questions about transitional year/research year/master's

[Mdude]

---

Members don't see this ad.

For personal reasons, I'm wondering if somebody can enlighten me as to the options available if one wishes to remain in the location of their med school for 5 to 6 years rather than the traditional 4 years?

Here are some options I know about:
a) Take a year off, do research.

Is this paid? If so, roughly how much?​

b) Get a Master's.

I know it's common to do this b/n M2 and M3. How about b/n M3 and M4?​

c) Graduate from med school in four years, and obtain a "transitional year" in the same city/medical institution.

Can one opt to do a transitional year no matter what specialty he/she is choosing, or are they tied to your ultimate residency specialty? For example, a friend of mine is doing a transitional year this year in city A, before moving to city B next year to start his Ophtho residency​

Also, is it similarly impossible to predict where you would get this transitional year the way it's impossible to predict one's residency placement? Or is obtaining a transitional year more straightforward and is there flexibility and choice involved?​

d) Ideas I haven't thought of?

Ultimately, I don't want to shoot for residency in the same city, but I might need to "stall" for a year or two as my wife might need to stay because of her studies. Ideally, I'd like those "extra" years to be money-earning rather than money-spending years (ie, transitional year > master's). Any thoughts?

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

Here are some options I know about:
a) Take a year off, do research.

Is this paid? If so, roughly how much?​

​

yes you would be paid for this. you appeal/apply directly to specific labs, and the PI would basically "hire" you. i am not 100% confident how much you would make, but a realistic guess would be about the same that a PhD student makes (~$26-28K depending on region). i suppose that if you finish the MD and then do a research year, you might be able to earn a little more (in the low $30k range).

sorry i can't help with your other questions, but i would recommend trying to do the MD in 4 years, though. i say this because i know i would have a hard time watching all my classmates graduate and move on to bigger/better things while i was taking an educational "detour". if you don't view such a decision as a detour, or you are willing to happily make sacrifices for your spouse, then go for it.