Path PSTPs

[beary]

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I am interesting in combining a postdoc with path residency. I just learned this week that my home institution has a Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) that combines the two. It also has a separate application process that I did not know about.

Did those of you going into research-oriented programs set it up with your path program or through an official PSTP? Did you do any additional applications outside of ERAS?

Thanks!

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I am interesting in combining a postdoc with path residency. I just learned this week that my home institution has a Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) that combines the two. It also has a separate application process that I did not know about.

Did those of you going into research-oriented programs set it up with your path program or through an official PSTP? Did you do any additional applications outside of ERAS?

Thanks!

UCLA has a STAR program which is modeled after the WashU PSTP program (in internal medicine). Irregardless, you still have to complete residency training prior to your postdoc.

These PSTP type of programs are a way of guaranteeing funding for your postdoc. I've posted my thoughts on this on the MSTP forum...I'm too lazy to link the post in this reply though. I'm sure you've seen it though.

 

[Aubrey]

Just my 2 cents: even if an institution doesn't have a formal mechanism for incorporating guaranteed postdoc funding into the residency training decision, it seems that if you are motivated in working in a particular lab that funding is going to be made available through one mechanism or another in the majority of cases (obviously there are no guarantees when it comes to stuff like this).. It's just done ad hoc, and it puts the onus on us to decide what we really want to do our research on, and with whom.

On an unrelated note, I just noticed that I used the phrase "onus on us." That would be a cool name for a band.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Just my 2 cents: even if an institution doesn't have a formal mechanism for incorporating guaranteed postdoc funding into the residency training decision, it seems that if you are motivated in working in a particular lab that funding is going to be made available through one mechanism or another in the majority of cases (obviously there are no guarantees when it comes to stuff like this).. It's just done ad hoc, and it puts the onus on us to decide what we really want to do our research on, and with whom.

On an unrelated note, I just noticed that I used the phrase "onus on us." That would be a cool name for a band.

Most residency programs/pathology departments who have residents who are lab-bound will fund at least your first year of postdoc research after you complete whatever time you put in for residency (3-4 years). This is important because if you went straight into postdoc after your MSTP training, you'll make bottom of the barrel postdoc salary which is around $34K. But when you do your postdoc after residency, you should be paid on the PGY-scale which is substantially quite a bit more than $34K. Nobody wants to take a huge paycut after completing residency when they were making high $40K to low-to-mid $50K per year. But research bosses can be cheap and not want to pay for this. Hence, when you have departmental support for your first 1-3 years of postdoc training, you're basically free labor for the research PI and they'll be more than willing to take an MD/PhD with extensive clinical training into their lab. That's definitely to your advantage!