How common is it for physician scientist wannabes to take a short hiatus from academia after residency and then return say 1-3 years later? I seldom hear of stories like this but would like to know if it's a possibility. I am also curious about what are the considerations in taking a hiatus like this.
Hiatus after residency?
- Thread starter echod
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what do you want to do? i've heard of someone who went into private practice for a few years then came back from academia.but that was a long time ago i'm not sure if that's still viable.
prostituting yourself for a year would not be a good plan
Take it easy for a year or two in private practice. Live that easy life I've never experienced before.
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plenty of people who don't match end up doing this. they take a year to do research or something else and beef up their resume to reapply for the next year.
i don't know of many people who took a year off intentionally after graduating, probably because it would be less than ideal. from what i've been told, clinical skills can slip very easily, so if you can, it's best to transition right from 4th year into residency.
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It could be hard to get board certified after a year or more of not practicing. Those applications ask about extended gaps (6 mos - 1 year I think) in practicing. But you're talking about working clinically outside academics for awhile, which makes this irrelevent.
I've seen people switch around from academics to other things and back. I think it would be very difficult to keep up grants and/or start getting grants again after taking an extended time off from lab. Though if you're leading a mostly clinical lifestyle, you're not going to be getting grants anyways, and nobody is going to care. In my residency choice they've been practically begging people to come back to academics and stop fleeing to private practice, so there's always spots within academics you can jump into.
It's just that to me it seems it takes a very long time and a lot of hard work to establish yourself as a big name academic researcher. That career you probably can't take time extended time away from. It's just too competitive to get grants. Your department probably wouldn't let you go away and come back to lab anyways. It's a logistical nightmare and then getting yourself reestablished after a break would set you back even more years.
As for the best time to take a year off, I think it's when I did it, before coming back to med school. The logistics of applying after graduation might get a little screwy, but I don't see why it couldn't be done. I'm not sure how hard it's going to be coming into internship without coming straight out of 4th year. It's probably going to depend if you've got a cush TY or a brutal IM year. You might want to just ask the general residency forum, as in that sense you'll be just like a med student taking a year off after med school.
I've seen people switch around from academics to other things and back. I think it would be very difficult to keep up grants and/or start getting grants again after taking an extended time off from lab. Though if you're leading a mostly clinical lifestyle, you're not going to be getting grants anyways, and nobody is going to care. In my residency choice they've been practically begging people to come back to academics and stop fleeing to private practice, so there's always spots within academics you can jump into.
It's just that to me it seems it takes a very long time and a lot of hard work to establish yourself as a big name academic researcher. That career you probably can't take time extended time away from. It's just too competitive to get grants. Your department probably wouldn't let you go away and come back to lab anyways. It's a logistical nightmare and then getting yourself reestablished after a break would set you back even more years.
As for the best time to take a year off, I think it's when I did it, before coming back to med school. The logistics of applying after graduation might get a little screwy, but I don't see why it couldn't be done. I'm not sure how hard it's going to be coming into internship without coming straight out of 4th year. It's probably going to depend if you've got a cush TY or a brutal IM year. You might want to just ask the general residency forum, as in that sense you'll be just like a med student taking a year off after med school.
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Not sure why you think private practice is "taking it easy". True, you will make much more money than in academics. But the first couple of years in practice is generally NOT very easy, because you generally must establish yourself and build a patient panel. Of course, this somewhat depends on your situation i.e. your specialty field (i.e. IM vs rads vs derm, etc, and your particular work arrangements (i.e. #days/wk, #calls, etc).
Generally, it is not very common for people to go into practice and then return to academics. There are some who do this, but they are by far in the minority.
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Is it common? Definitely not. It's actually generally frowned upon in certain specialties.
The logistics of applying for the Match while not an MS4 or a current resident can be quite difficult. Your LORs are going to be a bit out of date, you'll have to be in frequent contact with your dean and registrar, etc.
Plus, people will think that the year off will have dulled your clinical skills. Not to mention that you better have a REALLY compelling reason for taking a year off after MS4....
(EDIT: This doesn't include, for instance, spending a year providing basic medical care to villagers in Laos, for instance. That would actually be a good thing to talk about to residency interviews, and it still keeps you clinically involved. Pregnancy, taking care of a sick spouse/parent, etc. are also good reasons. However, taking a year off to backpack through Mexico and drink a lot of beer is NOT a compelling reason.)
I wouldn't say "plenty." It's actually fairly uncommon (although not THAT uncommon) to do a research year after not matching. It depends on which specialty you were originally applying for, and how much you'd like to re-apply in that particular specialty the next year.
If you do something like ortho or integrated plastics (i.e. very competitive), and want to re-apply for that field, then doing a research year probably makes a fair amount of sense. It shows that you're dedicated to that specialty, and don't want to entertain any other fields.
Otherwise, if you don't match, it's generally recommended that you do a prelim year, in surgery or medicine. It proves that, while you weren't able to match the first time around, you WERE in fact a good intern, it will get you updated LORs, and may allow you to re-enter another categorical program at that hospital.
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Easier might have been a better word to use. While private practice requires 50-60 hours a week, I think it's still better than the 70-80/week that assistant professors tend to put in. I'm planning on rad onc, and I'm hoping that I wouldn't have to build up my own patient base because they're on a referral basis.
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echod... I think the problem with generalizations is that private practice and academics have so many different arrangements with so many different people it's impossible to keep them straight. Can you find a clinical gig where you work 30 hours a week or for 6 months a year? Sure. I mean the Department of Health in Philadelphia hires IM and Psychiatrists to work 3 days a week 9-5 in the city clinics for 100k/year. Some Rads guys only work locum tenens 6 months out of the year and earn around 200k/year. Same with working at the VA... You can get months of vacation and work a straight 9-5 weekdays only. The opportunities are out there if you don't want to work real hard outside of academics. Most people don't take them for some reason unknown to me, mostly because I think people are motivated by $$$$$ and being the boss that is private practice partner or full professor. If you take it easy you can only ever be the employee.
But, the opportunities are frequently out there if you don't want to work real hard WITHIN academics. Yeah, the assistant profs who are trying to get grants and establish themselves as big names in very competitive areas and places are working their 80 hours a week or more. I think it's especially sad in fields like Path where they average <40 hours a week clinically (don't believe me? See the AMA hours survey). Could you be that path guy who does work less than 40 hours a week within Path? Sure! You could probably even do some unfunded and probably pretty meaningless (in the grand scheme) clinical research on top of it and still not break a sweat.
I think when you choose a residency you should think about this. Does your field have the opportunity for flexibility? I really don't know about Rad Onc.
But, the opportunities are frequently out there if you don't want to work real hard WITHIN academics. Yeah, the assistant profs who are trying to get grants and establish themselves as big names in very competitive areas and places are working their 80 hours a week or more. I think it's especially sad in fields like Path where they average <40 hours a week clinically (don't believe me? See the AMA hours survey). Could you be that path guy who does work less than 40 hours a week within Path? Sure! You could probably even do some unfunded and probably pretty meaningless (in the grand scheme) clinical research on top of it and still not break a sweat.
I think when you choose a residency you should think about this. Does your field have the opportunity for flexibility? I really don't know about Rad Onc.
