When do you apply for IM fellowships?

[Blitz2006]

Just out of curiosity, when do IM residents apply for fellowships like gastro or cards.

Is it at the beginning of PGY-2 or PGY-3?

What do PDs look at since you're only a resident for 1-2 years...do USMLE scores continue to play a role? Med school grades?

Thx,

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[cgk]

Just out of curiosity, when do IM residents apply for fellowships like gastro or cards.

Is it at the beginning of PGY-2 or PGY-3?

What do PDs look at since you're only a resident for 1-2 years...do USMLE scores continue to play a role? Med school grades?

Thx,

What about those of us out of a residency and working as a hospitalist? Is the job experience viewed as an asset on your application? Or are you less likely to be viewed as a strong applicant by PDs the further out of residency you are at this point?

 

[medicine4me]

Just out of curiosity, when do IM residents apply for fellowships like gastro or cards.

Is it at the beginning of PGY-2 or PGY-3?

What do PDs look at since you're only a resident for 1-2 years...do USMLE scores continue to play a role? Med school grades?

Thx,

If you want a fellowship straight out of residency, you apply during your PGY-2 year. However, there is a proposal on moving this to the PGY-3 year. I have no idea if this proposal will be in effect or not.

I don't have any feedback to offer on the other questions as I am pondering them as well.

 

[Blitz2006]

Thx for the link,

Yeh I find it a bit ridiculous that you have to apply so early (PGY-2)....thats why I'm wondering what they look at on the application? I mean, PGY-1 is obviously full of 90 hour work weeks, so I can't imagine having time to do anything to spruce up my CV....

So I take it they look at USMLE scores? Med school rotation grades? LORs?

I'm an IMG from UK interested in Gastro...but I know gastro is fierce. Thats why I'm contemplating if I should do an intern year after graduation to give me 1 year of CV boosting, before I enter PGY-1 IM in the U.S...Cause I know how competitive it will be when applying for fellowships.

If you want a fellowship straight out of residency, you apply during your PGY-2 year. However, there is a proposal on moving this to the PGY-3 year. I have no idea if this proposal will be in effect or not.

I don't have any feedback to offer on the other questions as I am pondering them as well.

 

[NEXUS 5]

GI fellow here.

The application for fellowships is currently 2 years prior to the start of program. For many, this means PGY2 year if you plan to start right after residency. For those who wish to short track, you would apply even earlier during PGY1 year.

In general, USMLE scores are not stressed at this level. However, having failed a Step is certainly a red flag. Basically, great scores do not make an application, but poor results can break one. Same probably goes for medical school grades. You will send med school transcripts to fellowships, so keep those handy even after you've completed residency applications.

Prior research can help, even if it was done during medical school. PDs are aware of how busy intern year is at most places, so any attempts at research is viewed positively.

The reputation and rigor of your internal medicine residency will play a large role in your fellowship candidacy.

For current hospitalists, it depends on how long you have been out of residency. 1-2 years will not make a huge difference. Further out, and you may even be at a disadvantage. At the very least, your experiences as a hospitalist will not be viewed as an advantage.

 

[Blitz2006]

sweet, thanks for that info.

Can you quickly expand on "short tracking"? How does this work, I've never heard of this.

I assume most ppl apply in PGY-2, and start fellowship after PGY-3 right?

Also, what are your thoughts of doing an intern year after graduation in the UK before I start my IM residency? Does 1 year of clinical work, will that be counted for much when I apply for fellowships? The vibe I get on this forum is that if its not clinical work in the U.S, its pretty much "useless"....

GI fellow here.

The application for fellowships is currently 2 years prior to the start of program. For many, this means PGY2 year if you plan to start right after residency. For those who wish to short track, you would apply even earlier during PGY1 year.

 

[gutonc]

sweet, thanks for that info.

Can you quickly expand on "short tracking"? How does this work, I've never heard of this.

I assume most ppl apply in PGY-2, and start fellowship after PGY-3 right?

Also, what are your thoughts of doing an intern year after graduation in the UK before I start my IM residency? Does 1 year of clinical work, will that be counted for much when I apply for fellowships? The vibe I get on this forum is that if its not clinical work in the U.S, its pretty much "useless"....

"Short-tracking" is the horribly mis-named short-hand name for the ABIM research pathway. It allows one to enter a fellowship after the PGY2 year. The only thing short about it is the amount of time spent in IM, otherwise, it is a longer path to sub-specialty certification. As an example, I'm doing this path in IM/Onc. If I did just IM to Med Onc (no Heme training, which would add another 6 mos), it would be 5 yrs total. My path is 6 years although 3 of them are FT research. Nobody who does it calls it short-tracking.

As for when "most" people start, that varies. The traditional course is to apply as a PGY2 and start after finishing residency. But with the rise of the hospitalist movement, its become more common to apply later and do a year (or 3) as a hospitalist.

Finally, 2 pieces of advice...stop asking the same question in multiple threads across different forums (your UK internship question) and decide whether you want to do GS or I'M. If you're not "all in" on one or the other, you're likely to wind up with neither in the end.

 

[cgk]

"Short-tracking" is the horribly mis-named short-hand name for the ABIM research pathway. It allows one to enter a fellowship after the PGY2 year. The only thing short about it is the amount of time spent in IM, otherwise, it is a longer path to sub-specialty certification. As an example, I'm doing this path in IM/Onc. If I did just IM to Med Onc (no Heme training, which would add another 6 mos), it would be 5 yrs total. My path is 6 years although 3 of them are FT research. Nobody who does it calls it short-tracking.

As for when "most" people start, that varies. The traditional course is to apply as a PGY2 and start after finishing residency. But with the rise of the hospitalist movement, its become more common to apply later and do a year (or 3) as a hospitalist.

Finally, 2 pieces of advice...stop asking the same question in multiple threads across different forums (your UK internship question) and decide whether you want to do GS or I'M. If you're not "all in" on one or the other, you're likely to wind up with neither in the end.

Are you saying working as a Hospitalist for a few years helps in obtaining a fellowship position in the Match?

 

[superhero16]

"Short-tracking" is the horribly mis-named short-hand name for the ABIM research pathway. It allows one to enter a fellowship after the PGY2 year. The only thing short about it is the amount of time spent in IM, otherwise, it is a longer path to sub-specialty certification. As an example, I'm doing this path in IM/Onc. If I did just IM to Med Onc (no Heme training, which would add another 6 mos), it would be 5 yrs total. My path is 6 years although 3 of them are FT research. Nobody who does it calls it short-tracking.

As for when "most" people start, that varies. The traditional course is to apply as a PGY2 and start after finishing residency. But with the rise of the hospitalist movement, its become more common to apply later and do a year (or 3) as a hospitalist.

Finally, 2 pieces of advice...stop asking the same question in multiple threads across different forums (your UK internship question) and decide whether you want to do GS or I'M. If you're not "all in" on one or the other, you're likely to wind up with neither in the end.

When did you apply to the ABIM research pathway? While you applied for residency or during PGY1? How competitive is it to get accepted into the program? I'm not MD/PhD but I was seriously considering this track and I can't truly commit to it right now.

 

[gutonc]

When did you apply to the ABIM research pathway? While you applied for residency or during PGY1? How competitive is it to get accepted into the program? I'm not MD/PhD but I was seriously considering this track and I can't truly commit to it right now.

I actually did it both ways. I applied to some programs which were direct admit from residency (so applied as an MS4) and others which were not (or did it both ways). The place I matched for residency (my #1) offered the research pathway, but not as an integrated program.

It really sucked to turn around and do ERAS again starting November of my intern year however I was fortunate to be in an IM program which knew I wanted to do this and supported me with a flexible Feb/Mar schedule (peak fellowship interview time) as well as an Onc rotation my 2nd month of internship in order to get an LOR for fellowship applications.

As with all things, the competitiveness varies program to program, but I think that it's probably a little bit easier to get accepted into the Research Pathway (assuming you have a CV that backs up your research desires) than the traditional pathway, simply because programs are always looking for people who demonstrate a willingness to stay in academics.