Questions about IR Residency

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JimsonWeed

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I’m trying to get a better understanding of interventional radiology and the paths available for this specialty. From my research it looks like there will soon be 3 paths starting in 2020:

(1) Integrated IR
(2) Independent IR
(3) Independent IR with ESIR

Some questions regarding these paths:
- What exactly are the differences between these paths (time required, year by year training, etc)?
- Is one more competitive than the other? If so, why?

Also, something I’m even more curious about is whether or not additional fellowships are basically “required” to remain competitive in the job market after completing one of the residency paths to IR (integrated, independent, or ESIR)? Or do most people complete their IR residency and immediately enter the job market as a “general” interventional radiologist?

I’d appreciate any insight into this field. Thanks!

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Google has some of the answers:
Society of Interventional Radiology- IR Residency

What I find interesting and encouraging is that even though the integrated IR programs have been stupidly competitive since their inception, there are a ton of ESIR programs and that pathway is the same length-wise... Only difference is that I think you apply to ESIR during your PGY2 year, so there may be competition among a cohort of residents whereas you are locked in from the start if you do integrated.



training-pathways-table-12.jpg
 
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Google has some of the answers:

What I find interesting and encouraging is that even though the integrated IR programs have been stupidly competitive since their inception, there are a ton of ESIR programs and that pathway is the same length-wise... Only difference is that I think you apply to ESIR during your PGY2 year, so there may be competition among a cohort of residents whereas you are locked in from the start if you do integrated.

Thanks for the response and sharing that link! I found that too but wasn’t really sure how to interpret the difference between ESIR and integrated, but your explanation about being locked in with integrated vs. applying during PGY2 to ESIR makes more sense. Thanks for that. Do you happen to know much else regarding my other question about fellowships?
 
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Google has some of the answers:
Society of Interventional Radiology- IR Residency

What I find interesting and encouraging is that even though the integrated IR programs have been stupidly competitive since their inception, there are a ton of ESIR programs and that pathway is the same length-wise... Only difference is that I think you apply to ESIR during your PGY2 year, so there may be competition among a cohort of residents whereas you are locked in from the start if you do integrated.



training-pathways-table-12.jpg

With knowing pretty much nothing about IR, I could imagine people would view IR integrated > ESIR due to that extra year of IR training which might help right out of the gate as a freshly minted attending.
 
With knowing pretty much nothing about IR, I could imagine people would view IR integrated > ESIR due to that extra year of IR training which might help right out of the gate as a freshly minted attending.

Maybe... but with integrated you've done 3 IR rotations over your first 3 years... with ESIR you've done 12 IR rotations and a minimum of 500 procedures over 4 years... I bet they won't be all that dissimilar. Speculation though. Given how absurd the integrated match is, it seems like a very viable way to go.

I'd like to know more about how many ESIR slots programs have - if you have a DR cohort of 5 people but only 2 ESIR slots, and given the way the match works you can't really sculpt your class to have 3 DR-minded and 2 IR-minded people... Some people may have to spend an extra year in training. But maybe at big programs they have enough ESIR slots to accommodate everyone? I guess this is a problem for future-me to worry about when putting a rank list together though and not all that relevant right now.
 
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