Forced out of residency

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InternBlues

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So I'm a PGY1 and from discussions with my program director it appears that I most likely won't continue on to a PGY2 spot forcing me into a GMO position at the end of the year. My question is what happens when they force me into a position like that, where would they send me, do I get any options with the Army to request a location, what about reapplying for another residency position this coming fall or am I totally screwed. Any advice would be helpful.

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And would there be a mark in my record basically stating I got dismissed and should probably not be allowed into another residency program
 
It's too late to go straight into a different residency. I don't see how you'd be able to re-enter training before July 2014.

You would ordinarily have some input for a GMO location, but most GMOs-to-be have known since at least the selection board results were released in mid-December. The remaining options are likely not desirable. Nonetheless, you'll want to contact the person that handles GMOs at HRC immediately. One thing to consider is doing a hardship GMO tour, like 1 year unaccompanied to Korea. My understanding is that it awards you as many points for the board as a regular 2-year GMO stint.

Like with civilian programs, you'll want the support of your current program director to get into another residency. If he or she won't support you, then it'll be that much more difficult. It also depends on why you got dismissed. Being a "bad fit" isn't as bad as gross incompetence, laziness, or some sort of social issue (e.g., sexual harassment, adultery with an attending). Sometimes people just aren't cut out to do a certain specialty, but will do just fine in another. Without knowing the specifics of your situation, it's impossible to say how it'll work out for you.
 
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So I'm a PGY1 and from discussions with my program director it appears that I most likely won't continue on to a PGY2 spot forcing me into a GMO position at the end of the year. My question is what happens when they force me into a position like that, where would they send me, do I get any options with the Army to request a location, what about reapplying for another residency position this coming fall or am I totally screwed. Any advice would be helpful.

And would there be a mark in my record basically stating I got dismissed and should probably not be allowed into another residency program

you really need to discuss this with your program director or specialty advisor-- whoever is making that call on where you'll be sent. as a senior resident we had an intern get sent out, but was sent to an MSC like position.

your request may be considered, but considering the circumstances they will most likely give that little weight. what motivation do they have to accommodate you?

there will be a mark on your record, and even if you omit mentioning it on an application the gap in training/timeline will raise people's eyebrows. you don't specify the reasons behind the dismissal, but from my experience it is a long, difficult process to dismiss a resident and most people have ample time and opportunity to turn things around-- which is why it would be something people would care about in your future applications.

my advice would be to ask for some deference on location based on your specialty (ie, so you can at least maybe be useful in some degree) and work like hell on fixing wtf happened this go around. your path forward is going to be difficult but not impossible.

good luck.

--your friendly neighborhood you need a time machine caveman
 
The reasons I'm being told I was put on remediation was for knowledge deficits and the lack of faith by preceptors that they don't feel I can meet the expectations of a PGY2
 
Sounds like you may have some problems getting licensed if your residency director statement for the medical board isn't flattering. If you don't get a license, you can't be a GMO. If you're in the Army, they'll turn you into an MS officer, and release you to your fate to pay off your time. To at least stay in the Medical Corps, you need to do what you have to in order to be licensed.
 
This is very complex. Are you going to get credit for internship? Can you reveal the specialty? Are you adverse to occ med or FM (presuming you aren't a current fm intern)? Where did you go to med school and what was your med school performance? Have you had prior academic difficulty? Do you want to stay in the army?

If you are GMO bound, you presumably did get credit for PGY1. If that is the case, your initial plan should be to take orders and get away from training. Of course, the ethics of sending someone out to practice after leaving residency is a separate topic (you'll see my views in the navy flight surgeon thread in the premed section).

Above all, getting credit for internship is paramount. Failure to do so could jeopardize any future in medicine.
 
I'm currently an IM intern and from the discussion with my PD I will get credit for PGY1 and be able to move on to a GMO position as I didn't fail any rotations just not up to their standards.
 
From what you've posted, I think you'll probably be OK in the long run.

Huge numbers of military PGY1s get sent out to be GMOs. It's not a by-definition black mark. Even if you're not welcome back at the same program after some GMO time - and I'm not sure I'd WANT to go back tot he same program - you could do your time, get out, and enter a civilian residency. Happens every year. Ex-GMOs are well received in the civilian world ... provided they have the #s to get a foot in the door.

The difficulty/risk is that when you do look for a new PGY2 position in your post-GMO days, subpar evals from your intern year may give the programs pause about risking a spot on you. If you were a marginal med student with uninspiring board scores in the first place, having done a GMO tour won't magically make you competitive in the civilian world.

That said, there are a LOT of internal medicine spots in the nation. Surely you'll get a shot at one of them.
 
I'm currently an IM intern and from the discussion with my PD I will get credit for PGY1 and be able to move on to a GMO position as I didn't fail any rotations just not up to their standards.

So let me get this straight. You are not up to standards to work as a PGY-2 in a supervised environment that promotes continuing education, but you are a'ok to become a GMO and practice medicine unsupervised, often as a one of one and sometimes in the middle of nowhere?
 
not to derail too much but, googling "GMO" gives me links to a ton of hippie organic food sites. Can anyone explain briefly what is happening here?
 
I'm currently an IM intern and from the discussion with my PD I will get credit for PGY1 and be able to move on to a GMO position as I didn't fail any rotations just not up to their standards.

Are you not on a straight through contract?

If you are on a straight through contract, I don't understand how they can argue you're unfit to proceed to PGY2 training if they say you have passed all your rotations and have met the requirements to graduate PGY1 year.

I've been involved with providing remedial training for interns, and they either passed their PGY1 requirements and were allowed to progress in their programs or electively leave to become a GMO/FS because they decided IM wasn't for them, or they failed their intern year and left the Medical Corps.

Are you sure they are not trying to get you to electively withdraw because that looks better for the program than if they fail you? Also, you've got 4, maybe 5 rotations left; isn't this a bit premature?

Something is not adding up here. :confused:
 
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not to derail too much but, googling "GMO" gives me links to a ton of hippie organic food sites. Can anyone explain briefly what is happening here?

General medical officer. It's a general practitioner for the military who has usually completed only one year of residency. With some flight training, the title changes to flight surgeon and the focus becomes pilots and their families.
 
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Its hard to give advice without the broader context. For your own sake, you would be smart to finish the year and go be a GMO. If you raise a stink about how inconsistent this is on their part, they could get defensive. Do you have any mentors in the program that can talk with the PD and see what he/she sees as your future? You probably can still get another noncompetitive residency in the military but it depends on your prior academic record and what your end of training evaluation says.

I've never heard of a military program doing this. I've only ever seen people fired or allowed to continue. Being allowed to finish the year is common in the civilian world but certainly not in Navy IM (maybe the army is different).
 
So let me get this straight. You are not up to standards to work as a PGY-2 in a supervised environment that promotes continuing education, but you are a'ok to become a GMO and practice medicine unsupervised, often as a one of one and sometimes in the middle of nowhere?

Welcome to Army Medicine.
 
I suspect poor performance on inservice boards might motivate some PDs to wash out a resident rather than allow them to continue into subsequent years where further low scores will bring down the program's aggregate stats. Another possibility is poor USMLE scores.
 
Back in my day, I can think of two interns that did not progress. Both had remediated some rotations and this hurt them.

The one was a TY pre-selected for rads and the other was a TY non-pre-select for anything.

I would say to the OP, expect the following:
--At least a two year tour as a GMO
--You will match into a program after GMO. You may not get your first choice and you would probably have difficulty getting into something ultra competitive (e.g. ENT, ortho, etc) but you will eventually match.

Lick your wounds, GMO CAN be a break in some sorts.

In my opinion, your biggest decision now is the following, do you just pay back your time as a GMO, or come back and re-apply later?
 
Agree with the advice to finish PGY1 successfully and get away from this program, do your GMO time, and re-apply later to a different program or a different specialty all together. Some programs make their judgements quickly about residents, sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong. Whatever criticism they are giving you, be open minded enough to take a chance that they might be right and adjust accordingly.
 
So let me get this straight. You are not up to standards to work as a PGY-2 in a supervised environment that promotes continuing education, but you are a'ok to become a GMO and practice medicine unsupervised, often as a one of one and sometimes in the middle of nowhere?

You've got it straight, but the orders to GMO land are not the choice of the OP.
 
Welcome to Army Medicine.

I was hoping to go a full week without putting in writing something to the effect that the Army is jacked up. At least I said this in a forum as opposed to a patient progress note?

Yeah, I was being sarcastic--I've seen the Navy push interns through with red flags or fail them and then send them to GMO land. I've also seen some injustice--good residents who I felt were picked on and held back in spite of being very compentent, while others were pushed through. Also saw a few get told "see ya" and are no longer in the military...although "see ya" might have been a medical board or something more formal than that.
 
I was hoping to go a full week without putting in writing something to the effect that the Army is jacked up. At least I said this in a forum as opposed to a patient progress note?

Yeah, I was being sarcastic--I've seen the Navy push interns through with red flags or fail them and then send them to GMO land. I've also seen some injustice--good residents who I felt were picked on and held back in spite of being very compentent, while others were pushed through. Also saw a few get told "see ya" and are no longer in the military...although "see ya" might have been a medical board or something more formal than that.

I think anybody that's been in or around training programs in the military long enough has seen this incredibly arbitrary type of treatment. I've seen incompetent residents string out the dismissal process for nearly two years, and I've seen capable residents be removed immediately (as in same day) for what amounts to a glorified clerical error.

In case I needed another reason, my desire to avoid being under the thumb of the Army's GME office again plays a substantial role in why I'm getting out. I'm determined to do a fellowship, but there is no way I'm letting those people have any sway over my life again.
 
I think anybody that's been in or around training programs in the military long enough has seen this incredibly arbitrary type of treatment. I've seen incompetent residents string out the dismissal process for nearly two years, and I've seen capable residents be removed immediately (as in same day) for what amounts to a glorified clerical error.

In case I needed another reason, my desire to avoid being under the thumb of the Army's GME office again plays a substantial role in why I'm getting out. I'm determined to do a fellowship, but there is no way I'm letting those people have any sway over my life again.

My wife did civilian residency and I saw what she went through and can somewhat compare.

In her program, like any program, there was a mix of residents. Some very sharp that knew the answer to everything and scored high on examinations, and some that struggled and required remediation. My wife became a GS employee while I was on active duty and she worked with residents. I joked with her because it seemed as if most of the residents in her program were off-cycle or remediating for something. I ask you, forget what that says about the residents, but what does that say about the program?

I suppose I will once again get up on my soap box and get a bit preachy as to how military medicine is just shooting itself in the foot over and over again. Why do they want to continue to create a malignant environment whenever we all know that docs are needed in all specialties, all locations!!
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in perspective as I go forward however that may be.

How would I find out where the available GMO locations are. Should I talk to the transitional year coordinator or someone else?
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in perspective as I go forward however that may be.

How would I find out where the available GMO locations are. Should I talk to the transitional year coordinator or someone else?

There is a branch manager for that just like any other specialty. GMO spots are usually posted on your AMEDD career website (I have been out of the Army now so I do not recall the link). Once you get the AKO email of the branch manager, you email him/her and ask them what is available.

Also, it depends on where you are at too. Ask around, sometimes, a good number of FP clinics needs a GMO.
 
this thread has me worried.... how bad do your academic issues have to be to get the boot from a program? and how are residents evaluated on their rotations? thanks...
 
Milmed is in shambles. In the program I trained there was a senior resident who was kicked out of the program 6 months from graduation. He was sent off to GMO land. At the hospital I trained it was fairly routine, once a year for someone to be ushered out to GMO land in different specialties throughout the hospital.

I never had an issue as a resident but some people I felt, once they got targeted, the sharks just circled in for the kill. Once an intern or resident was marked, there was very little they could do to graduate in one piece.
 
Milmed is in shambles. In the program I trained there was a senior resident who was kicked out of the program 6 months from graduation. He was sent off to GMO land. At the hospital I trained it was fairly routine, once a year for someone to be ushered out to GMO land in different specialties throughout the hospital.

I never had an issue as a resident but some people I felt, once they got targeted, the sharks just circled in for the kill. Once an intern or resident was marked, there was very little they could do to graduate in one piece.

I've seen this a few times, and most of the time the dismissal process started a long time before graduation. It's a tremendous disservice to residents under threat of dismissal to drag out the whole thing until the 11th hour. I understand the need to provide feedback and allow time for improvement, but milmed GME bureaucracy has way too much inertia in these situations. I've also seen good residents lawyer-up and win, meaning that they graduated, albeit late and after much gnashing of teeth.
 
this thread has me worried.... how bad do your academic issues have to be to get the boot from a program? and how are residents evaluated on their rotations? thanks...

The evaluation process is not appreciably different than civilian programs. Military residencies are accredited by ACGME, after all, or at least they're supposed to be.
 
I've seen this a few times, and most of the time the dismissal process started a long time before graduation. It's a tremendous disservice to residents under threat of dismissal to drag out the whole thing until the 11th hour. I understand the need to provide feedback and allow time for improvement, but milmed GME bureaucracy has way too much inertia in these situations. I've also seen good residents lawyer-up and win, meaning that they graduated, albeit late and after much gnashing of teeth.
Do you know how the legal process worked for them? What were the conditions involved?
 
Do you know how the legal process worked for them? What were the conditions involved?

I'm afraid that I don't.

It's difficult to give sage advice as an outsider, but there are many more examples of residents fighting and eventually losing in these cases than the opposite. Everything requires a cost/benefit analysis, but the likelihood is that you'll be kicked out eventually if you fight it. The conventional wisdom is that it's better to accept this fate and maintain whatever good standing you still have with your program director. Of course, it's easy for me to say that.

It's difficult to do, but try to think long-term and big picture. On July 1st, assuming you finish internship and are eligible for an unrestricted license, you'll still be practicing medicine and being relatively well-compensated to do so. What's more, you're in an organization where - for better or for worse - interrupted training is not an uncommon scenario. Over a career that may span decades, this time as a GMO may turn out to be only a blip on the radar.
 
So I found the site where they list the available 60A positions for the next FY, and I only see positions available for Maj and up, nothing for a CPT :\

WTU WRMC W0Q170 WT BN HQ JBLM FT LEWIS MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU WRMC W0Q330 WT BN HQ FT BLISS FT BLISS MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2DN50 WT BN HQ FT SAM HOUSTON FT SAM HOUSTON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2L320 WT BN HQ FT BENNING FT BENNING MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2L810 WT BN HQ FT CAMPBELL FT CAMPBELL MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS FALL 2012
WTU NRMC W2LA20 WT BN HQ FT KNOX FT KNOX MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2M530 WT BN HQ FT HOOD FT HOOD MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2012
WTU WRMC W2P020 WT BN HQ FT RILEY FT RILEY MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2012
WTU WRMC W2P130 WT BN HQ FT CARSON FT CARSON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W3QM30 WT BN HQ FT GORDON FT GORDON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU NRMC W4U220 WT BN HQ FT DRUM FT DRUM MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU NRMC W6RC10 WT BN HQ FT BELVOIR FT BELVOIR MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013

These are the locations for a 60A as per HRC's website as a CPT/PGY1 would I even quailify for any of these positions?
 
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So I found the site where they list the available 60A positions for the next FY, and I only see positions available for Maj and up, nothing for a CPT :\

WTU WRMC W0Q170 WT BN HQ JBLM FT LEWIS MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU WRMC W0Q330 WT BN HQ FT BLISS FT BLISS MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2DN50 WT BN HQ FT SAM HOUSTON FT SAM HOUSTON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2L320 WT BN HQ FT BENNING FT BENNING MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2L810 WT BN HQ FT CAMPBELL FT CAMPBELL MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS FALL 2012
WTU NRMC W2LA20 WT BN HQ FT KNOX FT KNOX MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2M530 WT BN HQ FT HOOD FT HOOD MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2012
WTU WRMC W2P020 WT BN HQ FT RILEY FT RILEY MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2012
WTU WRMC W2P130 WT BN HQ FT CARSON FT CARSON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W3QM30 WT BN HQ FT GORDON FT GORDON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU NRMC W4U220 WT BN HQ FT DRUM FT DRUM MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU NRMC W6RC10 WT BN HQ FT BELVOIR FT BELVOIR MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013

These are the locations for a 60A as per HRC's website as a CPT/PGY1 would I even quailify for any of these positions?

The Army is short of warm bodies to fill operational slots (flight, battalion, and brigade surgeons). They have already decided to leave many low-priority places unfilled. I wouldn't trust a website to be even remotely reflective of where they'll actually send you. You need to contact the 60A HRC branch manager immediately.
 
So I found the site where they list the available 60A positions for the next FY, and I only see positions available for Maj and up, nothing for a CPT :\

WTU WRMC W0Q170 WT BN HQ JBLM FT LEWIS MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU WRMC W0Q330 WT BN HQ FT BLISS FT BLISS MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2DN50 WT BN HQ FT SAM HOUSTON FT SAM HOUSTON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2L320 WT BN HQ FT BENNING FT BENNING MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2L810 WT BN HQ FT CAMPBELL FT CAMPBELL MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS FALL 2012
WTU NRMC W2LA20 WT BN HQ FT KNOX FT KNOX MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W2M530 WT BN HQ FT HOOD FT HOOD MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2012
WTU WRMC W2P020 WT BN HQ FT RILEY FT RILEY MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2012
WTU WRMC W2P130 WT BN HQ FT CARSON FT CARSON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU SRMC W3QM30 WT BN HQ FT GORDON FT GORDON MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU NRMC W4U220 WT BN HQ FT DRUM FT DRUM MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013
WTU NRMC W6RC10 WT BN HQ FT BELVOIR FT BELVOIR MC MAJ BN SURGEON 2-YRS SUM 2013

These are the locations for a 60A as per HRC's website as a CPT/PGY1 would I even quailify for any of these positions?

Those are all WTU Surgeon positions; they may be specialty immaterial, but I don't think they are for GMOs. Anyone else know for sure?
 
Milmed is in shambles. In the program I trained there was a senior resident who was kicked out of the program 6 months from graduation. He was sent off to GMO land. At the hospital I trained it was fairly routine, once a year for someone to be ushered out to GMO land in different specialties throughout the hospital.

Is that a bad thing? Don't programs have a duty to not graduate people who haven't demonstrated safety and competence, after reasonable attempts at remediation?

Sure, some people get booted from residency for arbitrary or shady political reasons. Here on SDN, that seems to always be the case because everyone here is above average, handsome, witty, and compassionate selfless public servants.

But in all seriousness, I do believe that the honest truth, in and out of the military, is that most people dismissed from residency have issues. There's no point in having standards if everyone makes it through.


Sending them off to independent practice in GMO land is an altogether different issue.
 
Those are all WTU Surgeon positions; they may be specialty immaterial, but I don't think they are for GMOs. Anyone else know for sure?
As a gmo what he's looking for are operational slots as a field surgeon 62B or flight surgeon 61N. Pretty rare these days for a gmo to be made a brigade surgeon. They're going to try and send him to flight, that is where all the gmo's go in the Army because the BN surgeon positions except for the bsb slots (rarely filled) are profis, not mtoe. PA's serve as the "surgeon" in garrison and the profis doc joins on deployment.

OP, Try to go flight. I hope you're healthy and can pass the physical. The alternative as an army gmo is being stuck in a TMC clinic somewhere seeing jock itch and taking orders from a nurse. And yes, these horrible slots include the wtu positions, which to me would be a fate worse than death.

Go to the hrc website and look for the branch manager for operational medicine. Used to be major dake, now I believe it's major Avery.

Good luck

ex-61N
 
I suspect poor performance on inservice boards might motivate some PDs to wash out a resident rather than allow them to continue into subsequent years where further low scores will bring down the program's aggregate stats. Another possibility is poor USMLE scores.

I do not think that inservice exam scores are supposed to be used against you.
 
I do not think that inservice exam scores are supposed to be used against you.

I think it would be unrealistic if you distinguished yourself by scoring poorly on an inservice exam to not expect to draw the attention of the attending faculty, who will no doubt become aware of your deficiency, and depending on your program climate, either coach or criticize your performance. PDs, by and large, want people who score well, or at least not badly. Their graduates go on to do fellowships, and the reputation of the program builds on the quality of its graduates. They might not use your scores against you, but poor scores might draw scrutiny of your day-to-day working fund of knowledge, and they might use that assessment against you and then use your scores as justification/reinforcement.
 
these horrible slots include the wtu positions, which to me would be a fate worse than death.

can't be overstated. the wtu at my old meddac had exactly ZERO soldiers from OEF/OIF. they were all medboard pending scammer/shammer/d-bags.

--your friendly neighborhood there are fates worse than death caveman
 
I think it would be unrealistic if you distinguished yourself by scoring poorly on an inservice exam to not expect to draw the attention of the attending faculty, who will no doubt become aware of your deficiency, and depending on your program climate, either coach or criticize your performance. PDs, by and large, want people who score well, or at least not badly. Their graduates go on to do fellowships, and the reputation of the program builds on the quality of its graduates. They might not use your scores against you, but poor scores might draw scrutiny of your day-to-day working fund of knowledge, and they might use that assessment against you and then use your scores as justification/reinforcement.

It just not given that much weight in IM. Obviously any individual PD could be different but internship ITE scores have never meant much at anywhere I've been.

We're a closed system so the fellowship reputation thing is also not a big factor.

That said, once you get a bullseye on your back, every strike against you counts.
 
Is that a bad thing? Don't programs have a duty to not graduate people who haven't demonstrated safety and competence, after reasonable attempts at remediation?

Sure, some people get booted from residency for arbitrary or shady political reasons. Here on SDN, that seems to always be the case because everyone here is above average, handsome, witty, and compassionate selfless public servants.

But in all seriousness, I do believe that the honest truth, in and out of the military, is that most people dismissed from residency have issues. There's no point in having standards if everyone makes it through.


Sending them off to independent practice in GMO land is an altogether different issue.

I do agree with you that it is indeed the duty of a program to dismiss a resident that they honestly feel is incompetant.

However, I do feel that it is an injustice to drag out the process. Attempt to remediate early. If remediation is beyond hope, then boot from the program early. This firing of residents in their last year is senseless.
 
However, I do feel that it is an injustice to drag out the process. Attempt to remediate early. If remediation is beyond hope, then boot from the program early. This firing of residents in their last year is senseless.

The flip side is that getting booted "early" is going to generate complaints (not without merit!) that the resident wasn't given enough time to correct the deficiencies.

Remediation leads to second chances, repeated rotations, sometimes residency extensions - all in a good faith effort to give the resident every opportunity to succeed. But in time, all that remediation and repetition and extension is in the past, and you've got a resident who has a couple years invested, but still can't do it.

If the prelim year was done elsewhere, then dismissing an IM resident in his "last year" could simply mean 366 days from the day he showed up. 6 months to see they're struggling, 6 months of attempted remediation, toss in a few more months for the actual dismissal process and a contested appeal process to go through, and all of a sudden the resident is well into the "last year" before getting cut. Is that the program's fault?

It's a lousy state of affairs all around. Failing out that close to the finish line must be horrible.

But I think absent evidence of something clearly inappropriate from the program, the default assumption on the part of bystanders like we forum dwellers has to be that programs WANT to see their residents succeed, and if someone is forced out ... there's probably a good reason.
 
Now if I get booted out of residency what is the chance that I would be able to deploy if I wanted to as a GMO? and would I have to talk to my detailer about that?
 
So I still don't know what's going to happen but I emailed the detailer regarding options if I don't stay in my program and I haven't heard back yet. Does anyone know for sure who the detailer is?
 
So quick update. Today I was told that since my Dept. level remediation period is ending and I have not made sufficient progress that I have two options

1) Proceed with GME probation and that would extend intern year by 3-6 months but they don't think I would make sufficient progress even if given an extra 6 months plus in the future when applying
for jobs when asked if I was put on probation I would have to answer that yes, I've been put on probation


2) Resign from my residency program and do a GMO tour if in the future I decide to return to residency in the military I can do so but if I don't then I can pursue residency outside of the military and I don't have that probation label attached to me

I have to let them know by friday but I feel like there is a target on my back since early on in Intern year. I think I may have pissed off the wrong attending and **** just snowballed. One attending told me that "the rumors I heard about you aren't true" but that's just one attending out of the dept.
 
So quick update. Today I was told that since my Dept. level remediation period is ending and I have not made sufficient progress that I have two options

1) Proceed with GME probation and that would extend intern year by 3-6 months but they don't think I would make sufficient progress even if given an extra 6 months plus in the future when applying
for jobs when asked if I was put on probation I would have to answer that yes, I've been put on probation


2) Resign from my residency program and do a GMO tour if in the future I decide to return to residency in the military I can do so but if I don't then I can pursue residency outside of the military and I don't have that probation label attached to me

I have to let them know by friday but I feel like there is a target on my back since early on in Intern year. I think I may have pissed off the wrong attending and **** just snowballed. One attending told me that "the rumors I heard about you aren't true" but that's just one attending out of the dept.

Go for option #2. Jesus H. Krist, what did you do to earn this wrath, I'd love to know.
 
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