Focused Posted March 22, 2023 Report Share Posted March 22, 2023 Hi everyone, Congratulations to everyone! Going through the CaRMS process in itself is a wonderful accomplishment. I matched to a wonderful program, IM. However, my first choice was a surgical subspecialty, as for many people. I know it is very hard to transfer programs... Anyone has heard of positive stories? From a less competitive specialty to a more competitive one....? Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardio_enjoyer Posted March 22, 2023 Report Share Posted March 22, 2023 I understand it's not your top choice specialty, but congratulations on matching! Our school sent us resident accounts from PARO (Ontario resident association), one of them mentioned going unmatched 1st iteration --> 2nd iteration Mac anatomical pathology --> UofT IM after one year of residency, now an allergy fellow. So there are success stories out there. I also know a few family friends who initially matched to IM or surgery, and transferred to family med after 1-2 years due to feeling their work-life balance is compromised... so grass will always be greener on the other side and there likely will always be people willing to switch if you are not picky about location. I unfortunately do not know the specifics, whether you can just transfer or require someone to switch with you, as the total funding for residents is the same - hence some rumours why it's difficult to switch from family (2 year funding) to any specialty (5 years) and the only way is to find a switch. Maybe someone who has successfully transferred can share their insights here. Focused 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Focused Posted March 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2023 6 minutes ago, cardio_enjoyer said: I understand it's not your top choice specialty, but congratulations on matching! Our school sent us resident accounts from PARO (Ontario resident association), one of them mentioned going unmatched 1st iteration --> 2nd iteration Mac anatomical pathology --> UofT IM after one year of residency, now an allergy fellow. So there are success stories out there. I also know a few family friends who initially matched to IM or surgery, and transferred to family med after 1-2 years due to feeling their work-life balance is compromised... so grass will always be greener on the other side and there likely will always be people willing to switch if you are not picky about location. I unfortunately do not know the specifics, whether you can just transfer or require someone to switch with you, as the total funding for residents is the same - hence some rumours why it's difficult to switch from family (2 year funding) to any specialty (5 years) and the only way is to find a switch. Maybe someone who has successfully transferred can share their insights here. yes I heard a few success stories as well... however, when transferring, I guess I would take the spot of an incoming MS4 ? and is IM considered a 3 year or 5 year specialty in such scenario? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearded frog Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 Transfers happen through 3 processes. You switch internally at your school between programs, you are part of the national transfer system through your PGME, or you apply again next year in 2nd round CaRMS. Internal switches are not uncommon, however I have not personally heard of transfer into a surgical subpeciality, but I'm sure it's happened before. The national system is unlikely and its also unlikely there will be a 2nd round carms spot in a surgical subspecialty. You are welcome to soft reach out to the surgical program at your school, and going through the process with your PGME (in the fall), but I would prioritize finding a path through IM you can live with. You also want to excel in your IM residency so that you will have good reviews for a potential transfer. Alternatively consider trying to transfer into gen surg if it's just surgery you want, your odds will be higher. IM is 4 years of funding I believe. Focused 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samic1988 Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 Thanks for the info, is it easier to transfer from IM to FM? Like internally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearded frog Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 Generally, it's easier to go to a longer program to a shorter program or from a smaller program to a large program, logistically, but it will depend on the individual circumstances, ie capacity etc. Samic1988 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samic1988 Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Focused Posted March 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 9 hours ago, bearded frog said: Transfers happen through 3 processes. You switch internally at your school between programs, you are part of the national transfer system through your PGME, or you apply again next year in 2nd round CaRMS. Internal switches are not uncommon, however I have not personally heard of transfer into a surgical subpeciality, but I'm sure it's happened before. The national system is unlikely and its also unlikely there will be a 2nd round carms spot in a surgical subspecialty. You are welcome to soft reach out to the surgical program at your school, and going through the process with your PGME (in the fall), but I would prioritize finding a path through IM you can live with. You also want to excel in your IM residency so that you will have good reviews for a potential transfer. Alternatively consider trying to transfer into gen surg if it's just surgery you want, your odds will be higher. IM is 4 years of funding I believe. Thank you! Yet I'm guessing a current resident in the desired program needs to want to quit the program, or take a year of suspension of some sort (ie maternity leave)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/22/2023 at 1:54 PM, Focused said: Hi everyone, Congratulations to everyone! Going through the CaRMS process in itself is a wonderful accomplishment. I matched to a wonderful program, IM. However, my first choice was a surgical subspecialty, as for many people. I know it is very hard to transfer programs... Anyone has heard of positive stories? From a less competitive specialty to a more competitive one....? Thank you!!! I've heard many success stories, I know a lot of people who switched from FM to competitive or ultra-competitive specialties after R1. Its possible but you just need to give it a shot and stay persistent. cardio_enjoyer and Focused 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Focused Posted March 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 1 hour ago, Edict said: I've heard many success stories, I know a lot of people who switched from FM to competitive or ultra-competitive specialties after R1. Its possible but you just need to give it a shot and stay persistent. Very nice of you to say I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsMe Posted March 24, 2023 Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 3 hours ago, Edict said: I've heard many success stories, I know a lot of people who switched from FM to competitive or ultra-competitive specialties after R1. Its possible but you just need to give it a shot and stay persistent. If you transfer from FM to another specialty that has some similar off-service rotations (I.e a block or two of IM), would you typically have to repeat those blocks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted March 24, 2023 Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 1 hour ago, ThisIsMe said: If you transfer from FM to another specialty that has some similar off-service rotations (I.e a block or two of IM), would you typically have to repeat those blocks? No you usually don't, some people have lost no time, others 6 months if you transfer after 1 yr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangliocytoma Posted March 24, 2023 Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 22 hours ago, Focused said: Thank you! Yet I'm guessing a current resident in the desired program needs to want to quit the program, or take a year of suspension of some sort (ie maternity leave)? not necessarily. the program needs to have enough capacity (work for you to do) and pome allocated funding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canada747 Posted March 24, 2023 Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 I would really like to know how to coordinate a transfer. I have an interested surgical program to receive me (I think) but I will be coming from a 2 year FM residency. How could I make this as easy as possible for a transfer? Where is the official PGME transfer portal? Do we know what opportunities are available on the transfer portal, and pick, or do we declare a specialty or multiple and then see where we land? Is it competitive? Do we need a CV/interview? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangliocytoma Posted March 24, 2023 Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 5 hours ago, canada747 said: I would really like to know how to coordinate a transfer. I have an interested surgical program to receive me (I think) but I will be coming from a 2 year FM residency. How could I make this as easy as possible for a transfer? Where is the official PGME transfer portal? Do we know what opportunities are available on the transfer portal, and pick, or do we declare a specialty or multiple and then see where we land? Is it competitive? Do we need a CV/interview? You need to apply through the PGME office. Each school has their own way of doing this. The likelihood of transfer will come down to funding and this will depend on how many people transfer out, how many go out through 2nd round CaRMS, how many unfilled spots, etc. That is all up to PGME to decide even if the program likes you a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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