what is prelim vs. categorical?

[rachana]

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I am pretty confused by all these terms - preliminary, categorical, transitional, etc. can anyone explain what the differences are or which is a subset of which?

 

[blue2000]

I am pretty confused by all these terms - preliminary, categorical, transitional, etc. can anyone explain what the differences are or which is a subset of which?

Categorical positions are multi-year positions (gen surg is 5 for instance). The assumption by the program and the candidate is that they are committing to a multi-year relationship.

Transitional and prelim positions are both one year positions (there are a few two year prelim positions out there, but those are the exceptions, not the rule). Prelim positions are usually within a single department -- medicine or surgery for example, while transitional years tend to rotate among many different departments (two months of medicine, two months of surgery, two of ob-gyn, etc. etc. etc.) Transitional years tend to be taken by people who are going into another specialty (hence, transitional) while prelims are a mix of people going into other specialties and people unable to get positions in the field.

Obviously there are exceptions to the rule.