Multiple Residencies?

[RexKD]

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How is it possible to get multiple board certifications? I take it you would need to do multiple residencies. Would your second (or third in rare cases) residency be done part time while you're a full-time attending? Or would you have to delay being an attending until you are done with all your residencies and fellowships?

Also, what would be the advantages to multiple board certification? Would they be mostly for doctors in research and academics?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Most of those with multiple BC are those who have completed basic training and then advacned fellowship training in a BC field (ie, Gen Surg with Critical Care fellowhip - both with boards).

There may be reasons why someone may choose to be BC in totally disparate fields. For example, I know a surgeon who is also BC in family Practice. He works in a small town and found the need to have skills in both areas. However, this was a long time ago when he got the FP BC and at the time he only needed to take the exam, not do another residency. That may have changed. I work with a BC surgeon who went back to residency and is now a BC radiologist whi just finished an IR fellowship. So a career change might be another reason (although I assume he will not be updating his surgery BC).

Whether or not you take time off from your primary career to do a full time residency or try to do it part time depends on you and your residency program. I imagine most simply leave their jobs (if they don't do the residencies back to back) because its too hard to do residency part time or takes too long.

 

[notstudying]

How is it possible to get multiple board certifications? I take it you would need to do multiple residencies. Would your second (or third in rare cases) residency be done part time while you're a full-time attending? Or would you have to delay being an attending until you are done with all your residencies and fellowships?

Also, what would be the advantages to multiple board certification? Would they be mostly for doctors in research and academics?

There are combined residencies that lead to multiple board certifications-medicine-pediatrics (treating adults and kids), medicine-psychiatry, and the "triple board" program which is pediatrics, psychiatry, and child psychiatry. There is one pediatrics-dermatology program (last I heard), and you can do pediatrics-neurology. These programs cut off a year or 2 of what it would take otherwise. I know someone who did a neurology residency and then ophthalmology, so is now BC in both and is a practicing neuroophthalmologist. He did his residencies back to back-full time for each (I've heard of a person being on faculty in one area and a fellow in another, but never a resident and faculty concurrently).

The benefit is really clinical-if you want to practice both (you can do research in anything you want, but you can only practice what you are board certified in!).

 

[RexKD]

An interesting observation on your part that the benefits are clinical. I mistakenly assumed that they would mostly be for academics. Maybe because of the clinical benefit of multiple residencies we often don't run into medical schools singing the praises of such a career choice.

Are there any names that come to mind of very successful researchers who worked outside their BC specialty?

 

[VentdependenT]

You are all over the place man.