Internship years: what's the deal?

[doc.Junior]

I'm considering my future path to residency. I have to admit, I didn't know much about the whole internship aspect of things. Someone who graduated decades ago was telling me that for some specialties (e.g. general surgery), you have to match into an internship and residency, which may not be at the same place, and you have to do 1 year internship before you can start your residency. For other specialties (e.g. psychiatry), you don't need to do that. Is that accurate? (Mentioning these two specialties specifically, because those interest me.)

How common is it that you can get your internship rolled into you residency? Any resources on where I can learn more about this whole thing would be welcome. Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[differentiating]

Yes, there are some specialties (which iirc include derm, rads, neuro, and more) that require you to do an internship prior to the main residency. There are three options: IM prelim years, GS prelim years, and TY years (though some specialties prefer IM over TY, such as neuro). Sometimes, you can find the two combined in a categorical program; other times, you match a prelim year and an advanced position at the same time. If you're applying to a specialty that does require a prelim year, you'll generally need to apply to prelim positions as well, even if you're considering categorical options. Sometimes that does mean doing a prelim year at a separate institution, which may or may not be near your advanced program.

I don't recall psych needing a prelim year, but as someone who wasn't interested in psych, I also didn't pay much attention to the pathway.

I found this link with a quick google, which seems to be pretty accurate based on what I know: https://www.acgme.org/globalassets/pfassets/programresources/pgy1requirements.pdf

 

[doc.Junior]

Yes, there are some specialties (which iirc include derm, rads, neuro, and more) that require you to do an internship prior to the main residency. There are three options: IM prelim years, GS prelim years, and TY years (though some specialties prefer IM over TY, such as neuro). Sometimes, you can find the two combined in a categorical program; other times, you match a prelim year and an advanced position at the same time. If you're applying to a specialty that does require a prelim year, you'll generally need to apply to prelim positions as well, even if you're considering categorical options. Sometimes that does mean doing a prelim year at a separate institution, which may or may not be near your advanced program.

I don't recall psych needing a prelim year, but as someone who wasn't interested in psych, I also didn't pay much attention to the pathway.

I found this link with a quick google, which seems to be pretty accurate based on what I know: https://www.acgme.org/globalassets/pfassets/programresources/pgy1requirements.pdf

Nice, thank you! Looks like gen surgery or psych both don't need those internships. The whole idea of having to apply for internship and residency simultaneously and then have your internship performance hanging over your head before finally getting to residency sounds daunting !

 

[differentiating]

Nice, thank you! Looks like gen surgery or psych both don't need those internships. The whole idea of having to apply for internship and residency simultaneously and then have your internship performance hanging over your head before finally getting to residency sounds daunting !

Your internship performance is always going to be important - even in residencies where your intern year is looped in, if you don't do well, you'll have trouble. But yes, it's a separate set of applications/interviews, so it can be quite stressful.

That being said, you're pretty far away from residency, and still have plenty of time to figure out what you actually want to do (since you're interested in two pretty disparate fields), so it's probably a little premature to worry about it.

 

[doc.Junior]

Your internship performance is always going to be important - even in residencies where your intern year is looped in, if you don't do well, you'll have trouble. But yes, it's a separate set of applications/interviews, so it can be quite stressful.

That being said, you're pretty far away from residency, and still have plenty of time to figure out what you actually want to do (since you're interested in two pretty disparate fields), so it's probably a little premature to worry about it.

Thanks for helping me, regardless!