HELP NEEDED!!!!!!!

Started by winter1990
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winter1990

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Guys, I need an advice and help ASAP! This match season I matched into preliminary position for 2017 Year. Recently had been offered position to advanced program ( anesthesia) for 2018. I agreed to take it( its outside of the match) but after this weekend realized that cannot go to that specialty and I can't sign the contract. What should I do?! Will I be penalized by any means?! Anxious and cannot sleep for 2 days already. Please help help help.
 
winter1990 said:
Guys, I need an advice and help ASAP! This match season I matched into preliminary position for 2017 Year. Recently had been offered position to advanced program ( anesthesia) for 2018. I agreed to take it( its outside of the match) but after this weekend realized that cannot go to that specialty and I can't sign the contract. What should I do?! Will I be penalized by any means?! Anxious and cannot sleep for 2 days already. Please help help help.
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Need more context, why can't you sign the contract? Do you not enjoy Anesthesiology? If not why did you contact the program outside of the match? Or is it something else?

Almost all prelim years are acceptable throughout Anesthesiology, with the possible exception of DO TRI years but honestly I do not know much about that.

If it's outside the match rules are much more lenient but if you had difficulty obtaining a full residency (I have to assume you did since you only matched prelim) then turning down an advanced position is quite ill-advised. This is even more true if you are an IMG.
 
winter1990 said:
Guys, I need an advice and help ASAP! This match season I matched into preliminary position for 2017 Year. Recently had been offered position to advanced program ( anesthesia) for 2018. I agreed to take it( its outside of the match) but after this weekend realized that cannot go to that specialty and I can't sign the contract. What should I do?! Will I be penalized by any means?! Anxious and cannot sleep for 2 days already. Please help help help.
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Don't you need the prelim year in 2017 before you can start the advanced anesthesia program in 2018? So what is the problem, unless you realized you don't want to do anesthesia anymore. If any case, since it was outside the match, technically you're not obligated to follow through with the anesthesia program, just inconvenience for them, and you going back on your word.
 
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winter1990 said:
Guys, I need an advice and help ASAP! This match season I matched into preliminary position for 2017 Year. Recently had been offered position to advanced program ( anesthesia) for 2018. I agreed to take it( its outside of the match) but after this weekend realized that cannot go to that specialty and I can't sign the contract. What should I do?! Will I be penalized by any means?! Anxious and cannot sleep for 2 days already. Please help help help.
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Don't want to or can't?

It's outside the match, so not a violation, but check your contract to see if there were any terms violated. If you're concerned about legal ramifications, your answers lie there and with a lawyer.
 
Mad Jack said:
Don't want to or can't?

It's outside the match, so not a violation, but check your contract to see if there were any terms violated. If you're concerned about legal ramifications, your answers lie there and with a lawyer.
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I didn't sign a contract yet. Had a proposal just this Friday. But I cannot sleep anymore. I want to try to do surgery and my heart cannot settle for anesthesia.
 
goone2524 said:
Don't you need the prelim year in 2017 before you can start the advanced anesthesia program in 2018? So what is the problem, unless you realized you don't want to do anesthesia anymore. If any case, since it was outside the match, technically you're not obligated to follow through with the anesthesia program, just inconvenience for them, and you going back on your word.
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I don't want to do anesthesia anymore and hoping match into surgery (categorical) some day even it will require several years of prelim. Just worried if the can report to my preliminary PD.
 
AdmiralChz said:
Need more context, why can't you sign the contract? Do you not enjoy Anesthesiology? If not why did you contact the program outside of the match? Or is it something else?

Almost all prelim years are acceptable throughout Anesthesiology, with the possible exception of DO TRI years but honestly I do not know much about that.

If it's outside the match rules are much more lenient but if you had difficulty obtaining a full residency (I have to assume you did since you only matched prelim) then turning down an advanced position is quite ill-advised. This is even more true if you are an IMG.
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I don't want to do anesthesia .I was so frustrated that I matched only into preliminary and thought it will be a best shot. But 2 days I cannot eat and sleep and want to apologize in front of them and decline an offer. But I am afraid they can report this situation to my preliminary surgery PD.
 
If you do not want Anesthesiology and are set on Surgery for sure, then by all means say no to the outside of the match offer - trust me there are tons of others who would give a lot to be in your position. Plus no program wants a resident who isn't interested.

That being said be smart about your stats and your true chances of becoming a surgeon. We don't know what they are, but definitely discuss with a PD. This may be a golden opportunity which may not come again if you have poor scores, grades or IMG status.
 
If you don't want to do it, don't sign the contract. You're not legally bound by a proposal. Say you took the weekend to think it over, and you apologize but you will be declining the offer. You don't need to wax poetic about it.

Also I recommend changing your status back to Medical Student if you haven't actually started residency yet.
 
Ismet said:
If you don't want to do it, don't sign the contract. You're not legally bound by a proposal. Say you took the weekend to think it over, and you apologize but you will be declining the offer. You don't need to wax poetic about it.

Also I recommend changing your status back to Medical Student if you haven't actually started residency yet.
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Pre-Resident (Matched) :laugh:
 
Ismet said:
If you don't want to do it, don't sign the contract. You're not legally bound by a proposal. Say you took the weekend to think it over, and you apologize but you will be declining the offer. You don't need to wax poetic
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Ismet said:
Oh god no
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Thank you. Well, I am actually not a medical student for a long time already. I am an IMG, finished residency training in general surgery back in my country. So was confused regarding my status.
 
winter1990 said:
Thank you. Well, I am actually not a medical student for a long time already. I am an IMG, finished residency training in general surgery back in my country. So was confused regarding my status.
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Having had many years since graduation is going to make surgery difficult. If you want to practice medicine in the US, anesthesia may be the way to do it.
 
ThoracicGuy said:
Having had many years since graduation is going to make surgery difficult. If you want to practice medicine in the US, anesthesia may be the way to do it.
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793% agree with this.

To the OP, if you're not familiar with the phrase, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", you should look it up.

You don't even have a bush for those 2 birds to land in.
 
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I am on the other side. I have AP anesthesia but no prelim. I have been eagerly looking for one since soap.
Please do what your heart says ... for me I can give anything to get a prelim spot. It is a matter of life/death for me.
Good luck with whatever you do ... !
 
There are NO consequences in the NRMP match process to relinquishing your Anesthesia offer.

I strongly recommend you do so and follow you heart. But be prepared for a very challenging road ahead.
 
bannie22 said:
There are NO consequences in the NRMP match process to relinquishing your Anesthesia offer.

I strongly recommend you do so and follow you heart. But be prepared for a very challenging road ahead.
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This many years out, surgery just isn't a realistic possibility for OP. If he follows his heart, he will not be a physician in the US more likely than not.
 
winter1990 said:
Thank you. Well, I am actually not a medical student for a long time already. I am an IMG, finished residency training in general surgery back in my country. So was confused regarding my status.
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If you want to be a surgeon, do it back in your country. If you want to live in the USA and work as a doctor, accept the Anesthesia offer.

You do have one possible route: start your preliminary position and apply again for Surgery through next year's match. But your chances of matching next year are less than they were this year, you will find it difficult to schedule interviews during your prelim year, and you risk your relationship with the person and organisation who have just stuck their necks out for you offering you the anethesia position.
 
winter1990 said:
Guys, I need an advice and help ASAP! This match season I matched into preliminary position for 2017 Year. Recently had been offered position to advanced program ( anesthesia) for 2018. I agreed to take it( its outside of the match) but after this weekend realized that cannot go to that specialty and I can't sign the contract. What should I do?! Will I be penalized by any means?! Anxious and cannot sleep for 2 days already. Please help help help.
Click to expand...

Do take the Anesthesiology spot. We have a family friend who was trained and worked in Europe as a thoracic surgeon but became a pediatric anesthesiologist in the US. He is an attending now at a great academic hospital and is totally loving it! Take the spot! 🙂
 
Shorin-Ryu said:
Do take the Anesthesiology spot. We have a family friend who was trained and worked in Europe as a thoracic surgeon but became a pediatric anesthesiologist in the US. He is an attending now at a great academic hospital and is totally loving it! Take the spot! 🙂
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I know way more people that were surgeons of some kind "at home" and are doing something else in the US, than I do who were surgeons at home and are now surgeons in the US.
 
gutonc said:
I know way more people that were surgeons of some kind "at home" and are doing something else in the US, than I do who were surgeons at home and are now surgeons in the US.
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Yep,

A commonly overlooked issue is retraining. Conventional wisdom would have it that it's better to take someone already trained because it will be easier. However, most surgical programs think the opposite. Interns who have been in attendings in other countries can have difficulty adjusting to the strict hierarchy seen in most surgical programs. In addition, untraining bad habits is exceedingly difficult.

Therefore despite the believe or wish of many, being a foreign trained surgeon doesn't necessarily mean it's easier to obtain a surgical residency in the United States. In fact it may be more difficult.
 
Winged Scapula said:
Yep,

A commonly overlooked issue is retraining. Conventional wisdom would have it that it's better to take someone already trained because it will be easier. However, most surgical programs think the opposite. Interns who have been in attendings in other countries can have difficulty adjusting to the strict hierarchy seen in most surgical programs. In addition, untraining bad habits is exceedingly difficult.

Therefore despite the believe or wish of many, being a foreign trained surgeon doesn't necessarily mean it's easier to obtain a surgical residency in the United States. In fact it may be more difficult.
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You would think that it would be easier to take an already trained surgeon but, for the most part and for the reasons mentioned above, foreign-trained surgeons end up in other US residences, anesthesia being one of them. Therefore, if I were the OP, I would have taken the anesthesia spot in a heartbeat.

Although, I believe that CT I6 at Cleveland Clinic did take a couple of cardiac surgeons from Cairo University and National Heart Institute in Cairo. 🙂
 
winter1990 said:
Guys, I need an advice and help ASAP! This match season I matched into preliminary position for 2017 Year. Recently had been offered position to advanced program ( anesthesia) for 2018. I agreed to take it( its outside of the match) but after this weekend realized that cannot go to that specialty and I can't sign the contract. What should I do?! Will I be penalized by any means?! Anxious and cannot sleep for 2 days already. Please help help help.
Click to expand...
What's reason you can't take it
 
Take the Anesthesia spot... and be very grateful you even got an offer. May not happen again in the future.

As an IMG many states (like CA) wont even let you get a medical license until you complete two years of residency. Your solo year of prelim may not put you at any better position than you already are.

How were you able to land a prelim surgery position? Even that I would count as a little bit of a miracle. Did you have connections?
 
If you are losing nights' sleep and can't eat, all from fearing that you might have to "settle for anesthesia", then am I the only anesthesiologist here that thinks, "we don't want you, if that is your opinion of our profession." Believe me, there are plenty of people who long for anesthesia spots. Those are the people we want. Not some person "settling" for anesthesia. Go be a surgeon. We have enough trouble dealing with surgeons the way it is, without having a surgeon wannabe in our midst.
 
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