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It is possible in some programs if a spot opens up. You can send out an inquiry to that PD to let them know about your interest, don't count on it happening but you may get lucky and find a spot becomes available on the right timeline. You then have to decide if you want to go all in telling your PD, doing the formal application etc.
They didn't rank you high enough because they didn't want you enough. Your persistence in a fantasy will only serve to hurt you and your career. I can't imagine you going to either PD and telling them you want to switch because you believe you are getting subpar training. Even the person on the program you want will be hesitant of you bad mouthing them if they don't meet your "grass is greener" expectation. Your program will likely want to tell you to f-yourself, and if the PD is vindictive enough, they'll just recruit another person to their PGY-2 and leave you SOL. Unless you find a way to swap or have a compelling reason (sick family member), I don't see this happeninguhh.. I wouldn't call it enjoyment, I would call it strength of training. do you have any experience personally, or are you just guessing.
if they didn't rank me at all, I could agree that they don't want me there. based on my previous interactions with this specific PD, I am pretty confident they ranked me.
Thanks for making yourself out to be special, but you're not. My socioeconomic and CC background were probably the same as yours if not more dire. I qualified for the special application waiver for economically needy applicants and was an underrepresented minority that grew up in a medically underserved area. I don't use them as a crutch though“persistence in a fantasy”? I am surprised to find this level of condescension and arrogance in this sector of sdn. Judging someone you don’t know based off a couple paragraphs, what’s the word for that- ad hominem or something? anyway we have residents in my program that have switched here because they didn’t like their original program - I wonder if all of them were “persisting in a fantasy”? based on my socioeconomic and community college record, the thought of pursuing the field of medicine could have been construed as “persisting in a fantasy” thank God I didn’t listen to people like you then.
You can't even see the contradiction there, can you?For anyone with constructive advice, I am interested in switching for more opportunities in neuromodulation (our TMS and ECT faculty recently left and took their machine), and a program with more fellowship trained faculty and staff, not because of a perceived deficit per se in my current residency but seeking more robust training. since the match I’ve had several more publications that others have said have significantly strengthened my CV.
Does anyone know how common it is to switch to a different residency program within psychiatry, and how I would go about doing that? Sending updates to the PD of my dream institution and asking to switch? Any other tips from people? Thanks
To answer this, people switch every year, generally due to changes in life circumstance or something similarly major. As far as I know, there’s no central clearinghouse, though there are usually a few openings posted on the APA website. Cold-calling PDs may work later in the year as far as seeing if there are any openings expected at the end of the academic year. Even that is not likely to help too much, though, as there are always people looking to switch and there are generally interviews with several applicants for any open slot.
As for the PD of your dream institution, I wouldn’t go any further than a single call towards the end of the academic year. For whatever reason, you didn’t match your number one; I promise you’re not the only one. And continuing to push it is not a good look. As you’ve seen from some of the responses here, it can come across as feeling entitled, whether that’s the actual case or not. Finally, keep in mind that the PD can tell you whatever they want as far as where they ranked you - it’s a black box.
Hahaha wow. Nobody knew you had a vagina. Also, how did you know all your replies were by men? Did you assume my gender?!?!?!Hey to future readers of this thread, I think its totally normal to have any variety of reactions to your training program and to seek advice or insight into what's best for you or your future. People switch all the time, including multiple in my program that came from other programs. I was just seeking advice on how to go about this switch and if it makes sense for me. I'm sorry for contributing to the hateful nature of SDN by engaging with some of the posters here who appear to me to be more interested in holier-than-thou, "listen to me here young man," "let me mansplain you why I'm right and you're wrong" posts instead of constructive advice. We all need to have a part in constructive, productive, positive dialogue and I regret not living upto that standard. Peace!
That explains it all... because it's unusual for someone to want to go to another program (not specialty) the 1st month of residency. OP is just not happy with psychiatry.I don't think it's a troll post. He posted in the anesthesia forum about switching to anesthesia, and I responded since I switched from anesthesia into psych.
He's clearly unhappy about something, and I think he needs to pinpoint what it is.
Do you dislike your current rotation, inpatient psychiatry, the whole specialty of psychiatry, your coworkers, your location, or something in your personal life?
The logistics of switching to anesthesia or another program in psychiatry are very difficult, and I think you need to really figure out what's bothering you before you make a big leap.
they don’t want you there lol they’re not going to let you switch unless you have a very good reason (your mom is dying) you’re not gonna be able to switch because you want to go to a different place for enjoyment
They didn't rank you high enough because they didn't want you enough. Your persistence in a fantasy will only serve to hurt you and your career. I can't imagine you going to either PD and telling them you want to switch because you believe you are getting subpar training. Even the person on the program you want will be hesitant of you bad mouthing them if they don't meet your "grass is greener" expectation. Your program will likely want to tell you to f-yourself, and if the PD is vindictive enough, they'll just recruit another person to their PGY-2 and leave you SOL. Unless you find a way to swap or have a compelling reason (sick family member), I don't see this happening
I agree that asking your current PD would be awkward without some practical reason for wanting to move (sick family member, spouse having to relocate, etc.). If I were in your shoes, I would probably aim to use 4th year electives to fill in any gaps in my training.
Fair enough, but the feeling I was getting is OP was that she's not unhappy with her program but rather unhappy that she isn't at her ideal program #1 rank and wants to go there in specific. It has been one month. she hasn't even given the program a chance. She refuses to process the matchJust a data point, but one of my co-interns from my psych program transferred to NYC because he couldn't adjust to living in the city I'm in (fairly large metro area). NYC is extremely far from anyone he knew other than his SO who was in D.C. Was 100% honest with our PD (who is amazing, imo) and our PD helped him transfer to a program there. So no, it is not unheard of to transfer programs for less-than-dire reasons, but it does highly depend on your home PD and how much they're willing to help you transfer.
...Finally, keep in mind that the PD can tell you whatever they want as far as where they ranked you - it’s a black box.
Only to find out you made a critical mistake and should have stayed with the first person because long term you're miserable.This is like getting married to someone who will provide you love and stability for decades to come and leaving that person to pursue the ex of your dreams who dumped you just because she's more fun.
This is like getting married to someone who will provide you love and stability for decades to come and leaving that person to pursue the ex of your dreams who dumped you just because she's more fun.
This has taken an oddly specific turn...Only to find out you made a critical mistake and should have stayed with the first person because long term you're miserable.
Does anyone know how common it is to switch to a different residency program within psychiatry, and how I would go about doing that? Sending updates to the PD of my dream institution and asking to switch? Any other tips from people? Thanks
This has taken an oddly specific turn...
Fair enough, but the feeling I was getting is OP was that she's not unhappy with her program but rather unhappy that she isn't at her ideal program #1 rank and wants to go there in specific. It has been one month. she hasn't even given the program a chance. She refuses to process the match
This cannot be overstated. I know multiple people that were sent love letters from PDs or told they were be ranked "to match" or even "number 1" to either not match there, or worse yet to fail to match and find out that not only did the program not rank them highly, they didn't rank them at all because the person didn't match and the program didn't fill. Moral of the story, don't trust what they say about how you were ranked.
How does a PD let this happen? By not ranking someone at all, you’re making it very clear that you would rather have an empty spot than have that individual. In the years I served on our selection committee, we never once got into the depths of our lists, and we still had very long conversations about anyone that we chose not to rank.My Ob/gyn attending in med school actually knew someone this happened to and the person scrambled into one of the programs that didn't rank them. Apparently the PD was changing, but I can't imagine how horribly awkward that would be.
How does a PD let this happen? By not ranking someone at all, you’re making it very clear that you would rather have an empty spot than have that individual. In the years I served on our selection committee, we never once got into the depths of our lists, and we still had very long conversations about anyone that we chose not to rank.
My guess is that at least some of these situations are basically just clerical error.How does a PD let this happen? By not ranking someone at all, you’re making it very clear that you would rather have an empty spot than have that individual. In the years I served on our selection committee, we never once got into the depths of our lists, and we still had very long conversations about anyone that we chose not to rank.
It could also be that they were not ranked by the candidate. It doesn't necessarily mean the PD did not rank the individual.How does a PD let this happen? By not ranking someone at all, you’re making it very clear that you would rather have an empty spot than have that individual. In the years I served on our selection committee, we never once got into the depths of our lists, and we still had very long conversations about anyone that we chose not to rank.