Two residencies

[15brosam]

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I know the topic can seem absurd, but I am looking for information on the topic of 2 residencies. Can anyone more informed than I answer some/all of the following questions:

• Is it extremely uncommon for physicians to be board-certified in two specialties after two separate residencies?
• What types of specialties are typically paired together in this regard?
• Does anyone know of examples of either:
  • an integrated IM (or FP or EM) and surgery residency
  • physicians who have completed both an IM (or FP or EM) and surgery residency?
• Aside from time and money, what are the main deterrents from pursuing two residencies?

Thanks

 

[eteshoe]

If you're still a pre-med, I'd suggest not putting the cart in front of the horse. Get into med school first, pass all your pre-clincals and do well in your clerkships before deciding.

Now there's probably people who have done both (I don't personally know any), but I can't imagine they originally wanted to both in the manner you're talking about. The biggest deterrent I could think is that IM and surgery are quite different - so different that what your proposing just seems silly.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Board certification in two "specialties" isn't super uncommon, especially for people who specialize but want to incorporate elements of their "base" residency into their practice. For example, some thoracic surgeons will be boarded in both CT surgery as well as general surgery. I'm not as up to date in IM, but I think you can be boarded in both IM and a subspecialty (like GI, critical care, or cardiology). However, these are natural progressions from residency to fellowship and I don't think that's what you're talking about. There are also some combined residencies like IM/Peds or IM/FM, etc.

It is much more rare that you'll see someone boarded in both, say, anesthesiology and radiology or something like that which requires two separate residencies.

 

[piii]

EM/IM is available, but most physicians end up practicing either one or the other, and may be an administrative liaison. Good if you want to run a hospital.

Essentially, the idea of being both IM and surgery is pretty naive. You do realize people spend 100 hours a week working to be good at just one of those specialities. Combining the two will definitely come with a sacrifice of quality.

 

[Ismet]

The only physicians/residents I know who have done/are in a second residency are those who were unsatisfied with their initial specialty choice and decided to go back and do another residency. I don't think there are very many people who actively plan to do 2 separate residencies from the outset, rather it may be a decision they come to down the road. Like a resident I knew who did 3 years of a 4 year residency in one specialty, then decided he didn't want to do that anymore and applied to a different specialty to start all over again (intern year and all).

Most specialties that it makes sense to combine already have combined programs.

Free list, don't have to register for anything to see: https://services.aamc.org/eras/erasstats/par/ (scroll down to MD residencies to see combined programs)

If you have interests in both medicine and surgery, I might suggest looking into critical care medicine.

 

[Instatewaiter]

I know the topic can seem absurd, but I am looking for information on the topic of 2 residencies. Can anyone more informed than I answer some/all of the following questions:

• Is it extremely uncommon for physicians to be board-certified in two specialties after two separate residencies?
• What types of specialties are typically paired together in this regard?
• Does anyone know of examples of either:
  • an integrated IM (or FP or EM) and surgery residency
  • physicians who have completed both an IM (or FP or EM) and surgery residency?
• Aside from time and money, what are the main deterrents from pursuing two residencies?

Thanks

I am a "certified" gynecologist and board certifieda internist...

 

[Donald Juan]

It is relatively common to see IM/EM or Peds/EM. Then there are many people who are board certified in a fellowship position and their preliminary title (i.e. IM and cards or GS and plastics).

To address your IM/surgery, no this would be ridiculous and serve no benefit. For many of these jobs you have no ability to run a practice that could do both (especially a surgical practice). Being a surgeon who is in the OR 2 days a week requires 2-3 days of clinic to support it. You still are required to see patients for diagnosing, pre-op workups, and post-op follow ups, and likely even cancer surveillance and things of this nature. To be doing this on top of a GS clinic would, at the very least, cut you down to about 1 day of OR a week and add a full day worth of clinic as appointments would take much longer. Doing surgery requires a decent amount of time to keep your skills up as it is, which is one reason so many people end up subspecializing and focusing on a few procedures already.

 

[neusu]

Why would you want to do this?

In your practice, what will a second residency add to the picture that the first won't give you? Likewise, what do you really want to be doing? Internal medicine and general surgery are both individually diverse, and do overlap on management of medical issues in the hospital setting, to some degree. In the office, however, internal medicine is often preventative care while surgery is preoperative evaluation for booking.

Family medicine does incorporate a bit of medicine and surgery in their training, and may well be what you are looking for.