HELP! Consequences on Future Match w/ Dropping out of Fellowship

[MintChocolateChip94]

Hi,

I matched in an IM subspecialty that is not competitive. What are the consequences of dropping out of the fellowship? I am okay with the idea of not doing this fellowship ever again. Can I still apply to other fellowships that are not in the same field? What sort of penalty do I obtain with NRMP? What if i do the 45 required days to not be in match violation and then quit? The move across the country and onboarding along with studying for boards right now is all quit a bit. I am very stressed out and overwhelmed and struggling. Please help.

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[mszzeta]

I have personally seen people who drop out of a fellowship and re-match to another specialty. I think it depends on a few factors: 1. what is your chance of matching into the specialty if you did the match during the residency? This would depend heavily on your residency program (high vs mid vs low tier...) 2. Explain well why you want to switch specialties and show evidence that you are truly interested in the other specialty.

 

[rokshana]

Hi,

I matched in an IM subspecialty that is not competitive. What are the consequences of dropping out of the fellowship? I am okay with the idea of not doing this fellowship ever again. Can I still apply to other fellowships that are not in the same field? What sort of penalty do I obtain with NRMP? What if i do the 45 required days to not be in match violation and then quit? The move across the country and onboarding along with studying for boards right now is all quit a bit. I am very stressed out and overwhelmed and struggling. Please help.

Don’t you start in just a few weeks? Haven’t you already moved? How much onboarding can there still be left… it’s typically pretty limited since you dont have a lot of verification to be done.

Frankly you are just experiencing some cold feet and adapting to change….give yourself the chance to adjust.
If in 45 days, you really dont want to complete the fellowship, talk with your PD…no one wants to keep someone who really doesn’t want to do the specialty.

You really shouldn’t have to do much in the way of study for the boards other than MKSAP questions. Would say to do the awesome review course, but prolly too late for that. The goal is to pass… no one cares about what the score is.

 

[MintChocolateChip94]

I haven't moved yet. I am still stuck finishing my last rotation in residency and week of resident clinic. I move 5 days before fellowship starts.

 

[MintChocolateChip94]

I have personally seen people who drop out of a fellowship and re-match to another specialty. I think it depends on a few factors: 1. what is your chance of matching into the specialty if you did the match during the residency? This would depend heavily on your residency program (high vs mid vs low tier...) 2. Explain well why you want to switch specialties and show evidence that you are truly interested in the other specialty.

What about match violation? Is it true that you are barred from matching for a year or two? I can't find clear answers on NRMP

 

[gutonc]

What about match violation? Is it true that you are barred from matching for a year or two? I can't find clear answers on NRMP

It's too late for this now, but if you were certain you didn't want to do this sub-specialty after you matched, you could have requested a waiver from the NRMP and been fine.

At this point, you have a few options
1. Show up, work for 45 days, bail out and then hope for the best down the road (in which case you will have fulfilled your Match agreement and can enter the Match again in the future if you choose to).
2. Don't show up, get labeled as a Match violator and hope you can explain it later.
3. Just do your matched specialty and move on with your life. There are a bunch of variants of this option including completing just one year, applying to a new specialty after you finish, finishing the fellowship and going into primary care or hospitalist medicine, bailing out of medicine completely, etc.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2021-Violations-Policy.pdf

Sanctions start on page 5. Can be barred from NRMP matches for 1-3 years, or permanently. Cannot take any position at any institution which participates in an NRMP match, including positions outside the match, for 1 year. Can be reported to ECFMG, ABMS boards, and state licensing boards.

But yes, if you leave "well" and amicably, you can try to get another fellowship spot. As already mentioned, this assumes you were initially competitive for that spot, and you should assume you may need to work for some time to build up an application to that field.

Note that your fellowship program can't "release" you from your spot. Only the NRMP can do that. Even if both you and the program agree, they may not be willing to do so.

 

[HemeOncHopeful19]

It's too late for this now, but if you were certain you didn't want to do this sub-specialty after you matched, you could have requested a waiver from the NRMP and been fine.

Ok now to be fair they asked this exact same question in December and you told them they would not get a waiver if they asked for one!

 

[gutonc]

Ok now to be fair they asked this exact same question in December and you told them they would not get a waiver if they asked for one!

In this current case (and I will readily admit I didn't pay attention to the prior duplicate post), I was assuming the plan was for a different specialty. In that scenario, you can get a waiver. In the original post (now that I've looked at it again), my answer was correct at that time and my advice in both cases stands.

To the OP, if you didn't like our advice the first time, why are you coming back again hoping for a different answer? And why aren't you being honest and straightforward? Behavior like this doesn't bode well for a long-lasting career in medicine.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Just do your 45 days and leave. Tell your PD at 30 days that it isn't working out and that you'll be leaving in 2 weeks

 

[collegestud2013]

Hi,

I matched in an IM subspecialty that is not competitive. What are the consequences of dropping out of the fellowship? I am okay with the idea of not doing this fellowship ever again. Can I still apply to other fellowships that are not in the same field? What sort of penalty do I obtain with NRMP? What if i do the 45 required days to not be in match violation and then quit? The move across the country and onboarding along with studying for boards right now is all quit a bit. I am very stressed out and overwhelmed and struggling. Please help.

Might be hard to go through NRMP again if you do this.

Hi,

I matched in an IM subspecialty that is not competitive. What are the consequences of dropping out of the fellowship? I am okay with the idea of not doing this fellowship ever again. Can I still apply to other fellowships that are not in the same field? What sort of penalty do I obtain with NRMP? What if i do the 45 required days to not be in match violation and then quit? The move across the country and onboarding along with studying for boards right now is all quit a bit. I am very stressed out and overwhelmed and struggling. Please help.

Might be hard to go through NRMP again for a different specialty if you violate their Match terms. Definitely would not plan on Matching again at least in the next 1-2 years if you did this. If you're okay doing general IM then it probably won't be much of ani issue. You can try getting a waiver, but usually these are only granted for extenuating circumstances (usually unexpected personal health emergencies that make it impossible to continue working as a fellow).