Urgent Residency Info please

[The Altruist]

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Hello,

I am doing pgy1 in categorical IM and have been offered a pgy2 "prim care" position in a good program.
Can anyone please explain the difference between Categorical IM and primary care and how will it affect my chances for a pulm and crit care fellowship?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[dragonfly99]

Do you mean you are doing an IM prelim year and have been offered an upper level "primary care" IM spot? If you are already doing categorical IM, I don't see the need to switch to a primary care track spot, because particularly if you want to do critical care later you might miss out on an ICU month or two as an upper level primary care track resident (vs. being just a regular IM resident with no primary care track). In answer to your other question, lots of IM residents in primary care tracks end up opting for fellowships, and they often still get in despite being in a primary care track. However, in general the point of primary care tracks is to prepare you to practice general internal medicine, not become a subspecialist. A lot of times they have more outpatient months and less inpatient ward months and/or medical ICU months in the primary care track, so that could be bad for your training if you want to do pulm/critical care.

If you have the choice of going from categorical IM at a medicine residency that isn't so hot, or just isn't well known at all, vs. a categorical primary care track IM at a more prestigious medical center (or one that just offers better teaching) you might consider switching.

 

[dacrocytic]

Hello,

I am doing pgy1 in categorical IM and have been offered a pgy2 "prim care" position in a good program.
Can anyone please explain the difference between Categorical IM and primary care and how will it affect my chances for a pulm and crit care fellowship?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

have you made your decision? if so what made you choose one over the other?