Possibility of Allergy/Immunology

[AJellyFish]

Hello! Incoming OMS1. I know I have a long time to decide, but I was just wondering how feasible it is to match IM and obtain an allergy/immunology fellowship. I was also curious as to what I would need to do (loosely) to get there.

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[Faster Horses]

As long as you have a heart beat and don't get a DWI you should be fine

 

[NotAProgDirector]

A/I fellowships are not as straightforward as the rest in IM. There are not many of them, but there are also not many applicants. It tends to be a research-heavy field. All of the applicants from our program have had PhD's, although there have only been 2 over a decade. I don't see A/I listed in the MSMP charting outcomes document.

In any case, your first step is to get into the best residency program you can. Many institutions don't have A/I fellowships, but that shouldn't be a barrier (although it's always better if your institution has one). If my sense that A/I fellowships are often research heavy is true, then solid research during residency will be important.

 

[DO2015CA]

As long as you have a heart beat and don't get a DWI you should be fine

It’s attainable but not that attainable lol. There are statistically people that don’t match each year

 

[homunculusus]

^ Yup. It's not as easy as nephro/endo/ID where you just need a pulse (and DWI might be OKAY cuz they need to fill those spots) but it's also much easier than H/O, PCCM, and 10x easier than GI/cards

 

[Doctoscope]

Is the main reason for GI’s competitiveness $$$?

 

[homunculusus]

Is the main reason for GI’s competitiveness $$$?

Yes. Poop is very attractive when it can put 7 figures in your pocket each year

 

[Doctoscope]

Yes. Poop is very attractive when it can put 7 figures in your pocket each year

Scope goes up, cash comes down.

 

[Deecee2DO]

Like posters have mentioned above, AI is a smaller field so having good mentors that are connected in the field goes a long way same with research. Its also much harder than Endo/rheum/ID/nephro but easier than H/O PCCM GI Cards. As a DO its very doable. Getting into places like Duke Harvard Penn Stanford etc for A/I is extremely difficult as a DO unless you were a stud IM applicant and landed into a strong academic IM program then I think youd have a shot at those places depending on your research and mentors but if you simply want to match A/I anywhere shouldnt be an issue depending on the factors mentioned in the thread so far

 

[Deecee2DO]

Is the main reason for GI’s competitiveness $$$?

Combo of lifestyle and $$$ which is why I think its even more competitive than cards. Cards you can make just as much $$$ or more as EP or Interventional but at the expense of crap lifestyle. GI has an incredible qol on top of minting money

 

[BorntobeDO?]

^ Yup. It's not as easy as nephro/endo/ID where you just need a pulse (and DWI might be OKAY cuz they need to fill those spots) but it's also much easier than H/O, PCCM, and 10x easier than GI/cards

Someone hasnt reviewed fellowship match data recently at all if they think endo is as easy as ID and Nephro. 78% match rate last year. Just a fair warning guys. Endo had a 95% match rate 3 years ago. Expansion of schools and IM resiencies has impacted every step of the way. You need to plan to do stuff from the beginning of residency if you want fellowship for most things now.

 

[homunculusus]

Someone hasnt reviewed fellowship match data recently at all if they think endo is as easy as ID and Nephro. 78% match rate last year. Just a fair warning guys. Endo had a 95% match rate 3 years ago. Expansion of schools and IM resiencies has impacted every step of the way. You need to plan to do stuff from the beginning of residency if you want fellowship for most things now.

still. not gonna spend additional years doing ENDO to make 60% of a hospitalist salary. Whoever wants to do that be my guest

 

[Deecee2DO]

still. not gonna spend additional years doing ENDO to make 60% of a hospitalist salary. Whoever wants to do that be my guest

This^^^

 

[DO2015CA]

still. not gonna spend additional years doing ENDO to make 60% of a hospitalist salary. Whoever wants to do that be my guest

Quality of life lol. Sometimes it’s just not worth the hassle.

 

[Doctoscope]

How does the lifestyle of an allergist compare to that of a hospitalist?

 

[Deecee2DO]

How does the lifestyle of an allergist compare to that of a hospitalist?

Allergist>>>hospitalist lifestyle imo. You can make more doing less

 

[DO2015CA]

How does the lifestyle of an allergist compare to that of a hospitalist?

Allergist>>>>>>Endo>>hospitalist. Unless you need more money for your lifestyle lol. Allergy has the money and the Endo lifestyle

 

[Deecee2DO]

Allergist>>>>>>Endo>>hospitalist. Unless you need more money for your lifestyle lol. Allergy has the money and the Endo lifestyle

This^^^^ which is why I think Allergy is a hidden gem. Depending on location Allergists can make 350-400+ working endo hours

 

[BorntobeDO?]

still. not gonna spend additional years doing ENDO to make 60% of a hospitalist salary. Whoever wants to do that be my guest

Man doubling down on your lack of knowledge. Hospitalist pay is in decline. Endo still makes less but not 60%, more like 250 vs 290.

 

[Deecee2DO]

Man doubling down on your lack of knowledge. Hospitalist pay is in decline. Endo still makes less but not 60%, more like 250 vs 290.

Lol i still think if youre going to do a fellowship and make less than 300K in the long run its not really worth the extra years in training. Most Allergists make 300+ most Endos dont

 

[Neopolymath]

Man doubling down on your lack of knowledge. Hospitalist pay is in decline. Endo still makes less but not 60%, more like 250 vs 290.

Golden words of endo "talk about your back pain with your PCP. Bye"

It's worth some amount of money between 10k-100k.

 

[DO2015CA]

Lol i still think if youre going to do a fellowship and make less than 300K in the long run its not really worth the extra years in training. Most Allergists make 300+ most Endos dont

It ultimately depends what you want to do and value. If you’d be extremely unhappy in a PCP or hospitalist role but would be happy as a specialist then it’s worth it.

 

[Deecee2DO]

It ultimately depends what you want to do and value. If you’d be extremely unhappy in a PCP or hospitalist role but would be happy as a specialist then it’s worth it.

Thats fair!

 

[DO2015CA]

Thats fair!

Lol I’m also speaking from a peds role where there are only a few specialties that eclipse 300. Most of the specialties are the same as gen peds or less. Hints why we have a massive shortage in almost every peds subspecialty.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

It ultimately depends what you want to do and value. If you’d be extremely unhappy in a PCP or hospitalist role but would be happy as a specialist then it’s worth it.

This is the answer, endo pay is not higher than a pcm, but QOL is higher IMO.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Lol i still think if youre going to do a fellowship and make less than 300K in the long run its not really worth the extra years in training. Most Allergists make 300+ most Endos dont

Your not doing endo for the money, you are doing it not to PCM and because you like the field.

 

[AlteredScale]

Is the main reason for GI’s competitiveness $$$?

Money and lifestyle. You get to live in this weird paradox where pts are too unstable or too stable to be scoped in the middle of the night. Reimbursement for scopes is still great and the time spent on most of them is very short. You get exposure to a lot of different areas of practice (procedures, consults, clinic) so burn out is not too high. Lots of new innovation in the pipeline. Because it's so popular the research output is insane (DDW is a gigantic conference, probably larger than national ACP tbh).

Also GI don't honestly deal with that much poop, by the time they come to the suite they have been cleaned out with prep 😉

 

[GoSpursGo]

How feasible is it to match A/I as a DO from a community IM program?

Going to be quite difficult. As highlighted by @NotAProgDirector above, it's a small research heavy field and you're going to have trouble making the kinds of connections you need coming from a relatively unknown program.

Not impossible. But realistically if A/I is the intended endgame you should try very hard to go to an academic program.