"Overqualified" for FM?

[DrDude]

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I don't mean that to sound arrogant, but I had never before considered FM. As a premed and during med school I have done research in a completely different specialty and have been published several times over. But when I actually rotated through that specialty I didn't like it at all. Instead I really like FM.

My concern is how will residencies take this. Will they view my research experience and publications in a different field of medicine as a "negative" when it comes time to applying for FM residency? Will they be skeptical of why I'm applying to FM when all along I had been so interested in another specialty?

 

[justwondering]

i doubt they will be skeptical because ure "overqualified" unless ure applying to some really crappy program. they will probably want to know why u changed ur mind though, and it sounds like u have a good reason. but please dont go into FM with the idea that ure too good for it because it will show and that might be a reason for them not wanting u. there are plenty of ppl in FM with research backgrounds, masters, etc. we have more than one former surgery residents in our program that left because their family demands were to high and they found that FM still allowed them to do enough hands on (due to the OB training, etc).

 

[MeowMix]

from my interview experience, if your whole path was pointing to something else and then you apply in FM, they will want to know why you chose FM instead and how you made your decision. They will not ask, but I volunteered, that I was applying to FM only and not the other specialty too.

there are many great applicants in FM, and the best programs consistently fill with their top choices. The last thing a program wants is someone with a bunch of research experience and papers, who is not truly interested and committed to FM. It would add nothing to their reputation or ability to attract good applicants.

I think it's great that you like FM, and good luck with your career.

 

[Doowai]

In my FP interviews I have met and been interviewed by quite a few senior residents who were in general surgery, or OB, or other residencies before shifting to FP - often over lifestyle. I have met quite a few AMG's who were really sharp from top tier schools at the same residencies I (and other FMG's) interviewed at.

 

[secretwave101]

Sounds arrogant, even if you don't mean it that way. OVERqualified?

One of my interns did post-doc PhD work at Yale before deciding on FM as a career. One of my good friends finished his PhD in neuroscience and then changed his mind and went to FM. Know another guy who scored in - effectively - the 100th percentile on all his boards....chose FM.

Never heard any of them wondering if they were in any way too good or too trained for the specialty.

It's about what fits - from the sub-specialties to the generalists.

 

[The Janitor]

Can you ever be "over-qualified" for a specialty of breadth? I can't imagine how.

 

[Aesklepius]

Sounds arrogant, even if you don't mean it that way. OVERqualified?

One of my interns did post-doc PhD work at Yale before deciding on FM as a career. One of my good friends finished his PhD in neuroscience and then changed his mind and went to FM. Know another guy who scored in - effectively - the 100th percentile on all his boards....chose FM.

Never heard any of them wondering if they were in any way too good or too trained for the specialty.

It's about what fits - from the sub-specialties to the generalists.

Ditto !

 

[sophiejane]

One of the things you will be evaluated on as an FM applicant is your committment to FM. There are definitely those folks with CV's like yours that suggest that they intended to do something else, but ended up applying FM. The trick is to convince the PD and committee members that FM is not a back-up, but that you truly had a change of heart. Prepare to do some explaining.

It is impossible to be "overqualified" for primary care, particularly FM. Suggesting that you might be smacks of arrogance, even if you don't intend it. I suggest reigning that in quite a bit before interview season. We can smell it from miles away.

Contrary to popular belief, I know my program is not alone in seeing some VERY impressive applications this year. Great board scores and grades from some really well-rounded, humble, fun-to-work-with folks who have balance in their lives and a broad perspective on life and medicine. (Shhh...it's a secret, though. Let the rest of the medical world go on thinking we're too dumb to "specialize", because we know better!)

 

[DrDude]

Hey guys I honestly didn't intend to come across as arrogant, and that's why I made the disclaimer in my OP. It was another doc who knows my publications and stats who said I was "overqualified" for FM when I told him that's what I want to do, not me.

My concern is that residencies will think the same as you guys said, essentially: Why would someone with years of research and pubs in a completely different field be applying for FM?

So how can I convince them that I am in fact interested in FM?

 

[lowbudget]

Bah. Primary care's a people business. How you can be overqualified for that? Besides, no matter how great an applicant looks on paper, everyone knows the proof is in the pudding. So if it's true that an applicant is truly overqualified, bring it. Let's see how good you are. I'd be surprise if people don't find residency (and medicine) humbling.

 

[hippiedoc13]

It was another doc who knows my publications and stats who said I was "overqualified" for FM when I told him that's what I want to do, not me.

That's a common sentiment to hear from physicians outside family medicine. If I had a nickel for every time...blah blah. Get used to tuning out crap like that if you choose FM. As a couple of others have said on this thread, how could you ever be overqualified for a specialty so broad? To be a great family doc, you truly have to be really smart, plus have a huge knowledge base & skill set, plus have great interpersonal skills (with patients and colleagues) and humility (an oft-mentioned quality by PDs on my interview trail).

So how can I convince them that I am in fact interested in FM?

The same way you'd go about convincing anyone in any specialty that you're committed to their field. Start reading the specialty journals to learn about current issues and areas of research in the specialty. Do research with a faculty member in the FM department. Join the specialty association (in this case, AAFP). Talk to faculty and residents to learn the ins and outs of the specialty. Explore the range/breadth of clinical experiences and practice settings available in FM. All these things will (a) help you make sure that FM really is the right choice for you, (b) make you knowledgeable about the specialty so that you have something to talk about on the interview trail, and (c) help you know what key questions you need to ask about programs to make sure they're a good fit for you. Finally, prepare to address your shift toward FM, definitely during the interviews, but also possibly in the personal statement if you can work it in in a natural way. Make sure you are able to talk about what draws you to FM (with some specific examples).

Best of luck to you.

 

[hadi]

It was another doc who knows my publications and stats who said I was "overqualified" for FM when I told him that's what I want to do, not me.

At least he could have said: Non-FM oriented !

I really hate to hear words like these in regard of Family Medicine. Unfortunately, these concepts are GLOBAL !

I will always remember a dedication that I've read on one Family Medicine Book:

To those doctors who DID NOT FORGET that the first priority of being a physician is to TREAT patients !

 

[yaah]

That is really sad actually - I am obviously not in FM but in med school my residency choice ultimately came down to pathology vs primary care. To think that anyone would actively dissuade the best and the brightest from primary care is rather pathetic. But look at it this way - at least it keeps out the people who have no business in such a setting.

 

[Ascultator]

That's a common sentiment to hear from physicians outside family medicine. If I had a nickel for every time...blah blah. Get used to tuning out crap like that if you choose FM. As a couple of others have said on this thread, how could you ever be overqualified for a specialty so broad? To be a great family doc, you truly have to be really smart, plus have a huge knowledge base & skill set, plus have great interpersonal skills (with patients and colleagues) and humility (an oft-mentioned quality by PDs on my interview trail).




The same way you'd go about convincing anyone in any specialty that you're committed to their field. Start reading the specialty journals to learn about current issues and areas of research in the specialty. Do research with a faculty member in the FM department. Join the specialty association (in this case, AAFP). Talk to faculty and residents to learn the ins and outs of the specialty. Explore the range/breadth of clinical experiences and practice settings available in FM. All these things will (a) help you make sure that FM really is the right choice for you, (b) make you knowledgeable about the specialty so that you have something to talk about on the interview trail, and (c) help you know what key questions you need to ask about programs to make sure they're a good fit for you. Finally, prepare to address your shift toward FM, definitely during the interviews, but also possibly in the personal statement if you can work it in in a natural way. Make sure you are able to talk about what draws you to FM (with some specific examples).

Best of luck to you.

I second that. If you love FM and can show it through personal statement, what your evals and recommendations say, at your interview, etc....I wouldn't be concerned about your other experiences. In fact, from a family medicine program's point of view, it could help them take you very seriously because they would know that your attraction to the field was strong enough to make you change roads.

 

[Leukocyte]

-There is no such this as being "overqualified" for FM.

-Good FM programs want people who are interested in FM, and know how to screen out those "smart" students who apply to FM as a "back-up".

-Poor FM programs who only want cheap warm bodies will probably take those "smart" students...but in this case I wonder who is the "smart" one, the student or the program.

-For those who look down on FM, and keep comparing FM to IM, please stop this stupidity. FM and IM are not even remotely similar. As a person who is described as "the surgical type" (I ultimately want to go into General Surgery after finishing my FM residency), I choose to apply to FM over IM. FM training is much more broad and procedure heavy = more attactive to the "surgical type" like myself. In IM there is no OB/GYN rotation/training, no surgery rotation/training, no psych rotation/training, and no pediatrics rotation training. If anything, FM training includes IM training, but IM training DOES NOT include FM training. How in the world would anyone compare these two different specialties?🙄

-Good FM programs are not less competetive than IM, while Bad IM programs are less competetive than FM.