Second Residency

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NatureWalk

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5+ Year Member
Hi all,

Has anyone here done two residencies? Something like IM then obgyn? etc.

Does anyone know if having completed one residency will help you in the application process for a second?

Thanks!
 
littlecow said:
It'll help but it's not something you should plan on doing
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I don't think it'll help. You won't be viewed as a graduating senior and you've already sucked up 3-7 years of GME training. The goal of GME funding is training new doctors. Training one person twice does not fulfill that goal. Furthermore, why would anyone want an IM attending in their OBGYN residency or vice versa?
 
NatureWalk said:
Hi all,

Has anyone here done two residencies? Something like IM then obgyn? etc.

Does anyone know if having completed one residency will help you in the application process for a second?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

1. Yes, double residencies happen, but not very often.
2. Not necessarily ... because everyone else (including those who are applying for their *very first* residency, for the first time, for the same slot) will be in the same line. I once had a dialogue with a PD about a similar situation. The PD told me he preferred first-time applicants because they already knew they wanted to apply for the specialty slot and he wanted those first-time new applicants. The message I gleaned from the PD's response was ... why should his program give a valuable slot to someone who has already completed a residency; and then they changed their mind, and wanted to pursue a second residency? What happens if they change their mind, and withdraw, and then my program is down a doc, when my program could be dedicating valuable time and resources in the training of a new doc? Well, at least that was the extent of our conversation.
 
Actually I also know an intensivist who did IM and anesthesia. She is super duper woman...very smart...could definitely see why she did both...did residency at Harvard as well.
 
I know a doc who did psych, practiced for a few decades (had his own practice in a major city), and then decided to do an EM residency.

His practice is still active and he employs a few psychiatrists, but he probably wanted to switch it up which I find extremely interesting.
 
What makes it actually complicated and therefore hard to match a second residency for this reason (if you really wanted to do it) is the funding from Medicare through GME to support your residency training. Each trainee has (up to) FIVE years of full funding and then a training program has to start getting more creative in how to pay you during the extra time in residency. GME can get half the money for a trainee at the 5+ year mark so there is a gap that obviously needs closed probably to the tube if around $50,000 the program would need to find or have sitting around (grants, endowments, etc)
 
I met a pediatric surgeon who first did a pediatrics residency. Her peds PD felt that she had the demeanor and personality of a surgeon so after the three years of peds, she went to a gen surg res and then the peds surg fellowship.

Interesting route to say the least.
 
a doc at my clinic did CT surgery then transitioned to FM; didnt have to do residency just apparently had to take FM boards [this was decades ago/ got grandfathered into it type of thing]
 
NatureWalk said:
Hi all,

Has anyone here done two residencies? Something like IM then obgyn? etc.

Does anyone know if having completed one residency will help you in the application process for a second?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I got offered to do a second residency at my hospital as I was completing my first as they had lost one of their interns and offered me a PGY-2 spot. I was flattered that they liked me and wanted me in, but for the life of me, no :

a) Another three years of residency
b) another three more years of incurring debt
c) I wouldn't know what to do with both residencies, you can't really do both at the same time.
d) there's only so many times you can order the same thing at the cafeteria grill
e) I trashed the call room
 
Davidfromcali said:
I met a pediatric surgeon who first did a pediatrics residency. Her peds PD felt that she had the demeanor and personality of a surgeon so after the three years of peds, she went to a gen surg res and then the peds surg fellowship.

Interesting route to say the least.
Click to expand...

so she was outwardly aggressive instead of passive aggressive?
 
I know a senior peds resident applying into derm. At least won't have to repeat intern year, but yes, not the easiest path. I also know of a pediatric pathologist who switched to pathology after a miserable intern year in peds, but that seems like quite a different scenario and not really what you're asking about.
 
BBQisgood4u said:
I know a doc who did psych, practiced for a few decades (had his own practice in a major city), and then decided to do an EM residency.

His practice is still active and he employs a few psychiatrists, but he probably wanted to switch it up which I find extremely interesting.
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How does he afford the pay cut during his 2nd residency? Did he just not have an active mortgage on his house or loan on his car anymore? Otherwise it seems too cost-prohibitive just to spice things up a bit.

Anecdotally, I also "know" (more like a friend of my parents) someone who switched from OB/GYN to psychiatry. I wouldn't say it was a good idea.
 
El-Rami said:
How does he afford the pay cut during his 2nd residency? Did he just not have an active mortgage on his house or loan on his car anymore? Otherwise it seems too cost-prohibitive just to spice things up a bit.

Anecdotally, I also "know" (more like a friend of my parents) someone who switched from OB/GYN to psychiatry. I wouldn't say it was a good idea.
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the post said the kept his psych practice and employed psychiatrists. If he had a successful business he probably had enough saved up or at least incoming revenue.

Also, some people don’t plan to be tied to expensive monthly payments until they retire.
 
Family-> Em. At the first nd of it he decided to do administration. He was the CMO of the organization at the end of it. I think he probably didn’t love medicine.
 
NatureWalk said:
Hi all,

Has anyone here done two residencies? Something like IM then obgyn? etc.

Does anyone know if having completed one residency will help you in the application process for a second?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I hope you ended up doing what was best for you.
 
Hello - I have searched the internet trying to answer my own question but so far no luck. If I graduated from a US med school, completed a full residency and I'm now applying to a different residency program, am I able to use NRMP? ERAS? If not, what is the process?
 
I'm quite certain it would be via NRMP and ERAS, but you'll need either your medical school and/or residency to enroll you in both and certify your eligibility.
 
You go through ERAS. Contact your medical school and inform them that you are planning a second residency- they will/can certify your eligibility and can assist with providing a token to allow you to register. I am not sure if you can purchase the token yourself. Good luck.
 
frenchyn said:
Actually I also know an intensivist who did IM and anesthesia. She is super duper woman...very smart...could definitely see why she did both...did residency at Harvard as well.
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What's their name if you don't mind? Curious their perspective, as someone interested in crit care deciding between IM and Anesthesia I imagine they have an interesting take on it.

FamilyMedicineGuy said:
Do you know the name of this doc?
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Lol made my post before even reading this, so ditto
 
I don't think anyone has mentioned combined residencies, so I'll throw that out there. You can find them all pretty easily on your own, but it's generally a primary care specialty mixed with another medical specialty. All of the combined are faster than doing them separately, which is a benefit if you want to do both.

IM/Peds - aka med/peds
IM/EM
IM/psych
IM/Neuro
Neuro/Psych
FM/Prev Medicine
Peds/Genetics
Triple board - Peds/Adult psych/child psych
And so on...

Med/Peds is the largest of them all, but they're all generally kind of small programs, with fewer applicants, which seem to be pretty competitive.

Edit: JK. @DameJulie beat me to it.
 
AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson said:
What's their name if you don't mind? Curious their perspective, as someone interested in crit care deciding between IM and Anesthesia I imagine they have an interesting take on it.


Lol made my post before even reading this, so ditto
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Miguel Teixeira is a Mayo physician who did IM + anesthesia + Crit care fellowship. Top notch.

Similarly, Chris Marcellino did nsgy residency and is in first year of anesthesia. Plans on Crit care fellowship afterwards.
 
Arsartium said:
Miguel Teixeira is a Mayo physician who did IM + anesthesia + Crit care fellowship. Top notch.

Similarly, Chris Marcellino did nsgy residency and is in first year of anesthesia. Plans on Crit care fellowship afterwards.
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Thanks for sharing, I reached out to them/

That's wild going through all of NSGY just to do another residency, really curious their story there.
 
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