Residence cut-offs for old docs

[wkcttx]

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Greetings,

I am seeking some honest advice for an old DO grad that is considering trying to do a residence. I got my DO degree back in '88 and went into teaching and never completed my postgraduate training. I have been in education since but I have often thought about reentering medicine. I passed my boards in med school and took the FLEX (Federal Licensure Exam) and passes with an 82/83. I believe the FLEX is roughly equavlent to step 2 or/and 3 of the NMLEX. I started looking for ways to update my clinical skills but I have had no luck. How can I build clinical skills again? Will a DO/MD residency seriously look at someone that has been out of medicine for 18 years? Should I re-take boards? Realistically is it possible for someone in my situation to become a competent doc? I would appreciate ANY input. Thanks

 

[gutonc]

I can't speak for AOA and COMLEX, but for USMLE, you need to finish all 3 steps in a certain period of time (7 years maybe?) with a few exceptions (additional advanced degrees during medical school or residency that delay Step 3 mostly) or you have to start all over. You would very likely have to start at Step 1 of whichever licensing route you take at this point (osteo or allo). Beyond that I can offer no advice but good luck.

BE

 

[njbmd]

Greetings,

I am seeking some honest advice for an old DO grad that is considering trying to do a residence. I got my DO degree back in '88 and went into teaching and never completed my postgraduate training. I have been in education since but I have often thought about reentering medicine. I passed my boards in med school and took the FLEX (Federal Licensure Exam) and passes with an 82/83. I believe the FLEX is roughly equavlent to step 2 or/and 3 of the NMLEX. I started looking for ways to update my clinical skills but I have had no luck. How can I build clinical skills again? Will a DO/MD residency seriously look at someone that has been out of medicine for 18 years? Should I re-take boards? Realistically is it possible for someone in my situation to become a competent doc? I would appreciate ANY input. Thanks

Hi there,
You can go into the MATCH as an independent candidate. You will need to contact your Deans office for a token to get in. You are also going to likely need COMLEX or USMLE (all three steps). You might be able to get an observership so that you can get your clinical skills up to date.

Much will depend on what specialty you would like to do. Since FLEX is no longer even offered, you should speak with your Dean for the best source of information. Since you attended medical school in the United States, you may be able to go into the MATCH after taking and passing COMLEX/USMLE Step II including the clinical skills.

Good luck!
njbmd 🙂

 

[Poety]

I think there is a cutoff for taking the boards, perhaps 7 years to take all 3? maybe 10 years, I don't remember.

 

[APACHE3]

You should talk to state board. You may have exceeded your time limit to complete all steps within 7 years, but maybe there are grandfather clauses that can help you. Call the state board.

 

[Gfunk6]

Look at this comprehensive list of state boards here.

Fortunately, in your case, the osteopathic boards don't seem to have a time limit for completing the licensing exam steps. Whereas for the allopathic boards it seems to range from 7 to 10 years.

 

[3dtp]

I think there is a cutoff for taking the boards, perhaps 7 years to take all 3? maybe 10 years, I don't remember.

For the USMLE most states have time limits, but they do recognize the FLEX. Many will likely require a SPEX? exam. You are in a special situation. I would talk to the dean of your closest medical school to find out what needs to be done. You will likely need to complete an osteopathic internship to be eligible for licensure and you are correct, much has changed in medicine in the past 20 or so years, I'm sure that you didn't have much experience with PET/SPECT and fMRI imaging. A local medical school dean would be able to provide you with better counselling about what you would need to do to get back up to speed quickly and how to do it. Your state board might be a good resource too.

As far as getting a residency, gasp, some programs do tend to have "young" programs, which is to say, they might not take someone who would (gasp) 'modify' that attribute. Good luck!

 

[wkcttx]

Thank you all for your input and advice. It is definitely appreciated.

 

[Blade28]

Just out of curiosity, what field are you thinking of entering? I'm assuming you're in your late 40s now - are you pursuing a residency that will allow you to practice well into your 70s?

 

[EM Junkie]

Look at this comprehensive list of state boards here.

Fortunately, in your case, the osteopathic boards don't seem to have a time limit for completing the licensing exam steps. Whereas for the allopathic boards it seems to range from 7 to 10 years.

However, most states (Texas for certain) require passage of all 3 steps within 7-10 years regardless of whether you are MD or DO. Thus, you would have to take Steps I and II (CK and CS) before you can apply for residency. You would take Step III sometime after your intern year.

Good luck!

 

[spalatin]

However, most states (Texas for certain) require passage of all 3 steps within 7-10 years regardless of whether you are MD or DO. Thus, you would have to take Steps I and II (CK and CS) before you can apply for residency. You would take Step III sometime after your intern year.

Good luck!

7 years refers to the time from taking the first part to the completion of the series. Texas will require either a board certification exam or re-cert or the SPEX if you are applying for licensure and it has been more than 10 years since you took whatever exam you took.

In any case they won't take you if you take more than 3 attempts to pass each step.

They accept USMLE
COMLEX
FLEX (> 75% on each part after 1985, > 75% weighted avg prior to 1985),
NBME exams (pre-dates USMLE)
NBOME exams
LMCC (licentiate of the Medical Counsel of Canada)
State Board exams if taken prior to 1977.

And you have to take the Texas Medical Jursiprudence exam, too.

Most time limit states refer to the time from the time you took the first Step till the time you complete the last step. If you take theUSMLE Step 1 this year, you have until 2013 to finish step 3.

 

[wkcttx]

Just out of curiosity, what field are you thinking of entering? I'm assuming you're in your late 40s now - are you pursuing a residency that will allow you to practice well into your 70s?

I was thinking about FP or IM.

 

[skypilot]

Just out of curiosity, what field are you thinking of entering? I'm assuming you're in your late 40s now - are you pursuing a residency that will allow you to practice well into your 70s?

Hey I am curious about this. Obviously it is tough to practice surgery into your 70s although Debakey has done this. (80s and 90s too!) I know radiologists in their 70s.

Obviously FP or IM are good choices for practicing at an older age. Which other residencies are not conducive to practicing after 65?

 

[skypilot]

Greetings,

I am seeking some honest advice for an old DO grad that is considering trying to do a residence. I got my DO degree back in '88 and went into teaching and never completed my postgraduate training. I have been in education since but I have often thought about reentering medicine. I passed my boards in med school and took the FLEX (Federal Licensure Exam) and passes with an 82/83. I believe the FLEX is roughly equavlent to step 2 or/and 3 of the NMLEX. I started looking for ways to update my clinical skills but I have had no luck. How can I build clinical skills again? Will a DO/MD residency seriously look at someone that has been out of medicine for 18 years? Should I re-take boards? Realistically is it possible for someone in my situation to become a competent doc? I would appreciate ANY input. Thanks

Obviously it is possible for you to become a competent doc! It just may take a little longer than for people who have the knowledge fresh at hand.

 

[wkcttx]

Thanks again for all of your input. I really appreciate it. Does anyone know of residency/internship programs that are more open to students/docs with unusual backgrounds/situations. I have contacted a few programs with mixed results. Some obviously dont want me to call back whereas other are helpful. Thanks again.

 

[penguins]

Thanks again for all of your input. I really appreciate it. Does anyone know of residency/internship programs that are more open to students/docs with unusual backgrounds/situations. I have contacted a few programs with mixed results. Some obviously dont want me to call back whereas other are helpful. Thanks again.

Not exactly the same but I interviewed at UT Memphis for neuro and they were really really proud of this guy who had been FP who came back in his 50s to do a neuro residency. They thought he added a lot of maturity, complementary knowledge, etc to the program. Obviously, this guy had been in clinical medicine but he had a tough time with the stuff that fresh grads thought to be easy.