Soaped in this cycle

[TFA2MD]

I soaped into EM. I had 12 interviews for gen surg, but did not match. Is it better to complete EM residency and apply for GS after 3 years OR apply to Gen surgery in next cycle?

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[NotAProgDirector]

I'm sorry that you're in this position.

There is no easy answer. You could reapply this next cycle, and hope you get a spot this time. Unclear what you can do between now and the next cycle to improve your application. If you have a home surgery program you should contact them and ask for honest feedback. Explanations like "it was a competitive year" won't help you -- sure, it was competitive. But why was I less competitive than others? You may not like the answer, but you need to hear it.

After a full EM residency it's possible you might bring something "new to the table". But would depend upon which EM residency you are in (big acadmic center would be better). It might allow you to work with surgeons at your EM program and get into a GS spot there.

If you try to reapply next year, you'll need to hope that your EM program is willing to support you.

But you will also run into a funding issue. Now that you're in EM you get 3 full years of funding. Even if you switch to GS after a single year, you won't have full funding for your entire GS training. Whether that's important to programs will vary.

 

[GoSpursGo]

But you will also run into a funding issue. Now that you're in EM you get 3 full years of funding. Even if you switch to GS after a single year, you won't have full funding for your entire GS training. Whether that's important to programs will vary.

Random question--are they indeed capped at 3 years? I know there are some EM programs that are 4 years.

To the OP--agree, you need to get honest feedback. It really stinks that you're in this situation, and 12 would normally be "enough"... but there is a reason that after you got to the interview stage it didn't translate to getting ranked highly. While it will hurt to hear, you need to understand that in order to make the outcome be different when/if you reapply.

Additionally, I mention this not to kick you while you're down but as a word of caution to future applicants--everyone applying to even a moderately competitive program really needs to come up with a good plan B just in case the worst happens and they don't match. Clearly you didn't see this coming, panicked, and SOAPed into something that seemed reasonable. If you were fine with going on and becoming an EM physician, this would be all well and good. Unfortunately, matching EM does almost nothing for you if your goal remains to be a surgeon--you would have been in a much better position doing a surgical prelim year or a research year, because you have introduced the funding issue and it is going to be very hard to interview during an intern year.

Regardless, all is not lost. But to find your way from your EM residency to a GS residency, you are going to need to really network with the surgery program both at your medical school and at your EM residency institution. If the latter doesn't have a surgery residency... it is going to make this thing a lot harder still.

 

[TFA2MD]

Question 1: Can I withdraw from the EM program now before the start of the EM Residency and look for Gen Surg Prelim or Research year?
Question 2: Can I reach out to the 12 program I interviewed at and ask them to consider me if any position become open in Gen Surg, but let them know I will join them after the 45 day period after start of residency?

 

[gutonc]

Question 1: Can I withdraw from the EM program now before the start of the EM Residency and look for Gen Surg Prelim or Research year?

No. SOAP is just as binding as the original Match.

Question 2: Can I reach out to the 12 program I interviewed at and ask them to consider me if any position become open in Gen Surg, but let them know I will join them after the 45 day period after start of residency?

You can. It's unlikely to go anywhere, but it can't hurt.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Random question--are they indeed capped at 3 years? I know there are some EM programs that are 4 years.

Good question. I think it's 3 years since that's what the ABEM defines. IN any case, funding doesn't drop to zero after the IRP -- it ends up being about 70% so many programs don't care. I know you know, but there are whole threads discussing this so let's not rehash this here.

Question 1: Can I withdraw from the EM program now before the start of the EM Residency and look for Gen Surg Prelim or Research year?
Question 2: Can I reach out to the 12 program I interviewed at and ask them to consider me if any position become open in Gen Surg, but let them know I will join them after the 45 day period after start of residency?

No - it's a match, if you try to resign you may be barred from the match in the future. I know it's too little too late now.
Yes - and you can hope, but the most likely problem any of those programs could run into is someone being unable to start, and if thats the case they probably won't want to wait 45 days for you. But you can certainly ask.

-- post ninja'ed, I see.