing up on these boards.

 

[rokshana]

so if you tell the PD in your hometown with the open PGY2 spot that you have committed a match violation in persuing this spot, will he still give it to you, knowing THEY will have to commit a match violation to give it to you? If so and you will have no further need for the NRMP , then take the PGY 2 spot and tell your fellowship spot you are breeching your contract...at least they will have time to find someone to take your place.

otherwise you could show up july 1st and then ask to be let out of your contract and reapply for the residency that you want...that, I believe, would not be considered to be a match violation.

 

[BSTE254]

Does anyone know people who have tried for the waiver? What was the outcome and their reason for the waiver? I've talked to a few people who did it for a specialty change and got denied, even when the program was okay with the withdrawal. :/