please, I need advice

[prometheo]

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first, thank you for looking up this thread
I am a IMG PGY3 OB/GYN who has decided to change to path.
I have done every year 1 mo elective in pathology and during these
years I have done research with a pathologyst .

I have LOR from all the pathologyst in the department and they are willing
to do phone calls for me.

My score are average 190' I am taking my step 3 now.
My questions are:
1. should I wait till I pass step 3 to apply ?
2. should I start calling programs to see if they have a spot?
3. Do you know any programs that have open spots

thanks again to help me out.

 

[prometheo]

please somebody can give some input?
I am soooo ready to start path.
I spend more time in the lab than in the OR...that's when I realized
that my faith was in path
thank you again

 

[yaah]

I think if I was PGY3 I would finish my residency, if then I decided I couldn't stomach the field and wanted to do a second residency, then so be it. We have threads on similar topics to this frequently - you should do a search and see recent threads. Funding might be an issue since you have already completed 3 years of residency, programs might have to eat the cost.

Also, I would suspect your not having passed step III yet would be an issue. If you have contact with pathologists that is good, your best bet would probably be to go through the next application cycle and see what kind of offers you get. Finding an off cycle residency spot is not easy.

 

[PathJet]

and its pathologist not pathologyst

sorry so picky but ..... you did type it twice.. and spelling it correctly is tres important for applications

 

[prometheo]

thank you for the advice.
Sorry about " pathologyst " , my bad.
it is true there are several threads outthere bout the subject.
has anybody try to do a residency without getting paid? in the
worse case scenario....I have save money for a house but I guess
I could use it to survive those four years.
I am so desperate and at the same time embarrased that took
me 3 years to figure it out what I want to do in life.
what do you all think?

thanks again Yaah and Pathjet

 

[Jelly belly]

I switched form IM to path so I can relate to your desperation to leave a specialty.

Yes, you should wait until after you passed step 3.

Yes, you should call and write programs.

Your board scores would be a problem for the better regarded programs but wouldn't hinder you from getting in somewhere.

By the way, path is much different than clinical medicine, and I like it more than IM, but it is by no means the promised land and has many problems and headaches. Don't let your desperation to leave one specialty force you into another without looking at all of your options.

Good luck.

 

[exPCM]

IMHO the advice from yaah above is one hundred percent correct. You should finish your final year of OB/GYN and then attempt path as a second residency if you are so disposed. Your board scores are mediocre and you will be at a big disadvantage in funding (http://www.amsa.org/pdf/Medicare_GME.pdf) when you try to switch so your ability to be able to get into a path residency is uncertain. To try and switch after doing 3 out of 4 years of OB/GYN will look strange to some program directors. Why not finish the last year? Have you been fired or has your contract not been renewed? You have not given a thorough explanation regarding your desire to change specialties. Good luck.