prelim year for EM residency?

[coconut lime]

what are the various residency options available for EM? i know there is 3 year and 4 year, but what is the difference? also, is there any prelim or transitional year type of option? i am asking because my fiancee is a year behind me in school (i'm an m3) and ideally, we'd like to be in the same city for my first year of residency (when he's an m4) and then move to a different city. is that feasible with EM residency?

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[ERMudPhud]

EM has 123, 1234, and 234 programs. If you end up matching at a 234 you have to do a prelim year first. This year can be med, surg, transitional. I also know one person who did a peds year and another who did some sort of ad hoc anesthesia year for his intern year(it was listed as a transitional year but involved >6months of anesthesia). However, you generally match for the 234 and the prelim year all during your 4th year of medical school. So, you could arrange to stay near your fiance for his 4th year but then he would be very limited in where he could apply for his residency (i.e. the city where you have already matched for 234). This might be severely limiting if he is applying to a competitive field. Another option would be for you to take a year off after medical school and couple match with him. I know one couple who did that.