beary said:
Hey all,
Are AP, CP, and combined programs separate residency applications? Or do you just apply to universities and then discuss specific paths during interviews?
I won't have my pathology electives done until after residency applications are due, and I am not sure I will know what I want to do without having experienced it at least for a month.
Thanks! I am sure all you studs and stud-ettes that matched today can offer brilliant insight.
Usually you don't have to decide too early, except CP only. Programs usually have separate spots for CP only trainees so if CP only is what you want to do, you want to be upfront about that. For AP and AP/CP, the far majority of places don't distinguish between these two tracks when registering their open slots for the Match. For instance, Brigham, MGH, Hopkins, UCSF, Penn, etc. don't make any distinctions between AP and AP/CP in terms of NRMP residency position quotas.
AP vs. AP/CP...I don't think it makes much of a difference especially if you're looking at bigger programs. At these bigger programs, people switch quite a bit from AP to AP/CP and vice versa and because there are lot of residents, they can accomodate this in terms of rotation scheduling with relative ease.
Personally, I was upfront about AP only when I applied. However, I did ask at all the places I applied, "How easy is it to switch into AP/CP?" Some places where they intermix AP and CP rotations right from the first year of residency I can see switching from AP to AP/CP to be a bit tougher.
Irregardless, at a lot of places, I was told that I didn't have to make a firm decision regarding AP vs. AP/CP. However, I was advised that once I made a firm decision, I should let them know sooner or later, especially after the Match. This is so that the chief resident who makes the schedule can know exactly what he/she is dealing with in terms of incoming resident schedules.