Rheumatology

[rs2006]

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Hi all,

I am a fourth yr med student in a US medical school and was wondering whether anyone had any advice as to which IM programs are good for someone interested in rheum? Also, any advice as to the future of rheum (I checked the FAQs, but did not find the info there very helpfule)??

Thanks.

 

[SmallTownGuy]

Rheumatology is not a very competitive fellowship. For the most part, just pick a good program that offers a rheum fellowship and you should be ok to match.

As for the future of rheumatology, that depends on what you mean. The demand will probably at least stay stable, if not increase, because of the aging of the population. Financially speaking, rheum will never equal the more procedural fields such as cards and GI. But, some speculate an increase in reimbursement in the near future secondary to infusion drug therapies.

One thing about rheum that is starting to make it more appealing is that there is starting to be more aggresive treatment options for RA and other rheum diseases. Rheumatologists are starting to be able to treat the vast majority of diseases they diagnose.

In addition, I would assume that the lifestyle will always be good in terms of call, since there are few rheum emergencies.