cardio_enjoyer Posted March 31, 2023 Report Share Posted March 31, 2023 As the title and my username suggest. I am an incoming IM PGY1 at my home program in ON. After lots of electives and conversations with residents/attendings, I am quite sure that Cardiology (EP) is what I am interested in. I am looking for any general advice, on here, or in PM, about how to maximize my chances to match into Cardio. What is the average Cardio resident's portfolio upon matching? How much research, how much leadership? Any community advocacy required or focus energy on residency leadership such as chief resident? Just looking for any advice really. I understand some people will say worry about your MCCQE, just have fun before July. I get that but I am a planner and I like to plan ahead. I also don't think these items are mutually exclusive. Being in my home program & knowing a few Cardiology attendings from med school (including people who have given me strong letters), I want a head start contacting them for research, etc. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b9k Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 Matching to general internal medicine is not a failure and doesn't mean your journey "didn't work". Everyone goes to internal medicine residency to become an internist - and as of now, there is a MSM position available for every graduating IM resident in Canada to become one. If you stay in internal medicine, you too will become a licensed physician who cares for their community and gives back. In these situations, it's important to remember why one decided to train in internal medicine in the first place. Those who applied with the goal of only becoming geriatric oncologic electrophysiologist have a high risk of being unhappy about the outcomes - but those who applied because they wanted to help others, or for the love of the hyponatremia and science of liver transaminases, will be happy no matter what. TLDR congrats on matching to IM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarisch Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 2 hours ago, b9k said: Matching to general internal medicine is not a failure and doesn't mean your journey "didn't work". Everyone goes to internal medicine residency to become an internist - and as of now, there is a MSM position available for every graduating IM resident in Canada to become one. If you stay in internal medicine, you too will become a licensed physician who cares for their community and gives back. In these situations, it's important to remember why one decided to train in internal medicine in the first place. Those who applied with the goal of only becoming geriatric oncologic electrophysiologist have a high risk of being unhappy about the outcomes - but those who applied because they wanted to help others, or for the love of the hyponatremia and science of liver transaminases, will be happy no matter what. TLDR congrats on matching to IM Not sure what the point of this post is or if its some spam bot but it's completely irrelevant to the OPs question. OP, there is no formula to successfully match in Cardiology. The match is often competitive but it varies year from year. The same things that led you to match IM will help with Cardiology. Do electives in places you're interested matching, make valuable connections, do extracurricular activities that you're passionate about and I would say try to get a cardio research project published, preferably at a place where you want to match. It isn't the pub itself that is important per se but the connections you make on that process with a particular institution that I find can be a really big help with networking. Focus on being a good IM resident as well. IM really does lay a good foundation for cardio and its important to hone those skills as much as possible and not just tunnel vision on Cardiology stuff Haribo7173, DCM, whatdoido and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardio_enjoyer Posted April 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 6 hours ago, b9k said: Matching to general internal medicine is not a failure and doesn't mean your journey "didn't work". Everyone goes to internal medicine residency to become an internist - and as of now, there is a MSM position available for every graduating IM resident in Canada to become one. If you stay in internal medicine, you too will become a licensed physician who cares for their community and gives back. In these situations, it's important to remember why one decided to train in internal medicine in the first place. Those who applied with the goal of only becoming geriatric oncologic electrophysiologist have a high risk of being unhappy about the outcomes - but those who applied because they wanted to help others, or for the love of the hyponatremia and science of liver transaminases, will be happy no matter what. TLDR congrats on matching to IM Thank you! I hope I did not give off the vibe that I am "team cardio or miserable for the rest of my life" in my original post. I applied to IM because I enjoy the entire discipline not just Cardio. I would be very content if I end up in GIM; it would just be a dream come true if I get Cardio, which I want to give my absolute best shot for in the next three years. 3 hours ago, Jarisch said: Not sure what the point of this post is or if its some spam bot but it's completely irrelevant to the OPs question. OP, there is no formula to successfully match in Cardiology. The match is often competitive but it varies year from year. The same things that led you to match IM will help with Cardiology. Do electives in places you're interested matching, make valuable connections, do extracurricular activities that you're passionate about and I would say try to get a cardio research project published, preferably at a place where you want to match. It isn't the pub itself that is important per se but the connections you make on that process with a particular institution that I find can be a really big help with networking. Focus on being a good IM resident as well. IM really does lay a good foundation for cardio and its important to hone those skills as much as possible and not just tunnel vision on Cardiology stuff Thank you for the advice! Residency is a completely different game compared to med school where there are at least some formulas to follow (GPA, MCAT, volunteering), which is frustrating but I guess equally frustrating for everyone so in a way it's fair haha. Absolutely will be looking to get into a cardio research project with the goal of networking, publishing, & presenting (my med school project was in another subspecialty). b9k 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted April 3, 2023 Report Share Posted April 3, 2023 18 hours ago, cardio_enjoyer said: Thank you! I hope I did not give off the vibe that I am "team cardio or miserable for the rest of my life" in my original post. I applied to IM because I enjoy the entire discipline not just Cardio. I would be very content if I end up in GIM; it would just be a dream come true if I get Cardio, which I want to give my absolute best shot for in the next three years. Thank you for the advice! Residency is a completely different game compared to med school where there are at least some formulas to follow (GPA, MCAT, volunteering), which is frustrating but I guess equally frustrating for everyone so in a way it's fair haha. Absolutely will be looking to get into a cardio research project with the goal of networking, publishing, & presenting (my med school project was in another subspecialty). Cardio loves research, get started on it before you even start residency. Residency is so busy that you won't have much time to work on research, and a lot of the work for research can be done before you start. When you do a project, see if you really enjoy it, if its something you genuinely enjoy then do good work and continue taking on more projects, but if it isn't your cup of tea, I wouldn't worry, just focus on other aspects of your application that can help you stand out. cardio_enjoyer and 1D7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildpotato Posted April 17, 2023 Report Share Posted April 17, 2023 Hey! Can I ask out of curiosity and for my own knowledge really - why Cardio? Unfortunately didn't get to do a cardio elective at my home school during clerkship and I feel like I'm going into IM year 1 with a pretty limited exposure to subspecialties. Would love anyone's perspective honestly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardio_enjoyer Posted April 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 On 4/16/2023 at 11:28 PM, wildpotato said: Hey! Can I ask out of curiosity and for my own knowledge really - why Cardio? Unfortunately didn't get to do a cardio elective at my home school during clerkship and I feel like I'm going into IM year 1 with a pretty limited exposure to subspecialties. Would love anyone's perspective honestly! I was interested in cardio coming into medical school based on some of my volunteering experiences. I also have some unique background/life experiences that draw me to cardio - I'd love to list them here but I feel that's like doxxing myself to people who know me on a better level & view this forum. I enjoy physiology and being analytical with medical problems - if not for my experiences I think I would have pursued nephro which I also love a lot. What's there not to love about cardio? It's literally the most important organ in the body :^) Fulfilling learning, a healthy mix of pharmacology & procedures, lots of cardiac-specific investigations to learn to interpret beyond bloodwork, one of the most evidence-based specialties where there is almost a trial done for every clinical problem imaginable (more journal clubs!), ability to really change patient lives for the better, etc. I am also not in a relationship/family planning so I also have little incentive to sacrifice my passion in order to contribute more to starting a family by finishing my training ASAP. I enjoyed the academic aspect of medical school and do not mind 8+ more years of residency. I suppose I am one of those "bland" colleagues who don't have many vices, enjoys talking about medicine & discussing cases in my free time... works out for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hero147 Posted April 20, 2023 Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 1 hour ago, cardio_enjoyer said: I was interested in cardio coming into medical school based on some of my volunteering experiences. I also have some unique background/life experiences that draw me to cardio - I'd love to list them here but I feel that's like doxxing myself to people who know me on a better level & view this forum. I enjoy physiology and being analytical with medical problems - if not for my experiences I think I would have pursued nephro which I also love a lot. What's there not to love about cardio? It's literally the most important organ in the body :^) Fulfilling learning, one of the most evidence-based specialties where there is almost a trial done for every clinical problem imaginable (more journal clubs!), ability to really change patient lives for the better, etc. I am also not in a relationship/family planning so I also have little incentive to sacrifice my passion in order to contribute more to starting a family by finishing my training ASAP. I enjoyed the academic aspect of medical school and do not mind 8+ more years of residency. I suppose I am one of those "bland" colleagues who enjoy talking about medicine, discussing cases in my free time, works out for me. Aren't cardiologists and nephrologists mortal enemies? :O cardio_enjoyer and ACHQ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardio_enjoyer Posted April 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 On 4/20/2023 at 6:36 PM, hero147 said: Aren't cardiologists and nephrologists mortal enemies? :O I too remember that news report of a cardiologist and nephrologist getting into a fist fight over Lasix dosing for an ICU pt Memes aside I think there's lots of parallel and similarities between the two disciplines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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