Subspecialties under Family Medicine

[Blanket]

What are some of the subspecialties under family medicine? I was told that there is all kinds of interesting stuff (like sports medicine).

Can you list some for me?
Thanks

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[thedelicatessen]

Just earlier I had wondered about fp residencies too. Hope this helps.

http://www.aafp.org/residencies/

 

[smq123]

What are some of the subspecialties under family medicine? I was told that there is all kinds of interesting stuff (like sports medicine).

Can you list some for me?
Thanks

Sports medicine
Geriatrics

 

[njbmd]

Moving to Family Medicine as some folks in residency may have additional comments. Allopathic medical students can follow and comment if desired.

 

[sophiejane]

There is a difference between which fellowships are available after FM training, and what you can really do in practice. For example, there aren't derm fellowships per se, but if you enjoy derm procedures, including cosmetic derm, you can make that a bigger part of your practice.

Some FPs do more peds, some do OB, some sports medicine, some alternative medicine, DOs can have an emphasis on manipulative therapy, etc.

Official fellowships are available in a wide variety of areas. This link is helpful:

http://www.aafp.org/fellowships/

 

[McDoctor]

http://www.aafp.org/fellowships/other.html

this is one of my favorite links. There is an entire fellowship devoted to Lyme Disease. There is a "Homeland Security Studies" fellowship. There are several "Leadership" fellowships.(???) I can't even stomach the thought of sitting through a CME lecture on some of this stuff, let alone losing an entire year of your life to it.

(Of course, Lyme disease is interesting, but it remains an exceedingly rare condition and the only FP docs I know who specialize in Lyme disease are quacks. Then again, I can't imagine how you would build a practice as a "FP Lyme specialist" without over-diagnosing it and advocating long term, frequent office visits.)

 

[sophiejane]

There is an entire fellowship devoted to Lyme Disease.

I know--I love that one!!!

 

[Blanket]

http://www.aafp.org/fellowships/other.html

Very helpful link. Thanks

 

[andwhat]

Very helpful link. Thanks

hospitalist fellowship also.

 

[residentx2]

I would love to spend a year as a Lifestyle Studies fellow. Call must be brutal.

 

[ForbiddenComma]

I would love to spend a year as a Lifestyle Studies fellow. Call must be brutal.

BTW, why doesn't FM get access to all the IM subspecialties? It really doesn't make sense, especially for the fellowships that also involve pediatric patients. For instance, heme/onc would be a perfect FM fellowship, since things like sickle cell and leukemia affect all age groups. Rheum and endo also would make obvious choices.

Or I suppose, this is a topic... but still...

 

[marshmallows]

i agree,





BTW, why doesn't FM get access to all the IM subspecialties? It really doesn't make sense, especially for the fellowships that also involve pediatric patients. For instance, heme/onc would be a perfect FM fellowship, since things like sickle cell and leukemia affect all age groups. Rheum and endo also would make obvious choices.

Or I suppose, this is a topic... but still...[/quote]

 

[dr0277341283141]

(Of course, Lyme disease is interesting, but it remains an exceedingly rare condition and the only FP docs I know who specialize in Lyme disease are quacks. Then again, I can't imagine how you would build a practice as a "FP Lyme specialist" without over-diagnosing it and advocating long term, frequent office visits.)

Lyme disease is EXCEEDINGLY RARE? During my medicine rotation, I saw no fewer than one hospitalization a week- and these are the hospitalized ones! (P.S. I'm just finishing up peds. Second rotation of intern year.)

 

[deleted87716]

Lyme disease is EXCEEDINGLY RARE? During my medicine rotation, I saw no fewer than one hospitalization a week- and these are the hospitalized ones! (P.S. I'm just finishing up peds. Second rotation of intern year.)

Well, that depends on what part of the country you're in. That Lyme disease fellowship is in New York. Bet'cha can guess why. 😉

 

[Red Beard]

i agree,





BTW, why doesn't FM get access to all the IM subspecialties? It really doesn't make sense, especially for the fellowships that also involve pediatric patients. For instance, heme/onc would be a perfect FM fellowship, since things like sickle cell and leukemia affect all age groups. Rheum and endo also would make obvious choices.

Or I suppose, this is a topic... but still...

[/QUOTE]

Does anyone know if there is any kind of active lobby going on with ABIM to allow FPs access to IM fellowships?

 

[deleted87716]

Does anyone know if there is any kind of active lobby going on with ABIM to allow FPs access to IM fellowships?

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[drhoffmann]

Are the EM fellowships competitive?

Do you think that FPs with an EM fellowship will be able to retain a job in the ED for the long run? Do these guys get jobs pretty easily? I do understand that most FPs work in rural EDs.

Do FPs that work in the ED make as much as EM trained individuals?

This whole FM, FP, EM, EP, ED thing gets confusing. 😛

 

[McDoctor]

Lyme disease is EXCEEDINGLY RARE? During my medicine rotation, I saw no fewer than one hospitalization a week- and these are the hospitalized ones! (P.S. I'm just finishing up peds. Second rotation of intern year.)

I say rare based on total incidence as reported by the CDC. I'll assume you were in a fairly large hospital and carried a considerable census. Thus 1 per week in an endemic region is not that impressive, not enough to warrant a year long fellowship. You probably saw more cases of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, yet we don't devote an entire fellowship to that.

Also, I assume these patients were handled by IM, and maybe ID, and not a dedicated fellowship trained "Lyme specialist".

The whole notion of a Lyme Disease fellowship smacks of quackery, reinforcing the notion that Lyme is always a chronic disabling condition that is inadequately understood and treated by the mainstream "medical establishment". I could be wrong, I don't know anything specific about this particular fellowship.

 

[Doowai]

I like the new urgent care fellowships. I may not want the long-term continuity of care relationships that develop in FP practice (Oh..Hi, Mrs.Jones.... so you are having constipation again for the 100th time?), and yet I don't want level 1 trauma like EM doctors have. Urgent care is never too scarey (gun shot wounds etc), but its also just "Hi...Bye" type treatment.

True urgent care is not just after-hours, or walk-in. True urgent care is going to involve expanded services, but its "I think that is fractured, we better take an x-ray" and not an arm with bones sticking out every which way.

Family is the perfect specialty for doing urgent care. It really should not belong to anyone else. IM does not have any real OB or pede experience. Pedes are not just little adults. And OB can be very complicated. Its overkill for EM, although they are better suited for it than other specialties, EM does not have OB continuity of care experience and will be unfamiliar with many of the concerns. You certainly cannot put psyche or surgery in Urgent care.

I also would love to do a year on a cruise boat as the in-house doctor.