The Backdoor

[Hoyaparanoia]

I am planning on going into internal medicine and was wondering if one could then go into dermatology after completing a medical residency program ... I heard this can be done and you would be a PGY-3 in that respective derm program ... in this way, you could Backdoor your way into derm and be board certified in medicine also ...

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[PathOne]

Yes, you can do a year, or full residency, in int med. But you'll still need to apply for a FULL 3-yr derm residency to get boarded...

Candidates for certification by the American Board of Dermatology are required to have a total of four years of postgraduate training as described below.
a) The first year must consist of clinical training in one of the following types of broad-based programs in the United States accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or a similar program in Canada accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada: a transitional year (formerly called flexible first postgraduate year), or a first year residency in emergency medicine, family practice, general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, or pediatrics.

b) Three years of full-time training as a resident in a dermatology residency training program in the United States accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or three years of full-time training as a resident in a dermatology residency training program in Canada accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

There is a few integrated int med and derm programs, but they're certainly not easier to get into than a normal derm residency.

Sorry, no back doors...

 

[ny skindoc]

I agree it is not possible to shorten a derm residency by doing internal medicine first.In the past completing another residency did help in getting admission to a derm program. Now thats not generally the case although some derm programs will seriously consider those with internal medicine backrounds primarily to focus on patients who have serious associated systemic illness.Most derm programs dont want individuals who have trained in other fields, as it seems to pose problems relating to residency funding.If they wanted do this every derm spot in America could easily be filled by people who have completed any number of other specialties.

 

[carrigallen]

It happens rarely because there are financial deterrants for the program. I'm not sure about the specifics, but I recall that the funding is based on the resident's years, and if the first three years of funding have already been used another field (such as internal medicine) then the program will not be reimbursed for that slot.

If you are concerned about your chances for matching, I think you would probably be better served by doing productive research for a year. Dermatology is a small field, and working under a better-known mentor often carries some weight.

 

[tripleJ]

Maybe this is the backdoor you are thinking about:
www.abpsga.org/certification/dermatology/index.html
(this could probably also apply to that "correspondance course" thread)

 

[ny skindoc]

Maybe this is the backdoor you are thinking about:
www.abpsga.org/certification/dermatology/index.html
(this could probably also apply to that "correspondance course" thread)

Would advise you to research this carefully as some states may only recognize certification by certain approved boards.From the NY Physician profile website...
"Note: The state of New York recognizes the specialty boards that are members or components of the ABMS, AOA, RCPSC or CFPC. Certification by member boards or components of these umbrella organizations is the responsibility of the member organization."

 

[PathOne]

I concur with ny skindoc. To my knowledge, ALL state boards require ABMS, AOA or corresponding Canadian boards for OFFICIAL specialist certification. Of course, anyone and your mother can sign a piece of paper saying you're a specialist in anything you desire. There's a lot of those "credit card" boards, esp. in PRS (board certified in cosmetic surgery etc. etc.).

FACT is that:
A) Anyone with a valid license can practise as a dermatologist, or anything else, if they want to - if they can find patients; if they can get hospital privileges; if they can get paid and if they can get insurance. I personally know people, including Harvard professors and attendings, with no US board certification.
B) For the vast majority of physicians, the only viable route is through formal board certification. And that's through ABMS or AOA boards. And their training requirements are invariably rather inflexible, except int med and certain subspecialities.