Switching from Psych into either IM or FP

[dxsd123]

Hi all, I am a USIMG from SGU that matched Psych. I am not 100% sure if Psych is for me. Down the stretch, it was a neck and neck tie btw FP and Psych and with the advice of a collegue - she said if I don't like Psych during the first year, then I could transfer into IM or FP. My question is, how is this process done and how hard will it be during PGY1 year. I matched in the NE region of the US.

Also, if I were to complete my 4 years of psych and go into FP after, would I have to repeat the intern year ?

P.S. Scores on USMLE's: 90+ on 1 &2 and P on CS all first attempts

any feed back would be kindly appreciated.

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[atsai3]

Hi all, I am a USIMG from SGU that matched Psych. I am not 100% sure if Psych is for me. Down the stretch, it was a neck and neck tie btw FP and Psych and with the advice of a collegue - she said if I don't like Psych during the first year, then I could transfer into IM or FP. My question is, how is this process done and how hard will it be during PGY1 year. I matched in the NE region of the US.

Also, if I were to complete my 4 years of psych and go into FP after, would I have to repeat the intern year ?

P.S. Scores on USMLE's: 90+ on 1 &2 and P on CS all first attempts

any feed back would be kindly appreciated.

You would not necessarily have to repeat PGY1 year, but you would probably be off cycle by 6 months or so (depending on how many months of internal medicine you have during your psych intern year). The reason is because as an internal medicine PGY2 you will need to be a 'senior' and direct interns in the care of inpatients. The 6 months of internal medicine you do as a psych PGY1 will not prepare you for this. So in the event that a medicine residency program allows you to transfer after your psych intern year, they will likely 'hold you back' by as much time as it takes for you to 'make up' the intern year medicine rotations that medicine PGY1's normally go through. Then, maybe starting in January of your PGY2 year, they will allow you to start being a medicine 'senior'.

In general, transferring from psych to medicine is more difficult than transferring from medicine to psych. Medicine residency programs are generally more vigilant against psych interns trying to find a back door into medicine residency programs.

If you complete your FP residency and then transfer to psych, then you would start as a psych PGY2.

-AT.

 

[toothless rufus]

. Medicine residency programs are generally more vigilant against psych interns trying to find a back door into medicine residency programs.

A back door? IM is no more competitive than psych.

 

[NJWxMan]

You are clearly clueless. There are many more unfilled IM spots than there are unfilled Psych. spots. At my program, IM regularly tries to LURE in psych. residents for the transfer.

 

[billypilgrim37]

There are fewer spots in my Honda when I go to Taco Bell than there are spots in the psych scramble, but that doesn't make my 4th meal run more competitive than psychiatry.

/I need a day off...

 

[dxsd123]

Thanks for the help guys. I still have more questions. I get this much that if I move to medicine I can transfer 6months, since 4 months of IM and 2 months of neuro are standard intern year of a Psych resident. My question is as follows, does it make more sense to take the loss of the 6 months secure a PGY1 spot in a solid program and not have a PD feel like hes got a guy off cycle who now is going to give him a headache ?


Would family practice be a better choice to transfer to and not lose a whole year or is that better as well to start as a PGY 1 as well ? With this said, how does one go about getting these positions - ERAS again or directly calling up programs/emailing ?

thanks again guys...this forum truly is a remarkable asset to the community.

 

[hippiedoc13]

I think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself here. You were lucky enough to match into a psych spot and already you are trying to figure out how you're going to jump ship? You haven't even started residency yet. My advice is to start your psych residency, go into it giving 100%, and make the most of it. You will hopefully figure out within the first couple months if it's right for you. You might be surprised and end up liking psychiatry much much more than you thought possible. (The experience of being a psychiatry resident is much different from being a medical student rotating through psychiatry). Or you might figure out that you really are passionate during your internal medicine months, and actually doing psychiatry doesn't do it for you. In any case, you are doing yourself and your future program a disservice by already having your head somewhere else, planning for how to get out of this, instead of getting your head in the game and getting excited about the residency you've already matched into. Ultimately you will figure out what's right for you, but you know there's something you liked about psych, and you're cheating yourself if you don't give yourself a chance to like your new program.

PS- if you weren't having some second thoughts about your residency at this point, I would be surprised. Trust me, not many people will admit it, but between now and July 1st, most will have at least fleeting thoughts of "holy crap, what have I done, did I make the right choice" or similar. Some of that is pre-residency jitters. Don't let that overshadow a decision that it took you months/years of preparation to come to.

 

[atsai3]

You are clearly clueless. There are many more unfilled IM spots than there are unfilled Psych. spots. At my program, IM regularly tries to LURE in psych. residents for the transfer.

A back door? IM is no more competitive than psych.

I should revise my text to specify 'upper tier'. That is, at high powered institutions, in general -- even allowing for the "you're comparing apples to oranges" critique -- it is harder to match into the medicine residency program than the corresponding psych residency program. e.g., MGH medicine vs. psych, Duke medicine vs. psych, Hopkins medicine vs. psych (but then again there are the exceptions, eg Columbia).

For example, several years ago a Duke psych resident initiated a transfer over to Duke medicine within 2 months of starting the intern year. Fortunately she was able to find a medicine resident who was eager to switch over to psych; this made her task much easier. But in this specific case it was pretty clear that she was trying to back door into a prestigious medicine residency slot. If she had applied for medicine straight out of medical school she never would have gotten into the Duke medicine program.

-AT.

 

[notdeadyet]

For example, several years ago a Duke psych resident initiated a transfer over to Duke medicine within 2 months of starting the intern year. Fortunately she was able to find a medicine resident who was eager to switch over to psych; this made her task much easier. But in this specific case it was pretty clear that she was trying to back door into a prestigious medicine residency slot. If she had applied for medicine straight out of medical school she never would have gotten into the Duke medicine program.

This is the silliest strategy I've ever heard.

While it may be a long shot to get into Duke's medicine program, it is without a doubt a longer shot to get into Duke's medicine program via a transfer from their psych department on the off chance you'll find a medicine intern from their class eager to transfer to psych.

 

[NJWxMan]

All of these medical students without a clue in these threads lately. What's going on? For those that don't realize it, you complete inpt medicine for six months straight in many programs. If you bust your as$ and your attendings like you, you will get asked to transfer over to the "dark side". This happens in even the top tier programs. When you have 20 first year spots in medicine, there is always bound to be several open spots here or there. I was given the offer to transfer to both medicine and to neurology. Granted, I'm not in a top tier program, but like in any other industry, when you are an "all-star", everyone wants you (I am NOT an all-star). Why? Because when you shine, it makes everyone's job easier.