Longtime lurker, first time poster (no I'm no longer a UVA premed). Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide, especially gutonc, aPD:
I'm a PGY-2 at a mid-tier academic internal medicine program. I have been 100% sold on heme/onc since entering residency, and am 85% sold on pursing private practice, despite a hefty research resume. Long term goal is to be a well-respected community oncologist and have enough time outside of work to raise a family.
My internal struggle is trying to decide what programs to target for fellowship. Ideally, and maybe selfishly, I would like to train at a top-tier program with leaders in the field to learn from the best and gain exposure to cutting edge therapies/clinical trials.
However, I have a hard time envisioning myself staying in academics after fellowship. I want to know about the research going on and have access to clinical trials for my patients but have little desire to run the trials, write grants, climb the academic food chain, etc.
As it stands, I think I have a decent shot at training at a top program with my research background, current mentors/connections, and the fact that I'm doing well clinically in residency. But in order to match at one of these programs, I feel I will have to misrepresent myself as devoted to an academic career. I have no qualms about continuing research in fellowship and feel certain I can be productive, but I'm pretty sure that I will enter PP after fellowship.
Therefore, my questions are twofold:
1) Will I be any worse off for private practice if I do match to a top program (less clinical exposure, more research)?
2) How honest should I be with personal statements, interviews, etc about my desire for PP?
I'm a PGY-2 at a mid-tier academic internal medicine program. I have been 100% sold on heme/onc since entering residency, and am 85% sold on pursing private practice, despite a hefty research resume. Long term goal is to be a well-respected community oncologist and have enough time outside of work to raise a family.
My internal struggle is trying to decide what programs to target for fellowship. Ideally, and maybe selfishly, I would like to train at a top-tier program with leaders in the field to learn from the best and gain exposure to cutting edge therapies/clinical trials.
However, I have a hard time envisioning myself staying in academics after fellowship. I want to know about the research going on and have access to clinical trials for my patients but have little desire to run the trials, write grants, climb the academic food chain, etc.
As it stands, I think I have a decent shot at training at a top program with my research background, current mentors/connections, and the fact that I'm doing well clinically in residency. But in order to match at one of these programs, I feel I will have to misrepresent myself as devoted to an academic career. I have no qualms about continuing research in fellowship and feel certain I can be productive, but I'm pretty sure that I will enter PP after fellowship.
Therefore, my questions are twofold:
1) Will I be any worse off for private practice if I do match to a top program (less clinical exposure, more research)?
2) How honest should I be with personal statements, interviews, etc about my desire for PP?