Taking time off between transitional/prelim year and advanced training

[WhoopDeeDoo]

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I don't know if anyone has taken a break between a prelim/transitional year and the advanced CA years. If you have any opinions or thoughts, they would be greatly appreciated!

Basically, my situation is this: my boyfriend owes the military four years of service for his med school scholarship and since he plans on doing ophthalmology (for which they are providing no deferments this year), he is going to do a transitional year and then do his four years for the military. We plan on matching in the same location for transitional/prelim year so that we can be together. Since after his transitional year, he will be military property, my boyfriend will be stationed at some unknown destination for unknown years at a time. If we decide to get married at that time, I am considering delaying the rest of my residency so I can travel around the world with him and not be separated for 3-4 years. So my question is:

1. If I match into an advanced anesthesia program but then decide to take time off after my transitional year, obviously I know that they cannot hold my spot for me, but will I get into some kind of trouble with the binding contract?

2. How will taking 3-4 years off affect my chances of matching for a second time? Right now I believe I'm a competitive candidate and plan on applying to some top programs. I'm wondering if taking time off will severely cut down my competitiveness. Also...I'm not really sure what I will be doing during the 3-4 years I might take off -- so I'm not sure as to how to explain why I did except for love! 😛

Your thoughts are appreciated! Thanks

 

[granolabar2]

Breaking a match commitment screws over both the program and your future colleagues. The majority of people who are 'top candidates' will get a position through the match (with some exceptions, of course). If you decide after matching to not take the spot, the program will be left either with one fewer resident (meaning that everyone else has to take extra call) or a with a weaker resident, who couldn't originally get a match spot.
People do break match commitments for reasons like major chronic illness. I would consider, however, that if you re-applied for residency in the future, that programs would not look favorably on someone who had previously broken a match commitment without a good reason, and was therefore 'unreliable'.

 

[supercut]

sounds like an awful big risk to take for a guy you're only dating.(Honstly that sounds like it could be in the book called "10 stupid things women do to mess up their lives"). Most people I know who couples matched without being married wound up breaking up at some point during the residency. Call me a bitch, but I hate seeing other women give up their careers for men.

I don't see a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship as being serious enough to majorly inturrupt your career path for. It's hard to imagine programs being sympathetic to your desire to follow your boyfriend.

If you are determined to do this, I would just match into a transitional year. DON"T go though th match for an anesthesia program and then plan to back out. That's just bad form.

 

[proclivity]

sounds like an awful big risk to take for a guy you're only dating.(Honstly that sounds like it could be in the book called "10 stupid things women do to mess up their lives"). Most people I know who couples matched without being married wound up breaking up at some point during the residency. Call me a bitch, but I hate seeing other women give up their careers for men.

I don't see a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship as being serious enough to majorly inturrupt your career path for. It's hard to imagine programs being sympathetic to your desire to follow your boyfriend.

If you are determined to do this, I would just match into a transitional year. DON"T go though th match for an anesthesia program and then plan to back out. That's just bad form.

I'm male, and i also say don't break an agreement with a hospital for an anesthesia residency. People work so hard and many don't get in......take it and if it's meant to be you'll stay together. He is a big boy, he can take care of himself.

I would be hard pressed to chose a girlfriend over a career path. Every time i chose career over a woman/social life, it has turned out very well.

good luck with the decision....it is still a difficult one.

 

[WhoopDeeDoo]

Thanks for the responses. Honestly...I think I might have been having a brief psychotic episode even considering the situation. I blame it on girl hormones (and my boyfriend's dreamy eyes).

I do realize that it would be unprofessional to match into a program and then break the agreement. I would feel terrible leaving them short-handed and taking away the chance for someone else to have matched there.

I'm on my anesthesia rotation right now and I absolutely love it! It's fun and exciting...yet a little terrifying with the amount of power you have over someone's life. I can't wait to get some training and learn to at least bag and mask properly with my small hands and weak wrists.

I guess a good compromise for this situation is that I'm going to apply to programs in geographic areas in which there are military bases (and some programs without military bases) and see which programs I like. I guess if it's meant to be, then it will all work out somehow. True love always finds a way (or at least I tell myself that so I don't stress out so much).

 

[TaiShan]

I guess you could match into a one-year position this year and re-apply next year for only advanced positions. You will then have one year off by default and do not have to get anyone's approval.