Switching from SURGERY TO FAMILY MEDICINE

[clc8503]

Ok....lets say your a surgeon for about 15-20 years. Finally, you realize you're not as young as you use to be and now you want to change to a specialty that's a little less stressful and a bit more rewarding in terms of a social life. Furthermore, you decide you want to go into Family Medicine. Would you have to go through the match process all over again? Also, would you have to complete a 3 year residency in Family Medicine or saaaaay 1-2 years instead. Take into consideration that a doctor's knowledge of medicine, that had been in practice for so long, would greatly exceed that of a fresh intern. Soooo, would they have to complete the same amount of training as a student fresh out of med school? I was just wondering if this ever happens. Family Medicine seems like the perfect specialty that a physician can practice for most of his life. This is opposed to a surgeon whom will one day realize he/she has to lay down the scalpel because of arthritis or some other defect that can be devastating to a surgeon's career.

This question is merely hypothetical. This is not something I am personally dealing with. It's just something that sparked in mind the other day and now I can't quit brainstorming over it. What do you guys think? Does this happen often?

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[corpsmanUP]

Although your question may seem hypothetical, it really isn't. Luckily there are empty slots all over the country for FM and you could literally start when the program is ready to take you. FM residencies often have people starting or finishing off cycle. But, the bad news is that you are going to have to repeat your intern year because you would never have completed the OBGYN, Peds, and IM months likely. There is a 3rd year resident at ETSU Kingsport who is a board certified cardiothoracic surgeon!! He had to repeat his intern year!!

Ok....lets say your a surgeon for about 15-20 years. Finally, you realize you're not as young as you use to be and now you want to change to a specialty that's a little less stressful and a bit more rewarding in terms of a social life. Furthermore, you decide you want to go into Family Medicine. Would you have to go through the match process all over again? Also, would you have to complete a 3 year residency in Family Medicine or saaaaay 1-2 years instead. Take into consideration that a doctor's knowledge of medicine, that had been in practice for so long, would greatly exceed that of a fresh intern. Soooo, would they have to complete the same amount of training as a student fresh out of med school? I was just wondering if this ever happens. Family Medicine seems like the perfect specialty that a physician can practice for most of his life. This is opposed to a surgeon whom will one day realize he/she has to lay down the scalpel because of arthritis or some other defect that can be devastating to a surgeon's career.

This question is merely hypothetical. This is not something I am personally dealing with. It's just something that sparked in mind the other day and now I can't quit brainstorming over it. What do you guys think? Does this happen often?

 

[DOtobe]

I worked with a resident on one of my medicine rotations as a medical student who had been an orthopedic surgeon for years. He then decided to do internal medicine, and had to repeat the whole three years of residency. I can't imagine doing two residencies (especially doing two intern years)

 

[clc8503]

Although your question may seem hypothetical, it really isn't. Luckily there are empty slots all over the country for FM and you could literally start when the program is ready to take you. FM residencies often have people starting or finishing off cycle. But, the bad news is that you are going to have to repeat your intern year because you would never have completed the OBGYN, Peds, and IM months likely. There is a 3rd year resident at ETSU Kingsport who is a board certified cardiothoracic surgeon!! He had to repeat his intern year!!

Wow! I didn't think it was a real common thing. But hey, what if the surgeon originally did an interniship through the AOA? Since all DOs have to do the same internship in OMT, could the surgeon match an AOA FM residency that incorporates OMT in its training? Also I think the internship that DOs take in OMT heavily incorporate primary care. Could this save the physician from doing a second intern year?

-This is an interesting topic for me. Thanks for all your responces.

 

[DrMom]

DO's don't do an OMT internship, although we have to spend a short period of time on OMT during that year (at my home facility, that equates to 2 weeks during the entire year).

There are notable differences between Osteopathic internship requirements in different specialties, so it isn't too surprising that someone would have to re-do an internship year...although some might give credit for up to 6 months of it & either waive the remaining 6 months of internship or have the 2nd time resident take extra electives.

 

[sophiejane]

I've heard of several situations like these. I don't think it's at all uncommon.

I guess it's a lesson that we should all consider our specialties and our goals in life extremely carefully, rather than being tempted by money or prestige...

There are also some situations where people's priorities or family or even personal situations change and they need to make a change. Fortunately even if you have to repeat your intern year, you are a competent doc by that point (hopefully) and will hopefully work a lot more efficiently than someone straight out of medical school.

 

[corpsmanUP]

Wow! I didn't think it was a real common thing. But hey, what if the surgeon originally did an interniship through the AOA? Since all DOs have to do the same internship in OMT, could the surgeon match an AOA FM residency that incorporates OMT in its training? Also I think the internship that DOs take in OMT heavily incorporate primary care. Could this save the physician from doing a second intern year?

-This is an interesting topic for me. Thanks for all your responces.

Its really more about whether or not the training a physician received in their previous specialty was good enough to allow them to step into the PGY2 role in FM. Most physicians returning to do a residency in FM after something else realize that they are not ready to supervise interns treating ICU patient, doing deliveries, circs, and the full gamut of FM. Thus, most probably just agree to repeat the intern year because otherwise they probably could not be capable of performing at this level. You have to remember that an R2 in most FM programs is fresh from 50 deliveries, ICU admissions, sick neonates, sick medicine patients, etc.... If I had been doing surgery for 15 years there is no way I could step into an R2 role supervising interns even if I had completed a DO rotating one year internship. I could see it if someone had completed a DO traditional rotating internship in the last 3 years perhaps, but even an MD traditional internship is not equal to the DO version. The full one year DO version (and not the linked 6 month short version) is basically the same thing as the first year of FM residency. The linked version that most DO specialties try to give their residents is no better than the MD version of the same PGY1.

 

[dj_smooth]

I actually interviewed at program where a plastics guy retrained into FP...not because he necessarily wanted to (median nerve cut during a carpal tunnel release). Money wasn't an objective here...he could have probably hung it up and done nothing, but he found that wasn't a very satisfactory lifestyle. So he did an FP residency and is now on the faculty. He is a great addition to the program and I expect he'll be the PD once the current one eventually retires. The bonus with him is the procedural stuff you'd get with him with the advantage of his surgical/plastics background. I think he'd still rather be doing surgery FT, but he's made lemonade from life's lemons.

 

[Solideliquid]

I got a chuckle out of reading this. This psychiatrist working in a clinic where I rotated in 3rd year stopped being a surgeon after years of work to go into psych, he did the 4 year psych residency, had to.

 

[residentx2]

Why do a residency in FP? There are 3 general surgeons in my hometown (in Oklahoma) who do 1/2 GS and 1/2 FP, two run the local nursing homes. You can do FP without board certification in your own clinic. Anything that a FP would do in the hospital should be covered by your GS privileges i.e. scopes, minor procedures and general admissions, c-sections. You can limit your practice to whatever you feel comfortable with peds, ob, adult only, geriatrics,etc. Just put an ad in the local paper stating that you are now accepting primary care pts. Good luck!!

 

[corpsmanUP]

Why do a residency in FP? There are 3 general surgeons in my hometown (in Oklahoma) who do 1/2 GS and 1/2 FP, two run the local nursing homes. You can do FP without board certification in your own clinic. Anything that a FP would do in the hospital should be covered by your GS privileges i.e. scopes, minor procedures and general admissions, c-sections. You can limit your practice to whatever you feel comfortable with peds, ob, adult only, geriatrics,etc. Just put an ad in the local paper stating that you are now accepting primary care pts. Good luck!!

In the real world, people have insurance carriers that require their PCP's to actually be board certified in a primary care field. And I don't know any surgeons who I would allow the priviledge of giving my dog aspirin. They might cut out her spleen quite effectively, but surgeons without FM training are probably not up to snuff on primary care in the 21st century.

 

[residentx2]

In the real world, people have insurance carriers that require their PCP's to actually be board certified in a primary care field. And I don't know any surgeons who I would allow the priviledge of giving my dog aspirin. They might cut out her spleen quite effectively, but surgeons without FM training are probably not up to snuff on primary care in the 21st century.

Its funny, I thought completing a FP residency and becoming Board Certified and in practice for 6 yrs (not in the military) I was in the real world, oh well. By the way, I noticed in your other posts that you just received Step 2 scores? What "real world" are you the expert on? Also you say a General Surgeon with 4 yrs med school, 1 yr internship and 4+ yrs of residency (by the way, most ICUs I rotated in were run by IM or surgery, not FP, but I digress) would not be qualified to give your dog an aspirin, yet PAs and NPs are giving people (and dogs I suppose) aspirin and more toxic and potent meds with 1/4 the training? (and getting paid for it) Which insurance plans are you on that require BC in primary care? I personally don't care if the op wants to start over again as a resident, but its not necessary.

 

[DOtobe]

Just as an aside, my old PCP in my hometown was a surgeon, and did 1/2 surgery and 1/2 primary care. And I felt that he was qualified to give me aspirin...