Switching Plastics to Derm

[anonysurg]

Hello all,
I wanted some insight from the dermatology side of things. I am a long time SDN member, but went anonymous for this post. I am a plastic surgery resident but I am terrified that I will not be able to find a career that allows me to be flexible enough for family. I rotated on derm surg as a resident and really liked MOHS a lot. I think I would be a good candidate given my 4 years of surgical training, and my scores are all competitive. What do you think the chances of switching from PRS to derm are? Anyone know of any PGY-2 positions opening up next year? Thank you in advance - I know this is very atypical!

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[Dral]

Well, you already got into a hypercompetitive specialty so you know the basic rules of the game.

You need to prove that you are committed to Derm. You will likely have some PRS surgery research which will hopefully cross over.

I would balk at telling people you want to do Mohs surgery right off that bat. You have to land the residency before the fellowship and programs want to see a primary committment to Dermatology before Mohs. While reimbursement for Mohs has gone down a lot, the suspicion that people want to go into it mainly for the money still pervades the field. Also keep in mind the fellowships are not quite competitive as PRS or Derm residencies, but up there.

Do NOT give an iota of an inkling of a hint that you are wanting to switch due to lifestyle. Kiss of death right there.

 

[doctalaughs]

Hello all,
I wanted some insight from the dermatology side of things. I am a long time SDN member, but went anonymous for this post. I am a plastic surgery resident but I am terrified that I will not be able to find a career that allows me to be flexible enough for family. I rotated on derm surg as a resident and really liked MOHS a lot. I think I would be a good candidate given my 4 years of surgical training, and my scores are all competitive. What do you think the chances of switching from PRS to derm are? Anyone know of any PGY-2 positions opening up next year? Thank you in advance - I know this is very atypical!

You are a pgy-4 in plastics and want to switch? I'd advise against that until you give more details on your situation and reasons. You are almost done- it would be highly advisable to finish especially given the limits on GME funding, many programs would find you undesirable given possible lack of money for your spot.

And if your goal is mohs than theres a ton of overlap in what you'd actually be doing when finished (if you finished plastics and then tailored practice to skin cancer). I really dont know why you'd take the huge risk of trying to switch.

 

[asmallchild]

Hello all,
I wanted some insight from the dermatology side of things. I am a long time SDN member, but went anonymous for this post. I am a plastic surgery resident but I am terrified that I will not be able to find a career that allows me to be flexible enough for family. I rotated on derm surg as a resident and really liked MOHS a lot. I think I would be a good candidate given my 4 years of surgical training, and my scores are all competitive. What do you think the chances of switching from PRS to derm are? Anyone know of any PGY-2 positions opening up next year? Thank you in advance - I know this is very atypical!

I'd agree with doctalaughs. If you are so close to finishing, is it really worth doing another 4 years (if you include a Mohs fellowship)?

While not the most popular setup, I've known a few practices where the Mohs surgeon will punt repairs to an in-house plastic surgeon thereby giving you the lifestyle you may be seeking