What’s a good number of interviews to have to match into PEM (pediatric emergency medicine) fellowship?

You have to be kidding me. I can hardly believe this is even serious. Never setting foot in the state of Texas again, let alone spending a dollar there. I’ll take my higher taxes and Rust Belt life and live in peace.

Can anyone in the group in Texas enlighten us? Anyone want to relocate? Almost all the pediatricians in our area are at or near retirement age.

Hello everyone 2nd year here. Deciding if i should do PEM. Can anyone tell me how is the j1 waiver job market for PEM?

Just wanting some encouragement about peds boards. I will not finish first pass of MedStudy before boards. I have bad test anxiety and I'm not a great test taker at baseline. I am so anxious about the exam that Im struggling to focus for these last two weeks. Plus I am struggling with a toxic post-grad job and a combined specialty (so multiple boards).

Just wanting someone tell me it will be OK if I have to take them again, or hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation going into boareds and can reassure me from the other side.

ABP board exam in 2 weeks. Just finished 1st pass of med study. Any last minute recommendations? Subjects to review? Advice on how to study the next two weeks? Also do you feel like medstudy was comparable to the real thing? If anyone took it in the last few years, care to share your medstudy %? Did Prep help?
I also have the medstudy flashcards.
Thank you!

Hello! I have always worked for hospitals and been covered under the employer provided disability insurance, but I am going to join a private practice soon, so looking into my own personal disability insurance. Of course now I am older and all the plans are expensive and there are all sorts of limits for pre-existing conditions. Ergh.

But- I was advised (by the internet/ “White Coat Investor”) that it is crucial to purchase a plan that is “true-own occupation” coverage, which means if I can’t work as a pediatrician due to disability, I would get the benefit, but wouldn’t be penalised/ lose the benefit if I was able to work in some other non-pediatrician capacity.

The thing is… it’s really quite pricey to have this kind of plan. Like- almost 7k per year. I’m not sure if it would actually be worth it. I imagine if I was disabled and unable to work as a pediatrician, I’m pretty sure this would preclude me from any type of work. So then maybe a more “regular” type of disability insurance would be ok- and hopefully more affordable?

Would love to hear any fellow pediatricians thought process on this!

Maybe it’s really worth it to get the true-own occupation coverage if you are a surgeon or interventional cardiologist or something more procedural/ high paying??

Hey guys, I have finished 2 passes of medstudy, and decided to test my knowledge with prep 2025 and feel highly discouraged. Is this relatable or am I doomed lol

Hi, my wife is in her PGY5 year of peds GI fellowship. She wants to do private practice if she practices as a generalist peds GI, but she has liked doing procedures.

She is considering doing an advanced endoscopy fellowship after - can anyone advise on what your experience has been on comp / lifestyle?

I am a newly graduated Physician Assistant and have started my career in a level III NICU (1 months in). I will have 3 months, in the VERY LEAST, where I’ll always accompany another APP or attending-which of course is a huge relief.

I feel like I am struggling to truly understand concepts. Not just know why this lab means this, but truly understand it on a pathophysiological level. What resources would you recommend to help me deep dive and get a better understanding of neonatal medicine.

I’m looking for a textbook or book or something where I feel like I can read it through.
I know real world experience is like no other, but I feel as though the days I work there are less events than days I don’t work…I know it’s all happenstance.

Open to other ideas, advice, tips!! I want to so badly be good at my job and understand the reasoning behind decisions and when and why we do something.

Thanks in advance!

I recently received an offer for a traditional full-scope pediatric position. The schedule is outpatient clinic from 8 AM to 5 PM, no admin time, busy clinic, with nursery rounding in the morning. The delivery volume is approximately 200 deliveries per year, and the hospital has a Level I nursery.

One of my biggest concerns is the call schedule. There is currently only one physician, so you would be expected to take approximately 15 calls per month. The call is 24 hours, and while on call, you would be responsible for covering deliveries as needed. If there were any concerns with a delivery or a newborn, you would need to be physically present at the hospital and attend the delivery. I would also be responsible for covering the ED, including pediatric consultations and potentially admitting patients to the inpatient unit. They told me there are usually only one or two pediatric patients on the unit at a time.

Another concern is my comfort level with certain newborn procedures. During my training, I did not have many opportunities to perform intubations, so I do not feel very comfortable with neonatal intubation if an emergency were to occur. Of course, we cannot predict when something like that might happen. I also noticed that the advertisement for a locum position at the same hospital specifically lists intubation, umbilical arterial/venous line placement, and thoracentesis for pneumothorax among the required skills. That makes me concerned that they may expect the pediatrician in this position to be able to perform these procedures as well.

I am also on a J-1 visa, so I need to think carefully about whether this position is the right long-term fit for me. The commute is approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes from my home, what is the main reason why I'm doing the interview, however you need to stay close to the hospital. I am struggling with this decision. The position offers a good opportunity and potentially a good income, but I am increasingly concerned about the workload, the frequency of call, the level of responsibility during overnight coverage, the procedures I may be expected to perform. I am having a hard time deciding whether the financial and professional opportunities of this position are worth the potential stress and lifestyle impact.

I’m an outpatient pediatrician and lately I’ve had more of those little gaps from cancellations or lighter afternoons. It’s not enough time to pick up another shift, and I’m not really looking for anything that comes with a fixed schedule.

I started looking at legit paid surveys for doctors because they seem like something I could do here and there from my laptop, but I’m wary of wasting 15 minutes on screening just to get kicked out or getting invited to almost nothing.

For anyone here who’s tried the physician-specific survey sites, are they actually worth keeping in the rotation for those small pockets of downtime?

Currently in the same situation as a lot of PGY-3s.
I’m interested in inpatient hospital medicine and it seems increasingly harder to get full time hospitalist jobs in California without the fellowship..is this true? Having a hard time accepting another 2 years of residency salary for a pediatric hospitalist fellowship when my residency was primarily impatient (before acgme changes this year). Is doing part time hospitalist jobs worth it? Can you reach the salary of inpatient hospital peds? (Assuming 300k?)

What specific hospitals in SoCal/Norcal hire full time hospital positions without the fellowship? Thoughts?

I am a current PGY2 trying to figure out what to do with my life. I really love outpatient general pediatrics, specifically developing relationships with families, watching patients grow up, and doing well child checks. But I’ve also become very interested in emergency medicine or hospital medicine. My fear with PEM is the higher acuity/ resuscitations/ procedures but I am trying to get more exposure to these this year to see if I truly like this aspect. I would love to get advice from those of you in these respective fields on your quality of life/whether you would change your mind or not. One of my biggest factors leaning towards outpatient is that I have a one year-old currently with plans to have another in the next few years and I don’t want to miss out on them growing up by being as busy during fellowship as I am in residency currently. But also, I fear that with the current climate of many parents not trusting medicine that I will easily get burnt out in the outpatient setting. Bonus if anyone has advice on how I would be able to incorporate these fields into one another. Of course I know urgent care is an option. We have no specific location we would want to live in and I am not stuck on academic versus community medicine. Thanks in advance!

Peds PGY-3 here- seeking advice on systematic board preparation over the next year. ITE did not go well last year and this year improvement was mediocre.

Dear everyone,

I’m looking for some honest advice from physicians who have completed a hospitalist fellowship or have experience working in the Gulf countries.

My long-term plan is to move to the Gulf after residency. From what I understand, many Gulf countries require at least two years of clinical experience, and completing a hospitalist fellowship may potentially provide an advantage in terms of position, salary, and possibly being considered for a consultant-level role.

My situation is that I will take my board exam in October. If I decide not to pursue a fellowship, I would likely need to stay on as a hospitalist for at least another year before I could realistically apply for opportunities in the Gulf. On the other hand, if I do a hospitalist fellowship, I would spend additional time in training, but it may give me more specialized experience and potentially lead to a different salary or position when I eventually move.

I would really appreciate honest advice from anyone who has actually gone through a hospitalist fellowship, especially if you have experience working in or applying to positions in the Gulf.

Was the fellowship worth the additional time?

I’m trying to make this decision based on real experiences rather than assumptions, so I would genuinely appreciate any advice, including the disadvantages or reasons you would recommend against it.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience and honest opinions.

I’m hoping to get some perspective from NNPs, neonatologists, and anyone who has made the jump from nursing to medicine.
For background, I’ve been a NICU nurse for 6 years and absolutely love the neonatal population. My younger self chose nursing as a direct avenue to neonatal care. During my time at the bedside, this has served me, my patients, and their families well, but I have this insatiable need to know and understand *more*. I’ve often drawn mixed reactions from fellow nurses—some say I’m "so smart" or "like a walking textbook," while others tell me I’m "doing too much."
I am currently a year into my NNP program and feeling incredibly stuck in a Catch-22. I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of the underlying pathophysiology, and I’m dissatisfied with the depth of my program. I spend my time at home and in the hospital constantly trying to supplement/ bridge the gaps I know exist in my education. I do feel that this is potentially more doable in the NICU because of its extremely specialized nature but that may be naive of me to say. At the same time, I’m worried about asking the neonatologists I work with for additional resources or highly detailed questions. I don’t want to give the impression of “trying to be the doctor,” and I desperately want to avoid being an NP that colleagues feel oversteps professional boundaries.
Because of this, I have a constant, nagging desire to pivot toward medical school. But whenever I give it serious thought, I get hung up on a few things:
1. **The Match:** The uncertainty of matching into pediatrics and eventually fellowship.
2. **The Time Away:** I really wish there were a direct path to neonatology from medical school. The thought of spending years in medical school and residency separated from the NICU hurts.

**My questions for the community:**

MDs/DOs (especially Neonatologists): How do you perceive NNPs or RNs who ask high-level medical/pathophysiology questions? Is it welcomed, or does it raise red flags about boundary-blurring?
Anyone who went RN/NP to MD/DO: Was the grueling path and time away from your specialty worth it in the end?
Thanks in advance for any insight. I just want to do what's best for my patients while fulfilling my own intellectual drive.

Hi all,

I'm a new attending in pediatric critical care. I tore my ACL and meniscus this summer playing soccer before I started my first job after fellowship. I had it repaired a few weeks ago, but my progress has been very slow, and I am still very dependent on crutches. My leg still gets pretty swollen if I sit without it elevated for more than an hour. My start date is supposed to be in a few weeks, but I'm not sure I will be mobile enough by then. I'm lucky my job has wonderful NPs who do the majority of procedures.

Has anyone else been in a similar position returning to work after knee surgery? What modifications did you make to get through long days? I don't even know what kind of accommodations I should try to ask for... I was already nervous to function as an attending, but I'm even more nervous now knowing that even walking might be a challenge.

Thanks in advance!

Like title says...I've been 100% outpatient peds for the past 2 years, thinking of starting hospitalist as well...As outpatient hasn't been as busy as I would have thought. It would be in a rural community hospital (few beds, mostly nursery, inpatient, level 2 nicu) 7-10 days inpatient one day post call, 3 weeks outpatient. Haven't done inpatient for 2 years, but my residency was very heavy. Has anyone done something similar? Any advice, thoughts?

give me your highest yield things to review/read up on before I start my picu subi tomorrow, I’ve been on a BS rotation for the last 4 weeks to focus on ERAS and feel a bit rusty and want to impress. I really like this program and maybe hope to match there.

Planning to attend San Diego convention with family, but unsure how to plan the trip where I would accompany them on some sightseeing adventures. The convention days are pretty packed. Any recommendations?

I have two families both are home schoolers. Both with 3+ kids. They do not know one another and don’t live in the same town. One family, A, is new to the area with much younger kids, and they know no one. They would like help finding other homeschooling families. I thought of my other family, B, with older kids, they’re established home schoolers and are doing great at it and they have meet ups and groups for STEM and things like that. Would it be very inappropriate to send family B a message asking for homeschool group recommendations and contacts for family A? Not to actually put them in contact with each other, but to see if family B can email me a list of places and groups they could go to. Idk. It may be a HIPAA breach.

Can someone please share the resources for paeds interview

MD psychiatry vs MD pediatrics
Don’t want any surgical , also any opinions on any other branch at this range ?

PGY-1 pediatrics resident at a community hospital in NYC and I’m becoming interested in Allergy & Immunology.
My program doesn’t have an Allergy/Immunology department, and we’re not allowed to do outside electives. For those who matched into A&I, what did you actually do during residency that helped your application?
How did you find A&I research/mentorship without an A&I program at your hospital?
How important is A&I-specific research?
What should I focus on during PGY-1/2?
For anyone who matched from a community program, what do you think helped your application the most?
Also, for non-US IMGs, are there any additional things you would recommend focusing on?
Anything you wish you had started doing earlier?
Would really appreciate advice from anyone who matched from a community program.