OB/GYN fellowship after IM residency???

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I've heard that after Family Medicine residencies you can apply for an OB/GYN fellowship to get further/more extensive training in women's health (ex: training in preforming C-sections). But what about an OB/GYN fellowship after an IM residency??? I would like to match into an IM residency, but I feel like I will miss out on basic OB/GYN skills like knowing how to deliver a baby.

(I know some people may say that I should just apply to a Family Medicine program, but I really like the critical care/inpatient aspect of IM, which is why I prefer it more than Family Medicine and would rather match IM).

THANKS! =)

 

[Raryn]

FM trained physicians can do women's health fellowships that improve their obstetric skills and may train them to do c sections in certain lower risk patients. This is nowhere near actually doing an ob/gyn residency.

IM trained physicians generally cannot, because while we do have some training in common outpatient gyn problems, we have zero training in obstetrics, and by and large have no desire to.

That said, it's not an ACGME accredited fellowship, so the requirements are somewhat flexible. If you are truly dedicated you might be able to find a women's health fellowship that is willing to take you. I find this very unlikely, but I cannot say it is completely impossible. I also question why on earth you'd want to. If you want to deliver babies while still getting general medicine training, do a FM residency. Many (especially the "unopposed") FM residencies do have extensive inpatient exposure and many (especially rural) hospitals still hire FM trained hospitalists, though it's rarer than it used to be.

Otherwise, if you want to known how to treat general medicine conditions in a crazy sick inpatient and still deliver babies, probably the most interesting path is MFM. Perinatologists are some of the smartest doctors in the hospital, dealing with high risk Ob in mothers with the whole gamut of medical conditions. That requires 4 years of ob/gyn and a 3 year fellowship though.

 

[hallowmann]

I've heard that after Family Medicine residencies you can apply for an OB/GYN fellowship to get further/more extensive training in women's health (ex: training in preforming C-sections). But what about an OB/GYN fellowship after an IM residency??? I would like to match into an IM residency, but I feel like I will miss out on basic OB/GYN skills like knowing how to deliver a baby.

(I know some people may say that I should just apply to a Family Medicine program, but I really like the critical care/inpatient aspect of IM, which is why I prefer it more than Family Medicine and would rather match IM).

THANKS! =)

Just aim for an inpatient/ICU/CC-heavy FM residency if you really want to do OB and CC and you don't want to do an OB/Gyn residency. No one I know planning to do IM wants any OB exposure, like not at all, like many explicitly say they don't want to deal with OB ever again.

Ultimately, chances are so low for an IM to OB track, I think you'll be best served deciding on either IM to CCM or OB/Gyn or what I mentioned above.

 

[cbrons]

You should do FM or OBGYN.

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[n618ft]

Both FM and IM offer some interesting opportunities for extra procedure training after residency. However, OB is not one of these opportunities for IM trained doctors. In a rural setting (may not have to be as rural as you think), the sky can be the limit for someone trained in FM that is proficient and comfortable with ED, OB, peds,hospitalist etc... What you might miss in OB and peds, you will make up in ICU/CC training with IM though. I met several IM/OBGYN or FM/OBGYN double boarded attendings on the interview trail. That may not be the best route for private practice or lifestyle in residency but it's gold for academia.

 

[QofQuimica]

Agree with the others that if you're interested in doing OB, you shouldn't go into IM. Delivering babies is just not part of IM's wheelhouse. If you want to deliver babies, you are better off choosing FM or OB/gyn. OB/gyn followed by a fellowship in MFM, as someone already mentioned, is a good idea. Or, have you considered doing an OB residency followed by a critical care fellowship? Seems to me like that would combine all of your interests.

 

[smq123]

I've heard that after Family Medicine residencies you can apply for an OB/GYN fellowship to get further/more extensive training in women's health (ex: training in preforming C-sections). But what about an OB/GYN fellowship after an IM residency??? I would like to match into an IM residency, but I feel like I will miss out on basic OB/GYN skills like knowing how to deliver a baby.

(I know some people may say that I should just apply to a Family Medicine program, but I really like the critical care/inpatient aspect of IM, which is why I prefer it more than Family Medicine and would rather match IM).

THANKS! =)

The OB fellowship after FM residency (which I briefly considered) is meant to build on the obstetrics training that all FM residencies provide. As IM residencies do not provide any obstetrics, you'll be starting from scratch and the OB fellowships may not want to take you on. Some of the fellowships are quite intense, calling for q4 obstetrics call....something that you will not be able to participate in for several months, at least.

 

[n618ft]

The OB fellowship after FM residency (which I briefly considered) is meant to build on the obstetrics training that all FM residencies provide. As IM residencies do not provide any obstetrics, you'll be starting from scratch and the OB fellowships may not want to take you on. Some of the fellowships are quite intense, calling for q4 obstetrics call....something that you will not be able to participate in for several months, at least.

One thing I've learned is that if you love doing something, it's not work.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

IM does not provide any OB training. You cannot do an OB fellowship after IM. There is, however, a limited number of nonaccredited "obstetric medicine" fellowships - the best known one is at Brown, where a number of generalists and specialists in IM or IM specialties have a consultative role and work with medically complex obstetric patients, e.g. nephrologists, rheumatologists, cardiologists, etc. That's an option you could consider if your mentality is more "IM". On the other hand, MFM is a well established fellowship out of OB which deals with high risk and medically complex pregnancy. You will be more adept at your routine MFM patients (twin-twin transfusion, diabetes, HTN, HELLLP, etc.) but would still probably get your subspecialist colleagues to help with some of the rarer zebras (lupus, seizure disorder, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, ESRD, etc.).

 

[Arcan57]

There's little more effective at warding off IM docs from being the attending as a positive pregnancy test. As others have mentioned, if you want to deliver babies or take care of pregnant patients you need to look elsewhere.