Switching from ortho to DR

[changingitup]

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I’m an intern who’s very highly considering switching to rads from ortho as I’ve found that I enjoy the discovery more than the long days in the OR.

Does anyone have recommendations for how to pursue this switch? I know it would be late for this coming year to switch but I would love to find an R1 position either in 2019 or even 2020 if I need to take a year off first. I am likely planning on reaching out to my home med school PD and my current residency PD (both in rads here and ortho) and then sending my top 5-10 programs letters of interest.

Thanks in advance

 

[TCOM12]

Utilizing contacts is probably your best bet. You never know what could be opening up. Also, PDs may know of shifts at other programs you could be interested in. Just have all your ducks in a row from a paperwork standpoint so its a click away once you receive word.

Auntminnie is another radiology website with forums for attendings to trainees. It's not uncommon for programs to post there (but their traffic has slowed considerably in the past few years).

 

[DarkHorizon]

I’m an intern who’s very highly considering switching to rads from ortho as I’ve found that I enjoy the discovery more than the long days in the OR.

Does anyone have recommendations for how to pursue this switch? I know it would be late for this coming year to switch but I would love to find an R1 position either in 2019 or even 2020 if I need to take a year off first. I am likely planning on reaching out to my home med school PD and my current residency PD (both in rads here and ortho) and then sending my top 5-10 programs letters of interest.

Thanks in advance

Don’t do it, it’s way too early, give it another year before making any big life changing decisions. You can always switch into radiology. Once you give up your ortho spot, it’s over from ortho standpoint.

 

[Cognovi]

Don’t do it, it’s way too early, give it another year before making any big life changing decisions. You can always switch into radiology. Once you give up your ortho spot, it’s over from ortho standpoint.

It's not too early. Anecdotally, most people that switch from surgery decide to do so in the first year. Deciding now means entering the Match in 2020, for a PGY-2 position that starts 2021, when OP would otherwise be starting PGY-4. You are losing at minimum two years of your life already.

 

[DarkHorizon]

It's not too early. Anecdotally, most people that switch from surgery decide to do so in the first year. Deciding now means entering the Match in 2020, for a PGY-2 position that starts 2021, when OP would otherwise be starting PGY-4. You are losing at minimum two years of your life already.

It’s too early to decide whether you like ortho or not, you barely get to the OR in your intern year, you’re a floor bee, even inadequate at that. OP needs at least a year or so before they give up IMO. forget giving up years, once you give up that ortho spot, you ain’t getting back in. You can always get a radiology spot.

 

[Cognovi]

It’s too early to decide whether you like ortho or not, you barely get to the OR in your intern year, you’re a floor bee, even inadequate at that. OP needs at least a year or so before they give up IMO. forget giving up years, once you give up that ortho spot, you ain’t getting back in. You can always get a radiology spot.

I'd say give it until July, at which point there will still be enough time (two months) to put together an application (particularly letters) for mid-September AMCAS opening.

 

[changingitup]

Thanks for the replies, I think you both make valid points. As for OR time, we actually get in the OR quite a bit (over 100 cases logged to date in ortho alone), but yes on gen surg floor work is the majority of time. I agree that leaving ortho would close the door on ortho moving forward, but keep coming back to the fact that I have realized that the OR is far from my favorite place in the hospital.

I honestly hadn't really even had much experience with rads as a med student, but recent time on gen surg trauma where we are looking at films with and without radiologists has been one of my favorite parts of intern year. And I love many aspects of ortho (especially the discovery and theory behind what fractures are op vs nonop), but that love does begin to dissipate once it comes to discussing surgical techniques and the OR.

 

[colbgw02]

It's hard for me to imagine anyone continuing in any surgical specialty within a substantial love of the OR. For the surgeons I know, that's what makes all the other BS worthwhile. If you're confident that being in the OR doesn't give you that satisfaction, then I say go ahead and switch. It's hard to say if radiology is the right field to go into for you, but I think that's true for everyone, because it's so hard to experience it as a medical student or intern.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Probably better to get out earlier than later re: ortho.

The PGY-2 ortho year is considered to be the most brutal one per some of my ortho friends.

 

[Greenberg702]

I’m an intern who’s very highly considering switching to rads from ortho as I’ve found that I enjoy the discovery more than the long days in the OR.

Does anyone have recommendations for how to pursue this switch? I know it would be late for this coming year to switch but I would love to find an R1 position either in 2019 or even 2020 if I need to take a year off first. I am likely planning on reaching out to my home med school PD and my current residency PD (both in rads here and ortho) and then sending my top 5-10 programs letters of interest.

Thanks in advance

I second what some of the people above wrote. You've put in an insane amount of work to get to where you are - you should try and grind through the PGY-1/2 years before calling it quits. On my ortho sub-Is a lot of the PGY-2 residents expressed similar concerns/second thoughts and I've also had some tough days as a PGY-1 just like you. Much of it is due to the burdens of being a junior surgical resident and happens across surgical subs. If you love the pathology/fracture care ortho is one of the, if not the best field in medicine. You can make your practice whatever you want when you graduate lifestyle-wise (depending on your income expectations), with an incredible job market and future job security. My buddy finishing his joints fellowship at my program this year got 600-700K offers all over the country, with like 10 jobs in every major city he was looking at.