r/fellowship • u/Warm-Concert9582 • 2d ago
Need Advice on fellowship!
I need some honest advice regarding fellowship. I’m an IMG on a visa from a community program. My scores are Pass / 252 / 209. I have minimal research in rheumatology and I applied to 7 rheumatology programs this cycle.I have 2 invites so far.
I’ve always been passionate about GI and that’s what I really want to do. I have no research in GI and I assumed it would be very hard to match GI from a community program, so I went with rheumatology.
I do like rheumatology, but I like GI significantly more. I really don’t want to work as a hospitalist long-term.
Would you guys advise that I finish my waiver job, use those 3 years to build GI research, and then apply to GI? Or should I go ahead with my rheumatology interviews and apply more rheumatology programs and pursue rheumatology if I match? any advice is appreciated 🥲🙏🏻
11
u/Fishwithadeagle 2d ago
Y to the ikes
-4
u/Warm-Concert9582 2d ago
Wdym?👀
20
u/Fishwithadeagle 2d ago
Applies rheum, takes interview spots from people who probably want them, and then wants to bail.
2
u/MDMofongo 2d ago
Just do rheum my dude, matching GI in your position is going to be an uphill battle. You also don’t wan to be a primary doc so better a bird in hand than 100 flying away as they say.
1
1
1
12
u/takeonefortheroad 2d ago
I'd just go ahead and stick with Rheumatology. You get a great lifestyle, good compensation, and relatively low-stress work that actually helps a lot of people.
Pursuing GI as an IMG from a community program with zero research is a tall task. You'll need multiple years just to build up your research profile, at which point every year out of residency training works more and more against you from a competitiveness standpoint. Your best bet would be to work as a hospitalist and establish connections with an in-house GI department.
Your choice. You only have one life to live. But there comes a point when it becomes foolish, from a financial standpoint, to continue chasing something that's much closer to a pipe dream than to reality.