Working between IM residency and (possible) fellowship

[Piston95]

Hey everyone, not sure if this has been discussed before, but I was wondering how common/prevalent it is for residents to work for a few years after residency as an internist and then start a possible fellowship after this. Possible reasons could be to pay back loans as there aren't as many loan forgiveness programs for specialists. Or, perhaps more importantly, you may have a family to support and may need some more money immediately than what a fellowship stipend could account for. It also may give you some time to think about what specialty to go into. Anyways, just wondering if it happens. Thanks.

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[drdavemd]

People do it, but I don't know how commonly. Sometimes as a primary plan, sometimes as a backup if you don't get a fellowship on your first try. All depends on your commitment to fellowship. I would say that if you are planning on doing that, I would try to keep some kind of active academic/research pursuit going while you are working.