Question about residency characteristics

[Armymed2015]

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I am a third year medical student who is considering going into emergency medicine. I am in the Army, and so my residency options are likely to be somewhat limited unless I seek out and am granted a civilian referral for training (which is highly unlikely).

There are three places to get EM training in the Army system. 2 of these institutions are at major medical centers which also engaged in the training a wide variety of other specialties. The third residency location sells itself as "mostly unopposed" program, with only a family medicine residency onsite.

My question is whether you guys think that there is likely to be a significant difference in the quality of the training offered between institutions based on the number of other specialty types who are training there.

 

[deleted547339]

I think this is probably more a function of the specific residency and the mentality than whether or not it is unopposed. I worked at a hospital with a FM residency that was unopposed but the residency was fairly unimpressive. I looked at residency programs for EM that were at mega-centers where the EM training was excellent and smaller hospitals with fewer residencies that sucked. I saw EM programs at huge academic centers where EM was not respected and hospitals with only 8 or so programs where EM was highly regarded.

Further, I don't know that the deferment is out of the question. One of my co-residents is military and opted out for a civilian residency as did a member of my med school class who is in EM now.

Good luck.

 

[deleted547339]

Double post - sorry - don't know how that happened.