Going back into surgery residency

[FellOver]

Hey all, quick question:

Have you ever heard of or seen someone switch into a surgical residency after several years as another board-certified specialty such as IM?

I've heard of a few people doing a psych residency later in their careers (and that is all I found under the search function), but I've never personally heard of anyone doing a more "intense" residency such a surgical program.

Thoughts?

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[Arzamus]

Yes. One of my mentors finished a completely non-surgical residency and worked as faculty in that field at a very well known institution before going back to retrain in GS + a fellowship.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Yep.

We had a Urology resident who had been an internist for a short while before coming back.

 

[FellOver]

Very neat. Thank you guys!

 

[Buzz Me]

Out of curiosity, why do you ask?

 

[FellOver]

Mostly because I'm just kicking around ideas in my head. I didn't post the reason initially as it may belong on another board (milmed).

I'm currently on an HPSP scholarship for the military. I enjoy general surgery in particular, but I am continuously warned that the programs I will have to apply to are hindered by patient volume and not well regarded if you leave the service. Talking to other people who have the same concerns usually ends up leading to two alternatives: either apply for a deferment (rare), or do an internship, burn out the remainder of my contract as a general medical officer (GMO), and then do a civilian residency.

I'm not too keen about the GMO route for that many years as I would 1) worry about atrophy of clinical knowledge and 2) While I'm fine with the concept of a GMO for ~2 years, more than that just seems like wasting time and wasting a medical degree. I would rather spend the extra few years in residency and burn out my contract while serving in a more standard medical role. I would rather see sick patients than do physicals for healthy fliers.

((all this mention of "burning out my contract" is worst case scenario. If I enjoy milmed, I'll stay in. I'm quite happy with my decision to serve for awhile.))

This is, of course, only an idea to toy with. The road between now and then has quite a few turns. My perspective on wanting to go through a residency again may be drastically different when a family is involved.