Transferring programs after matching in second iteration

[shematoma]

Hi guys, if someone matched in the second iteration into a 5-year specialty but wishes to do family medicine instead, what are the prospects of a transfer? How soon can a transfer possibly happen? It seems the AFMC has a written policy that people who match in the second iteration can't transfer in the PGY1 year. Have there ever been exceptions to this?

Suppose they had to do the full PGY1 year in their 5-year specialty, and then tried to transfer at the end of PGY1. How much credit could they typically count on, if their PGY1 rotations were mainly primary-care focused (FM, IM, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, OB/GYN). Again, the AFMC guideline seems to be that 6 months credit towards the CCFP is the maximum - have there been cases that people have gotten more credit?

[heydere]

Where does it say that AFMC has a policy about not allowing such transfers?

[ellorie]

We had someone transfer out of psychiatry into family medicine at the end of PGY1 - psychiatry has a very primary care oriented PGY1, and only 6 months of credit were allowed.  I think that's a pretty firm CFPC-level thing.

With respect to not transferring in the first year, you'd want to read the transfer policy of the university you are matched to.  I don't see it in the AFMC national transfer guidelines, but it IS written into the transfer policies of several of the Ontario universities, and the policy of the program you are matched to supercedes the national transfer guidelines.

[ploughboy]

I know a bunch of people who transferred.  Nobody got more than 6 months credit.

[shematoma]

23 hours ago, heydere said:

Where does it say that AFMC has a policy about not allowing such transfers?

 

22 hours ago, ellorie said:

We had someone transfer out of psychiatry into family medicine at the end of PGY1 - psychiatry has a very primary care oriented PGY1, and only 6 months of credit were allowed.  I think that's a pretty firm CFPC-level thing.

With respect to not transferring in the first year, you'd want to read the transfer policy of the university you are matched to.  I don't see it in the AFMC national transfer guidelines, but it IS written into the transfer policies of several of the Ontario universities, and the policy of the program you are matched to supercedes the national transfer guidelines.

You guys are right, it's not in the AFMC guidelines, but is the policy at some individuals schools. Too bad they only give 6 months of credit max though.

[ellorie]

Yeah.  I can kinda see why, though.  In a two year residency, if you got a year's credit, you'd miss 50% of the longitudinal component of FM residency (core teaching, longitudinal clinic, etc).  Plus it would mean that your first year in the program would be your CCFP exam year.  You'd basically have to start studying as soon as you started the program, I'd imagine.

[LittleDaisy]

On 4/13/2018 at 12:45 AM, shematoma said:

Hi guys, if someone matched in the second iteration into a 5-year specialty but wishes to do family medicine instead, what are the prospects of a transfer? How soon can a transfer possibly happen? It seems the AFMC has a written policy that people who match in the second iteration can't transfer in the PGY1 year. Have there ever been exceptions to this?

Suppose they had to do the full PGY1 year in their 5-year specialty, and then tried to transfer at the end of PGY1. How much credit could they typically count on, if their PGY1 rotations were mainly primary-care focused (FM, IM, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, OB/GYN). Again, the AFMC guideline seems to be that 6 months credit towards the CCFP is the maximum - have there been cases that people have gotten more credit?

I think that it depends on your schools' policy. At UofT, they don't allow residents who matched through second iteration to transfer to other programs...However, UofT has always filled out their first iteration positions. I would double check with your school's transfer policy, the local school's policy overrides AFMC national transfer guidelines. 

It's fairly easy to transfer from 5-year-specialty to family medicine, I haven't heard anyone being refused to transfer into FM (despite being having no electives in FM, no LOR from family physicians, etc), since there is a high need and it saves government money to train a family physician versus a specialist.