How to be competitive for CAP triple board or combined/fast track programs

[mayway]

Hi I'm an M1 at a mid-tier T50 MD, interested in fast-tracking directly into CAP. I was wondering how the signaling process would work for these programs and how to distribute them. Just wondering how I can build my application to be competitive, because I'm 100% pursuing psychiatry, with a strong commitment and definite interest in CAP. I would really like to match at one of these programs, I saw on AAMC that there were 29 MD applicants in 2022 with 28 MD spots, so there's not too much data about how to approach this, but I know that the interest matches the number of spots pretty well. Thanks!

On the flip side, if I wasn't competitive enough, how can I be competitive for programs with CAP fellowships to apply to later on?

Location is really important to me -- non-negotiable as my wife will be limited to these areas - NYC, Chicago, Bay Area, SoCal (my school is not in any of these regions)

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[Merovinge]

So the number of triple board spots is tiny compared to the number of adult programs that have clear delineated ways to fast-track (which is the majority of adult psychiatry programs). I appreciated the ability to sub in peds neuro for 1/2 of my neuro and peds IP instead of IM work during my intern year but I really don't feel like this made or broke my training (especially since you return to peds neuro in fellowship).

I would just make sure to do the best you can in med school generally to position yourself to get into psychiatry programs in those 4 areas. Show interest in psych/peds where you can and then rank accordingly. There really isn't a special sauce answer to this. Many folks end up practicing some amount of adult psychiatry that are CAP so keep in mind that trade off when considering triple board work (which skimps on adult training to get you gen peds training that you will questionably make use of).

There are historic threads about the pros/cons of triple boards on this forum if you want to explore it further. Best of luck!

 

[comp1]

Wow. I get that you're feeling pressure, but there's so much going on, I have to pick it apart line by line. Your subject matter mentions triple board, but then the rest of the post just mentions psychiatry and the child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship. Triple board also includes general pediatrics (or more rarely peds neuro). Are you interested in pediatrics? Are those 28 spots combined pediatrics, CAP and general psychiatry? You are far too early right now to worry about signaling. It may not exist when you apply or exist in its current form. Honestly, you're even somewhat too early to be committing to a specialty. I'm unclear, other than that you are VERY early in training, on why you are focused on programs with a CAP fellowship. CAP is not extremely competitive. No psychiatry fellowships are overall. General psychiatry residency is competitive, but its fellowships, again, overall, are not. You can likely even easily match into a CAP fellowship in the geographic location of your choice, as long as "SoCal" also includes a place like Riverside. General psychiatry may be more challenging to get exactly where you want. Most people who do a CAP fellowship aren't in "triple board" programs, nor do they commit at all to CAP from med school. Instead, they apply to general psychiatry and then either complete that totally (4+2 years) or fast track into a fellowship (3+2 years). Given your rightful focus on geography, I would recommend not trying to do something weird like a combined general psych/CAP dedicated program or a triple board unless it already matches your geography preference closely (and again you need some sort of interest in peds for triple board). If your interest in psychiatry lasts through your clinical rotations, apply to that and worry about CAP later. Now if you actually wanted to do peds, which again, you didn't mention past your subject line, there are post peds fellowships in things like developmental behavior. Those also aren't competitive, but are slightly different from child psychiatry. Basically, focus on your MS2 and MS3. If you still want this by your 3rd year, apply to general psychiatry and worry about a CAP fellowship later.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Are you wanting to do CAP primarily or peds with a side of child psych?

CAP is easy to fast track to from psych. I wouldn’t worry about that.

Triple Board is a very small niche that is worthwhile for a limited number of people. If the goal is mainly child psych, I wouldn’t do triple board.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Triple-Board, like Med-Psych, tends to appeal, especially at the M1 level, to students who are fearful that if they commit to Psych, they'll completely lose touch with their basic medical training, and who can't quite decide. Give yourself a little more time and watch and see the specialties in action. Ideally if you can arrange a strong CAP rotation at a hospital with a good Peds program where you can see some of the co-morbidities, or at least some CAP consult/liaison psych it will help a lot. Likewise for adults, if you're flirting with Med-Psych, once you see a good C/L Psych service in action, you'll know that there is plenty of medicine left for psychiatrists to be practicing.