what is the best program for nuc med?

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monkeyface

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I am currently looking at nuc med residencies for 2007 , any thoughts on which programs are better? ( my choices are vanderbilt, univ. of maryland, hopkins, north shore hospital long island, VCU, jefferson, univ. of wisconsin)

also now that nuc med is 3 yrs, any thoughts on how the residency will be, ie. call sched.?

I appreciate any info you can give.

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Nuclear medicine is a small community. My advice would be to try and get into a well known place. It makes a HUGE difference when you are looking for jobs (particuarly in a geographical area distant from your training place).

Some of the better programs in my opinion (and in no particular order) are:

UCLA, Stanford, Emory, U Penn, Hopkins, JPNM, Vanderbilt, Wash U, and MSK.
 
The extra year of residency is supposed to allow trainees to spend more time in PET and cross sectional imaging. Most programs have a pretty light call schedule (compared to most specialties) and I do not foresee a change in that.
 
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If the extra year of residency is to spend more time on PET and cross sectional imaging, does this mean that the nuc med physician would be able to read PET, CT, and MRI in practice?
 
It would help one read the CT portion of PET/CT (and SPECT/CT). And eventually PET/MR etc. I dont believe it's intended for someone to read diagnostic CT/MR etc. Hope this helps.
 
See the "end of pure nucs in US" post. All the cross sectional training in the world isn't going to help you get a job if you're competing against a board certified radiologist, but all NMPs should strive to become qualified to read IV contrast CT and bill for such if they want to be competitive. Same goes for cardiac CTA. ABR certification is the most important thing (which means radiology residency), THEN ABNM certification (if you want a nucs faculty position).
 
will getting into a top nucs program make a difference? does it help obtaining a second residency after finishing NM?
 
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will getting into a top nucs program make a difference? does it help obtaining a second residency after finishing NM?


NOPE, I met residents from top programs and the reality is the same for everybody.
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE, I saw your post asking about FM or IM, just go for it. DO NOT GET INTO NM residency. If you want to do it as a hobbie, just buy a playstation 3!!
Sorry to dissapoint you!
 
your detailed feedback from SNM meet will be really helpful for people like me who wish to enter NM.
i have a NM residency offer outside the match for 2011. i am an IMG with good profile (96/96 and good experience) but i am worried bcoz of reducing match ratio for IMGs and IM becoming more competitive. if i refuse the NM offer now and wait till match and do not get IM also, it will be a bad position. how about accepting NM for now so as to have something on hand, and pursue IM afterward.
i read about some funding issues for second residency. is it true that doing a 2nd residency after NM will be more difficult?
how about doing NM residency on J1 visa? should it be acceptable?
i need your help and suggestions guys... thanks.
 
your detailed feedback from SNM meet will be really helpful for people like me who wish to enter NM.
i have a NM residency offer outside the match for 2011. i am an IMG with good profile (96/96 and good experience) but i am worried bcoz of reducing match ratio for IMGs and IM becoming more competitive. if i refuse the NM offer now and wait till match and do not get IM also, it will be a bad position. how about accepting NM for now so as to have something on hand, and pursue IM afterward.
i read about some funding issues for second residency. is it true that doing a 2nd residency after NM will be more difficult?
how about doing NM residency on J1 visa? should it be acceptable?
i need your help and suggestions guys... thanks.

Do you really like NM? or you just want to get into any residency?.
In order to get into NM you need 1 year of clinical residency (PEDS,SURG,IM) and you will need to do 3 years in NM.
If you are on a J1 or you are planning to do so, my recommendation is not to get into NM. This is my case, so unfortunately I know all the cons. If get a J1 you will have a total of 7 years to finish your training, you cannot switch between specialties after the second year of training without the authorization of the DOS (Dept of State), meaning that it's possible but risky.
You need 1 year preliminary/transitional to get into NM + 3 years of NM +1 year of PET/CT fellowship (not required but in my opinion is a MUST), so at the end of your NM training you will have 2 years left in your J1, meaning you will not have enough years left to do a second residency. If the job crisis in NM does not improve, you will be heading back to your home country after the residency.
If you don't get into fellowship, you will have 3 years in your J1, so you can get into a second residency (IM,FM, ER, PM&R, PEDS, etc...). I am not aware if it's easier or not to get into a second residency after NM. I know someone who was on a J1, did IM and then RADs, but he was unable to do RADs fellowship because of the 7 years limit in the J1.
If this is the path that you want to take, do the opposite, get into IM,FM etc... and then decide about NM.
If your passion is NM, go ahead, get into residency and join us, but be aware that you cannot collect unemployment with a J1 ( :laugh: ).
You have good scores, you will probably get a spot in FM or IM.
Starting NM and then switching, will not be good for your CV. People will see you as an unstable person. To me that's BS, but this is the way it is.
The 2011 match is not around the corner yet, so you can work to get a spot in IM or FP. Look for Hospitals in small cities, email the programs and try to do as many observerships as you can. Financially is an investment, all the adventure is an investment, USMLE, visa, etc..., so don't worry about money now, just keep going.

Please do not ignore the job crisis in NM. To get a good idea, just email the residents from the top programs and ask them if they are getting jobs or not.
I will be posting pictures of the JOB CENTER stand at the SNM, that will scare you. There were no jobs postings for NM physicians, just hundreds of RESUMES looking for jobs, people with 10-15 years experience in NM posting nicely organized resumes in plastic folders. TOTALLY DEPRESSING!!
Good Luck!
 
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thanks for the great piece of information, advice and sharing the experience.
 
thanks for the great piece of information, advice and sharing the experience.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you need more help.

Good luck!
 
partusa is right, I agree w him 100%. No job for NM, this speciality will gone. any hospital prefer to hire a radiologist w or WO NM cerfification, to read both, go to SNM and in job bank see on attending from one NY hospitals who went to TX for 5 years even looking for job for months and nothing available. anyway, 3 good programs are
HopkinsWash U, and MSK. and worst are Mount Sinai (NYC), Iowa city, jeferson PA
 
hi partusa,

thanks for your continued help.

i have a few more questions-

1- considering the declining match ratio for imgs (39% in this match), is it wise to take nucs for now? there are many people with scores above 95, remaining unmatched. frankly, i am not very choosy (any residency is fine with me and i believe imgs can not be choosy nowadays) but refusing nucs and also not matching into IM or FM will put a full stop on American dream!

2- do you really think it will be taken negatively if i apply to IM or FM after nucs? at least, i will have 3 more yrs of US experience. there are many guys waiting for IM-FM for more than 3-4 yrs, without significant exp. also, US is a place where people frequently switch careers and they often succeed. if you can justify your intention, things should be okay.

i hope to get many answers and suggestions on this.

thanks.
 
hi partusa,

thanks for your continued help.

i have a few more questions-

1- considering the declining match ratio for imgs (39% in this match), is it wise to take nucs for now? there are many people with scores above 95, remaining unmatched. frankly, i am not very choosy (any residency is fine with me and i believe imgs can not be choosy nowadays) but refusing nucs and also not matching into IM or FM will put a full stop on American dream!

2- do you really think it will be taken negatively if i apply to IM or FM after nucs? at least, i will have 3 more yrs of US experience. there are many guys waiting for IM-FM for more than 3-4 yrs, without significant exp. also, US is a place where people frequently switch careers and they often succeed. if you can justify your intention, things should be okay.

i hope to get many answers and suggestions on this.

thanks.


There is no point of getting into NM, you will finish your residency and then you will have to get into a second residency. I don't think that after NM residency, getting into a second residency would be easier, in my opinion is the opposite. Patient contact, care and clinical management is very limited, almost zero. So, I don't think that IM-FP PDs are going to take NM in consideration. This is my point of view, but I would ask someone in FP or IM. Nowadays, the only way to achieve the american dream is to win the lottery!
 
Don't be fools, guys. Let me say this once and let it sink in:

ABNM stands for American Board of No Marketability :laugh:
 
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