order of competitiveness

[Guest adocwannabe]

hey,

 

can anyone post the order of competitiveness amongst the various residencies?

 

i'm interested in cardiology, pediatrics, family, internal ... but not quite sure which looks like what I want to spend the rest of my life in ... i've applied to med school this year. can the responder pls also e-mail to dee_un4gettable@hotmail.com

 

thanks!

[Guest Ian Wong]

Hello,

 

Internal Med is a four year specialty. To get into Cardiology, you need to first get into Internal Med, and do a minimum of three years in it. Then, you apply for a three year Cardiology fellowship.

 

Therefore, Cardiology is a 6 year total training program, and is classed as a sub-specialty of internal med. Other internal med sub-specialties (where you do 3 years of internal followed by a 2-3 year fellowship) would include stuff like:

 

Hematology, Endocrinology, Oncology, Respirology, Rheumatology, Nephrology, Geriatric Medicine, Hepatology, etc.

 

Of these sub-specialties, cardiology is the hardest one to get into, and probably the worst one in terms of lifestyle and hours spent at the hospital. There's no guarantee that you will get a cardiology fellowship even if you want one; it's sort of like applying to med school all over again, except now you are applying to fellowship programs. On the other hand, Cardiology's probably the most demanding, most "glamourous", and certainly the best-paying of those sub-specialties. And there's probably nothing more satisfying/fulfilling to treat than a serious heart condition if it can be done.

 

As far as competitiveness goes then, Pedes is probably slightly harder to enter than Internal, with family practice being one of the easier specialties to enter. All three of them have lots of spots available all over Canada, in contrast to really specialized stuff like Otolaryngology, Plastics, Ophthalmology, Urology, etc, which significantly tougher to get into.

 

Check out: www.carms.ca

 

When you poke into the Statistics, you will be able to see the proportion of fourth year medical students that successfully matched into each specialty.

 

As far as time spent in the hospital, I think, but could be wrong, that internists and pediatricians tend to be quite busy, with family practice a little more relaxed, with more control over your working conditions. The pay is less in family.

 

One thing you should keep in mind is that the average med student probably changes his mind at least 4-5 times throughout med school. There are so many possibilities to choose from once you get into med school, and you can probably find something that is close to the right blend of mental stimulation, lifestyle, money, and personal and job satisfaction for you personally.

 

Ian

UBC, MS2