transitional year

[goldenboy]

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can anybody please explain to me that concept of "transitional year" what r the advantages of enrolling in a transitional year program? and what r the ideal places to apply for one?
thanks a lot!
ps: i am an img

 

[SM-UCLA tech]

I believe a transitional year is a residency spot where you are only there for one year. After that time you have to go through the match again and try to get a permanant residency placement. You can always try to apply for a permanant position at the same hospital you did your transitional year, but you are not guaranteed a spot. You also can even apply to a completely different specialty.

Some students do a transitional year in medicine in order to try and get placed in a competitive residency that they were unable to obtain.

 

[Apollyon]

Transitional year has several uses:

1. The person who isn't sure yet.

2. Someone who has a PGY-2 match (like radiology, ophthalmology, etc.) that requires a preliminary year.

Preliminary years are available in a multitude of flavors: medicine, surgery, pediatrics, ob/gyn, transitional. Family practice first years are categorical, but can be used as prelim for another program.

Most commonly, medicine, surgery, and transitional are used. Some specialties require a prelim year in a general medical area that is more specific to their specialty (like surgery for ENT, urology, and ortho, or medicine for dermatology), but, as you see, there is signifigant overlap. That is why many programs will take prelim medicine or surgery. Transitional years are meant to bridge the gap, especially for fields that transcend the narrow breadth of some parts of medicine (like radiology or emergency medicine (for those EM programs that require a prelim year)). What this means in reality is that, with 6-8 months of electives, this makes the transitional year like being a 4th year med student all over again (with concomitant responsibility, but you're getting paid!). This is why these positions are "cush", and highly competitive - people that have matched into a competitive field are just "biding their time" until their PGY-2 year starts. Logically, think of it - if a program wanted a certain thing, it would be in their program, right (versus leaving it in the hands of the resident, one of whom might do 6 months of variations on radiology, and another who might do 6 months of surgical subspecialties)?

Being a foreign grad, you may find it especially difficult to get a transitional year position.

 

[doctamon]

Considering the fact that the largest number of spots left unfilled in the Match are "Transitional", I wouldn't say that they are too competitive OR prestigious. They are a place for people to continue their advanced study of medicine while waiting to start a residency in another specialty (Rads, Anesthesiology, etc.) or, more often, a place where those who couldn't get anyhing else cool their heels while waiting for the next cycle. In short, you really don't want to be left with a TY unless you already have something lined up for the next year.

 

[Apollyon]

Where do you get your data? The preliminary spots left open most, year after year, are preliminary surgery. Only 569 of 980 PGY-1 prelim surgery spots were filled through the match. Prelim medicine were 1563 of 1675 total, and transitional were 977 of 1062. (http://www.nrmp.org/res_match/tables/table5_2002.pdf)

So, I stand by what I said. Your assertion that these positions are place holders for people waiting to start in another specialty (like radiology or anesthesia) is incorrect, because they are not optional, but a requirement to enter as a PGY-2 resident, and fewer people do transitional if they don't match than do prelim medicine or surgery; those spots unfilled after the match are quickly filled by the more prestigious, and competitive students that have spent all their time applying for the PGY-2 specialty, and not enough for the preliminary year (like the person in my program that matched at the #1 program for ophthalmology in the US, but didn't match for transitional, because he only interviewed at 3 programs, and only ranked 2). Transitional is not filled with people who do not know what they want to do next year. My friend is in a program with 8 people; she is the only foreign grad, and all 8 of them have a PGY-2 spot already.

So, I enquire again as to where your data comes from.

 

[ApacheIndian]

Originally posted by doctamon
Considering the fact that the largest number of spots left unfilled in the Match are "Transitional", I wouldn't say that they are too competitive OR prestigious.

I don't think that's true. TYs seem far more competitive than any Prelim spots. I got 3 TY invites, and all of the interviewees were top-notch Derm, Rads, Ophtho, and EM prospects (made me quite nervous actually 😉 ). In contrast, when I went to my Prelim Med interviews, the other interviewees there were heading into Psych and PM&R.

 

[goldenboy]

hi! thanks for the replies!
i basically intend to apply to get a internal medicine residency. i am not interested in optha or radio or the other "in demand" residencies. please let me know, whether doing a transitional year will help me get a int. medicine position in a good university, in the next match? ( considering that i am an IMG)
thanks! ....my basic goal is to get a internal medicine residency in a good university, being an img, what aother would u recommend me to do( besides getting a good score in the usmle)
thanks!

 

[ApacheIndian]

I've never heard of anyone applying to TYs with the intent of going Categorical Medicine later. I don't think there would be much sense in that.

From what you've stated, I think it'd be best for you to apply directly to Categorical IM spots. Good luck.

 

[BellKicker]

Originally posted by Dr. Cuts
I've never heard of anyone applying to TYs with the intent of going Categorical Medicine later. I don't think there would be much sense in that.

Well, it's not unthinkable that some people choose TY to make up their minds and THEN go into IM afterwards.

 

[mandownunder]

I agree with Dr. Cuts, why would you want to waste a year and repeating the horrible Internship year all over again? If your intent is to get into a good IM program, perhaps you should spend that time doing research. Or you can go to the best IM that you can get in and try for a prestigious fellowship based on your residency record, in service service exam scores and LOR.

 

[doctamon]

Yes, you are right about the numbers. There are far more prelim surg spots left open than almost anything else. There are obviously also far more spots left open in IM and FP than there are in certified TY spots (than there are even TY spots for that matter). Still there are usually at least 10% of TY spots left unmatched. Many of these are involved with IM or FP residencies which essentially use Transitionals to lessen call for the "Categorical" Residents. I don't doubt that there are "prestigious" TY spots that serve as PGY- 1 year for Harvard Radiology (my best to you Dr. Cuts!), but there are a whole lot of spots that are just a place to wait out a year. Why don't many people choose to do a year of prelim surgery? It's a whole lot of work leading (usually) to a dead end. Simple as that. To say that Ty spots are too "prestigious" and simply beyond the scope of Caribbean grads is simply foolish, especially when Carib grads rountinely match in Radiology, Surgery, EM, etc. I applaude and appreciate your insistence on hard numbers, but I find your assertion about the relative prestige of TY spots and their limited acces to Caribbean Grads to be a sweeping and very misleading statement.😀

 

[ApacheIndian]

Originally posted by doctamon
I don't doubt that there are "prestigious" TY spots that serve as PGY- 1 year for Harvard Radiology (my best to you Dr. Cuts!), but there are a whole lot of spots that are just a place to wait out a year. To say that Ty spots are too "prestigious" and simply beyond the scope of Caribbean grads is simply foolish, especially when Carib grads rountinely match in Radiology, Surgery, EM, etc. I applaude and appreciate your insistence on hard numbers, but I find your assertion about the relative prestige of TY spots and their limited acces to Caribbean Grads to be a sweeping and very misleading statement.😀

I didn't say that I think TYs are "prestigious." I just said that I think they're competitive. Nor did I state that they're beyond the scope of Caribbean grads... but they're definitely tougher for Caribbeans to get vs. Prelim spots (in general). I'm pretty sure you'd agree.

 

[Apollyon]

Originally posted by doctamon
I applaude and appreciate your insistence on hard numbers, but I find your assertion about the relative prestige of TY spots and their limited acces to Caribbean Grads to be a sweeping and very misleading statement.

You have to be the ONLY person on SDN that DOESN'T hang their hat, clothes, paintings, and curtains on numbers.

What is misleading about the truth? TY spots are rarely used by people that don't have something for next year. Occasionally, yes, but the majority are for people that have a requirement for a PGY-1 year. And scrambling for competitive positions is rigged - except for miraculous instances, the scramble is not a scramble at all.

What is sweeping and misleading about most TY spots going to US grads?

 

[nychick]

I am an IMG also and did not get a single interview for TY but several IM prelim years.

To the IMG that wants to do IM: I would advise you to apply for IM categorical positions and IM preliminary positions, not TY. IM, outside of the bigger-name programs, is not very competitive. As an IMG, depending of course on your stats and LORs, you should be able to get into quite decent community programs the first time around. Good luck.