Residency Switch Advice

[PMRtoRads]

Hi,

I am currently a PGY-1 in a transitional year with a spot in 7/2018 for PM&R as a PGY-2. I now want to switch over to radiology. Is there anyone that has gone through this that can give any advice on what I should exactly do, and how I can find such a spot, or even if this is a good idea?

I was initially interested in radiology, and even interviewed for it and ranked it. But repeated talks of AI and job market around rank list time flustered me into ranking radiology programs lower and here I am (I'm an idiot, I know). Now in my transitional year, I'm seeing again why I liked radiology so much to begin with. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks all.

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[Raryn]

Hi,

I am currently a PGY-1 in a transitional year with a spot in 7/2018 for PM&R as a PGY-2. I now want to switch over to radiology. Is there anyone that has gone through this that can give any advice on what I should exactly do, and how I can find such a spot, or even if this is a good idea?

I was initially interested in radiology, and even interviewed for it and ranked it. But repeated talks of AI and job market around rank list time flustered me into ranking radiology programs lower and here I am (I'm an idiot, I know). Now in my transitional year, I'm seeing again why I liked radiology so much to begin with. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks all.

From the standpoint of the match, you'll need to apply for a waiver of your current match prior to applying again for a new specialty. No big deal, change in specialty waivers are routinely approved. That said, as soon as you do this, you'll lose your PM&R spot, as you can't just keep it around as a "backup".

The good news is once that is done, we're early enough in the year that you can fill out the 2017 ERAS and apply for the 2018 match. You'll be eligible for both "R" spots (that start in 07/2018) and "A" spots (that start in 07/2019). Getting an R spot is harder (just b/c there are less of them) so you may end up having to take a year off if you match an A spot.

Are you on good terms with your TY PD? Getting advice (and a letter!) from them is going to be important.

 

[J ROD]

Like he said, roll the dice. Just know you have to give up your PMR spot to take that ride.

 

[PMRtoRads]

Thank you for the replies everyone. If I do end up not getting an A spot, what would my options be for the gap year? Would I be able to work in an urgent care setting or something of that nature to make some money at least?

 

[Raryn]

Thank you for the replies everyone. If I do end up not getting an A spot, what would my options be for the gap year? Would I be able to work in an urgent care setting or something of that nature to make some money at least?

It depends on what state you live in and on where you went to med school.

If you did medical school in the United States, MD or DO, the answer is probably yes. Something like 37 states will license a US MD with a single year of training.

If you did medical school outside of the US, the answer is almost certainly no. The only possible exceptions are Georgia (if your medical school is on a specific approved list) or Puerto Rico (if you speak fluent Spanish). And I'm not 100% sure about Puerto Rico.

 

[BoardingDoc]

Thank you for the replies everyone. If I do end up not getting an A spot, what would my options be for the gap year? Would I be able to work in an urgent care setting or something of that nature to make some money at least?

If you have a full medical licence at that point and you're living in an area without a ton of docs (e.g. an area that would have an UC willing to hire someone who hasn't completed a residency) then sure. That said, I'd consider looking into it before assuming that it will work. I can say that in my geographic area, you generally can't get an UC job unless you're BC in IM/EM/FM