Last minute switch to psych

[504196]

Almost half way through an away surgery sub-I and having doubts about going into gen surg. I have always been interested in psych. I know it’s late but I still have a month so here are my questions

1.) LORs: how many do we need for psych? I have one from my third year psych rotation. One from an oncologist I’ve done research with. Could possibly get one from a surgeon who hasn’t submitted my letter yet (just tell him that I’ve changed to psych but still need a letter). I also have an advanced psych rotation starting in September and will try to get a letter before application submission on ERAS. So that leaves me with four if things work out.

2.) Away rotation? I would love to do residency out in CA. Currently doing a gen surg away in CA. I see on VSAS that there are some psych aways still open for CA schools in October and November. I know it wouldn’t be time to get a LOR but I think it’d be good to network and increase my chance of interviewing. Or is an away not necessary?

3.) when do most interviews occur for psych?

Lastly here are my stats. Step 1 237. Step 2 246. Two posters, two co-author papers in oncology, and 1 accepted first author case report in psych.

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[mymembernames]

1. At least one
2. Aways are not necessary unless you are targeting a specific program
3. Nov




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[504196]

1. At least one
2. Aways are not necessary unless you are targeting a specific program
3. Nov




Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Do you mean only 1 LOR total? Or 1 from a psychiatrist plus other LORs? I guess my question is how many letters do we need total?

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

A lot say 3, some say 4. If your surgery letter mentions your change to psych, that would alleviate a lot of suspicion about your using psych as a back up. One psych letter is a lot better than none and only a little worse than 2. Sub-Is are not expected. Programs interview more applicants than they have room for Sub-Is generally. It does help if you are a rifle in your approach, not so needed if you are a shot gun.

 

[Taddy Mason]

Do you mean only 1 LOR total? Or 1 from a psychiatrist plus other LORs? I guess my question is how many letters do we need total?

3. A handful of programs want 4 which is generally a dept. chair letter in addition to the others. I'm honestly only aware of 1-2 programs that require this (I applied to ~45 programs in the midwest and east coast), and per SDN anecdotes people have gotten IIs at these programs without dept. chair letters.

 

[Shufflin]

Out of curiosity, what doubts are you having about surgery?

 

[mymembernames]

Do you mean only 1 LOR total? Or 1 from a psychiatrist plus other LORs? I guess my question is how many letters do we need total?

3 total (at least 1 from a psychiatrist)

 

[Celexa]

Almost half way through an away surgery sub-I and having doubts about going into gen surg. I have always been interested in psych. I know it’s late but I still have a month so here are my questions

1.) LORs: how many do we need for psych? I have one from my third year psych rotation. One from an oncologist I’ve done research with. Could possibly get one from a surgeon who hasn’t submitted my letter yet (just tell him that I’ve changed to psych but still need a letter). I also have an advanced psych rotation starting in September and will try to get a letter before application submission on ERAS. So that leaves me with four if things work out.

2.) Away rotation? I would love to do residency out in CA. Currently doing a gen surg away in CA. I see on VSAS that there are some psych aways still open for CA schools in October and November. I know it wouldn’t be time to get a LOR but I think it’d be good to network and increase my chance of interviewing. Or is an away not necessary?

3.) when do most interviews occur for psych?

Lastly here are my stats. Step 1 237. Step 2 246. Two posters, two co-author papers in oncology, and 1 accepted first author case report in psych.

1. A lot of people apply with a total of four letters, usually split 2 psych and 2 non-psych letters. Three letters is fine though. You should have at least one psych and one non-psych letter. The field of the non-psych letter(s) is not particularly important. Not sure if a research letter is that helpful unless you're applying to big research programs/research tracks. No one I know either from my medical school or my residency program needed a chair's letter at any point when applying in psych.

2. You don't say if you're a DO or an MD. Away rotations definitely opened the door for DOs at my medical school's (MD) residency program. As for MDs going into psych doing aways, you'll find people saying lots of different things. They definitely are not required in psych the way they are in fields like EM or surgical subspecialties so you should not freak out if you can't arrange one.

3. My invites spanned from late October until mid January. Highest density is November and December.

 

[yanks26dmb]

1. A lot of people apply with a total of four letters, usually split 2 psych and 2 non-psych letters. Three letters is fine though. You should have at least one psych and one non-psych letter. The field of the non-psych letter(s) is not particularly important. Not sure if a research letter is that helpful unless you're applying to big research programs/research tracks. No one I know either from my medical school or my residency program needed a chair's letter at any point when applying in psych.

2. You don't say if you're a DO or an MD. Away rotations definitely opened the door for DOs at my medical school's (MD) residency program. As for MDs going into psych doing aways, you'll find people saying lots of different things. They definitely are not required in psych the way they are in fields like EM or surgical subspecialties so you should not freak out if you can't arrange one.

3. My invites spanned from late October until mid January. Highest density is November and December.

I'm a DO, applying psych, strong board scores, letters, grades. Do you think multiple aways/sub-i's help at programs OTHER THAN the program you're rotating with? I completed a sub-i at a program I would like to go to. It went well and I ended up with a good letter of rec out of it. I have a couple others aways at programs I'd go to, but not super gung ho about. Would it be worthwhile to still do these in the hope it might help me out at other places?

 

[504196]

Out of curiosity, what doubts are you having about surgery?

I'm on my third surgery rotation this summer, a little burnt out, the people I'm with don't really gel with me, and I'm starting to realize that lifestyle is important to me. I really do enjoy the OR but it does not seem worth it to me. And there are times when the OR is pretty boring and gets long especially as a med student just watching. I don't think 5 years of a surgery residency is worth it especially if I will occasionally be miserable during that time.

 

[mymembernames]

I'm on my third surgery rotation this summer, a little burnt out, the people I'm with don't really gel with me, and I'm starting to realize that lifestyle is important to me. I really do enjoy the OR but it does not seem worth it to me. And there are times when the OR is pretty boring and gets long especially as a med student just watching. I don't think 5 years of a surgery residency is worth it especially if I will occasionally be miserable during that time.

What about prestige? Remember you posting a while back which I found via a search about the issue myself

Psychiatry Prestige

Honestly it has been a factor in my decision as well. Friends and family started thinking and treating me differently when I told them that I am thinking of going from EM to Psych. But who cares, right?

 

[aim-agm]

Tangentially, what days of the week do psych interviews tend to occur? Monday and Friday?

 

[Taddy Mason]

Tangentially, what days of the week do psych interviews tend to occur? Monday and Friday?

It’s program dependent.

 

[Celexa]

I'm a DO, applying psych, strong board scores, letters, grades. Do you think multiple aways/sub-i's help at programs OTHER THAN the program you're rotating with? I completed a sub-i at a program I would like to go to. It went well and I ended up with a good letter of rec out of it. I have a couple others aways at programs I'd go to, but not super gung ho about. Would it be worthwhile to still do these in the hope it might help me out at other places?

I'm honestly not sure what the additive value of doing more aways is if you've already done a good one. I can only speak to my experiences from med school, where it was clear that a good subi could really help the DO applicants match there. I wasn't party to discussions about who to interview in that level of detail.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'm on my third surgery rotation this summer, a little burnt out, the people I'm with don't really gel with me, and I'm starting to realize that lifestyle is important to me. I really do enjoy the OR but it does not seem worth it to me. And there are times when the OR is pretty boring and gets long especially as a med student just watching. I don't think 5 years of a surgery residency is worth it especially if I will occasionally be miserable during that time.

So you're saying you just want to do psych for the lifestyle?

 

[504196]

What about prestige? Remember you posting a while back which I found via a search about the issue myself

Psychiatry Prestige

Honestly it has been a factor in my decision as well. Friends and family started thinking and treating me differently when I told them that I am thinking of going from EM to Psych. But who cares, right?

Yeah man that’s really not an issue for me anymore. I just want to do something I’m interested in and have a reasonable work life balance.

 

[504196]

So you're saying you just want to do psych for the lifestyle?

No I’ve always been interested in psych. I thought I’d end up in family med or psych before rotations. Took surgery and liked it a lot but now I’m not enjoying it as much and realize that I don’t want to go through the training to become one. I also enjoyed my psych rotation and the pts were interesting and I personally don’t have a mental health history but have a soft spot in my heart for the mentally ill. And I really enjoy neuroscience and podcasts about psychology and meditation.

 

[504196]

So would you all recommend I get a LOR for psych from this current gen surg away sub-I that I’m on right now? As a way to explain my switch to psych. I have two more weeks of the rotation left. When should I tell the my team that surgery is not for me and I’m switching to psych?

 

[bonedrone14]

I was in a pretty similar situation, switching from ortho to psych early in 4th year. I also did an ophtho away early 4th year. I was honest with the people I worked with if it came up but didnt spontaneously volunteer it unless it seemed pertinent. I didnt want to seem like I was playing them, but also didnt wanna be that awkward guy that broadcasted how much he hated what everyone else was spending their lives working in. Not sure if that helps.

I didnt thoroughly read the entire thread so I'm not sure of your full reasoning for the switch, but as someone else who did it and now looking back to 3 years ago, I've never once regretted it. Feel free to message me if you wanna talk about it more. Good luck in your decision!

 

[W19]

So you're saying you just want to do psych for the lifestyle?

Nothing wrong with that... I am less than 2 months into residency and I already violated the duty hours 3 times... Q72hrs call at the site I am at right now is no joke.

 

[uhmocksuhsillen]

Nothing wrong with that... I am less than 2 months into residency and I already violated the duty hours 3 times... Q72hrs call at the site I am at right now is no joke.

you're in psych?

 

[W19]

you're in psych?

No... IM