reapplying after not being rehired

[res82]

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I successfully finished my PGY2 year in an advanced program after successful completion of a preliminary internship. Unfortunately I was not rehired to continue with the program. I was told that the reasons we due to being too careful and spending too much time with patients which might be a problem in an emergency situation, and bothered attendings who were interested in speedy clinics. Some also thought that I spent too much time thinking before answering questions (usually correctly). Other aspects of my performance were good and there were no complaints about medical judgment. There was no probation or remediation offered, but I decided that they were probably right and the specialty was not suited for my personality. I wanted to leave, but technically my contract wasn't renewed. My former program director and other letter writers have good things to say about me and really want me to get a new residency as they were against my not being rehired.

I'm now applying through ERAS to a new specialty that I think is more in line with my strengths, and in addition has no call, no life of death emergencies, etc. As far as I can tell, the programs that I am applying to are not very competitive. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on how to word this so that I am telling the truth, but so I also have a chance at getting an interview so I can tell my story. Thanks.

 

[gutonc]

If you could be a little bit more vague that would really help us give you a good answer.

I can't actually imagine what your advanced specialty was (need to be fast, lots of clinic, medical emergencies). At first I thought Gas (I guess you have to occassionally do a pre-op clinic) then Neuro (emergency? Ha!), then ED (never mind, no clinic), then Derm (see Neuro), then I ran out of ideas. If I had to guess, you're looking at PM&R now.

Honestly, just say you realized specialty X wasn't for you and your program agreed. Specialty Y is the greatest thing since sliced bread and you were unfortunate not to be exposed to it until your intern/PGY2 year.

Just as importantly, you should have a really good answer to the question "so what have you been doing with yourself this year?"

 

[tfom08]

If you could be a little bit more vague that would really help us give you a good answer.

I can't actually imagine what your advanced specialty was (need to be fast, lots of clinic, medical emergencies). At first I thought Gas (I guess you have to occassionally do a pre-op clinic) then Neuro (emergency? Ha!), then ED (never mind, no clinic), then Derm (see Neuro), then I ran out of ideas. If I had to guess, you're looking at PM&R now.

Honestly, just say you realized specialty X wasn't for you and your program agreed. Specialty Y is the greatest thing since sliced bread and you were unfortunate not to be exposed to it until your intern/PGY2 year.

Just as importantly, you should have a really good answer to the question "so what have you been doing with yourself this year?"

There we go, nice to see you back in top form!

I agree, absolutely no way to tell what specialty OP is referring to. Neuro seems likely, but they like to really take their time, so seems that it wouldn't be a problem unless it was super excessive. Maybe gas. Now? I'd guess PM&R with Path as a possibility. Although if you are thinking about path, I've heard doing frozen sections while the surgeons are waiting for your call can be pretty stressful (and life or death, obviously).

Out of curiosity, OP, did you get fair warning that this was a possibility throughout the year on evaluations? Or did the program decide this without documenting their concerns during your rotations?

 

[res82]

Thanks for your input. I guess I was a little bit vague, but it was in the spirit of remaining anonymous, in case any program directors are readers of SDN. If you think that you might have any specialty specific advice, I can pm you the info. Gutonc, I was thinking of going with something similar to what you said, but I wasn't sure if there would be a problem with this technically not being the whole truth. I also don't want to offer too much information. The ERAS policy on application standards seems very strict. Any input from someone who has been in a similar situation or just has an opinion would be appreciated.

As per tfom08's question, our evaluations were so spotty that I received many 5-6 months after they were written. The evaluations that I saw before these events were good or neutral. The program director did talk to me once or twice about improving speed, etc., but there was no talk of dismissal, probation or remediation at that time. I guess there is a rule that they have to give you a certain amount of notice if your contract is not being renewed, so they kind of rushed a letter to me, but they said that it could be reversed if there was "improvement" within 3 months. About a month later they said the final decision was made without any of the remediation I had asked for.