Uro to IR

[readifredi]

Unfortunately I did not match in the recent uro match. A lot of what appeals to me in urology were the smaller cases and endourology, and am very interested in trying for IR. I did not like the larger, open and more complex MIS procedures, and am not interested in general surgery. My initial plan was to do a surgical prelim and try again as many have advised but I am more interested in matching into either a DR/IR (ideally) or DR after prelim

First off a little info about me:
- I have not taken a formal DR or IR rotation but am going to start DR next month. I have always been interested in DR and have been highly fascinated with IR interventions in urology cases previously. Admittedly my exposure to either fields is poor at this point
- Step 1: ~250, Step 2: 227 (I know, I know... was interviewing and blew it off as scores came after match), all HP, US medical graduate at a top 40
- Took a year of research fellowship between MS3/MS4 resulting in several uro pubs, 1 uro/rads presentation

Some questions (please excuse my ignorance as it's been years since I considered another specialty):
- My primary concern is the competition of DR/IR especially in light of the match. It's hard to garner the same ambition and fortitude after being unmatched, but I must continue to try. How feasible would it be to get into it with my background? What is the match process like during surgical prelim?
- Are there any recommended surgical prelim programs with DR/IR "tracks"? Or surgical prelim programs with good records of matching candidates?
- Would doing something like DR as backup be a safe bet? Mentally I need a sense of security and backup in case my efforts fall through again...
- Should I end up in a DR residency, what is the competition like for IR fellowship? What steps can be proactively taken to improve chances (research, etc)?
- Apart from these boards, are there any additional resources that I could find helpful?

Thanks to all reading!

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[irwarrior]

So, the IR/DR is not officially available . But, there are several IR residencies one can apply to such as

UVA
U of Michigan
U of Arkansas
Christiana Care
Ohio State

But, in the current climate you may even have the chance of scrambling into a radiology residency that has great IR training and fellowships associated with it. You could consider this and save yourself a year.

If you apply next year for an IR residency, then you should consider applying broadly and consider DR programs with strong track record of training IR residents.

IR fellowships are quite competitive with over 50 people not matching last year and the trend seems to be continuing. As IR residencies start taking effect, there will be fewer and fewer IR fellowship spots available making it harder to come by.

I would encourage you to consider going to the SIR meeting and talking to residents at that meeting as they can give you some great insight into the process. Also, to make your cv stronger, I would encourage presentations at the national IR meetings such as SIR as well as getting involved in the SIR. The more IR you do in residency will showcase to IR program directors that you have a true interest and dedication to IR.

There should be info about IR residencies and how to get involved in IR as a resident on sirweb.org

Good luck

 

[readifredi]

Thank you, I very appreciate appreciate the advice

First and foremost, I'm very inclined to NOT wasting another year as I already have "wasted" one doing uro research. So I have a couple questions regarding this:

1. To my understanding DR/IR positions open in 2016. Is it possible to apply to this as a PGY-2 during my prelim year?
2. My perceived backup is trying to go for a DR residency as a PGY-2. How feasible would it be to match into a strong DR residency as a PGY-2?
3. What is your opinion of scramble into a decent DR program vs doing a surgical prelim program and then trying to match as a PGY-2 if possible?

So, the IR/DR is not officially available . But, there are several IR residencies one can apply to such as

UVA
U of Michigan
U of Arkansas
Christiana Care
Ohio State

But, in the current climate you may even have the chance of scrambling into a radiology residency that has great IR training and fellowships associated with it. You could consider this and save yourself a year.

If you apply next year for an IR residency, then you should consider applying broadly and consider DR programs with strong track record of training IR residents.

IR fellowships are quite competitive with over 50 people not matching last year and the trend seems to be continuing. As IR residencies start taking effect, there will be fewer and fewer IR fellowship spots available making it harder to come by.

I would encourage you to consider going to the SIR meeting and talking to residents at that meeting as they can give you some great insight into the process. Also, to make your cv stronger, I would encourage presentations at the national IR meetings such as SIR as well as getting involved in the SIR. The more IR you do in residency will showcase to IR program directors that you have a true interest and dedication to IR.

There should be info about IR residencies and how to get involved in IR as a resident on sirweb.org

Good luck

 

[je355804]

What happens if you don't match IR your first year out of residency? Can anything you do strengthen your chances of matching into the fellowship the following year?

 

[irwarrior]

I am not sure when the implementation of IR/DR will officially occur. There is an updated site on sirweb.org that may give additional info. The ability to get into a decent DR program as a PGY2 would be feasible , and I would start searching now. But, you may find some gems in the SOAP this year as DR has become less competitive as of late.

I think doing a strong surgical prelim and that means having autonomy to make decisions and scrubbing in and getting cases under your belt would be a great start, but you can still do that even if you scramble into DR program as most are not categorical programs.



First and foremost, I'm very inclined to NOT wasting another year as I already have "wasted" one doing uro research. So I have a couple questions regarding this:

1. To my understanding DR/IR positions open in 2016. Is it possible to apply to this as a PGY-2 during my prelim year?
2. My perceived backup is trying to go for a DR residency as a PGY-2. How feasible would it be to match into a strong DR residency as a PGY-2?
3. What is your opinion of scramble into a decent DR program vs doing a surgical prelim program and then trying to match as a PGY-2 if possible?[/QUOTE]

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

- Step 1: ~250, , all HP, US medical graduate at a top 40
- Took a year of research fellowship between MS3/MS4 resulting in several uro pubs, 1 uro/rads presentation

Is Uuro THAT competitive? Jesus.

 

[MadRadLad]

Is Uuro THAT competitive? Jesus.

It's pretty competitive. Probably a half step below the big surgery ones (ENT, Ortho, Plastics).

 

[readifredi]

Yes it's competitive. I think what separates it out from those other surg subspecialties is the sheer low numbers of spots make it really unpredictable (1-3 spots per program). For example, last year had 67% match rate for US graduates which made it the most competitive field in medicine that year. The 33% that didn't match were similarly competitive as the cohort that DID match. The low number means nothing is guaranteed for you, and can mean that a couple more people from your school applying can make all the difference!

I've met lots of strong unmatched candidates who were normal, pleasant people that I talked to when I considered reapplying. The point is everyone thinks that us unmatched have some sort of red flag or personality issue, but the reality is simple arithmetic makes it so that many of us will inevitably be unmatched.

Oh well I can sit here crying all day but I've already started some IR projects and am motivated to move on. I'm also on my DR rotation again and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I'm surprisingly relieved and happy about the situation so far, but we'll see how things turn out in March.

It's pretty competitive. Probably a half step below the big surgery ones (ENT, Ortho, Plastics).

 

[shark2000]

very few people get disappointed by radiology. It is a cool field with lots of options and opportunities. You have to spend time and energy to find your own niche.

 

[MadRadLad]

very few people get disappointed by radiology. It is a cool field with lots of options and opportunities. You have to spend time and energy to find your own niche.

That's good to hear.

 

[JoshSt]

If you SOAP this year, here's a list of programs that didn't fill pre-SOAP last year:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-spots-this-year.1060812/page-2#post-15051654

 

[JoshSt]

UVA
U of Michigan
U of Arkansas
Christiana Care
Ohio State

Relevant to OP's situation, at least this application year, UVA and U of Ark are both categorical. If they stay that and OP applies as a PGY-2, the prelim year wouldn't count towards these two.

From the interview trail, many programs state they'll have the dual certificate 'in a year or two'. Hopefully, there will be more options than these next application cycle.