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deleted1163359
Hi everyone,
I’m a current PGY-1 in FM thinking about transferring residency programs. USMD, Step 1 21X, Step 2 23X. Currently at an unopposed rural program that I ranked #2. I really liked the program because it had great exposure to OB while also being a 3 hour drive from where my parents live. When I started out, I thought that I wanted to do an OB/Womens Health fellowship. Turns out, I really only liked OB during my medical school rotation lol. More importantly, my interests have shifted more towards LGBT health and potentially addiction medicine. I am gay myself but it is something that took a really long time for me to accept due to conservative religious upbringing. Now that I've done a lot of legwork in overcoming that hurdle myself, I find that my interest within FM is gearing more towards working with marginalized demographics with a big community health focus. Unfortunately, I'm really not getting the opportunity here. There are no electives available at my current program focused LGBT care and the community healthcare rotation is kind of a joke (it's rotating through the 7 million nursing homes we have in town and that's it). Obviously, I am really hesitant to leave my residency since I get along well with everyone here and enjoy the other learning opportunities I've had. I ranked it #2 for a reason! So I thought hey, let me just do a fellowship after in order to get more experience. The problem is, I've talked to my advisor from medical school as well as a trusted faculty member here about pursuing LGBT Healthcare Fellowships and both of them have told me the same thing - my chances of securing a spot with those fellowships with limited (and possibly no) experience within residency is virtually zero. Both of them have encouraged me to look into transferring to a residency that will provide more exposure. My medical school advisor told me to look specifically at urban based residencies. I've attended virtual seminars held my a few of my top fellowship programs as well and all of them emphasized that the top things they look for in applicants are LORs followed by exposure/experience. The faculty member I spoke to also hinted heavily that it might be difficult for me to secure LORs due to the prejudice held by many faculty members. This is a small town, where I think 93% of residents voted for Trump during the last election. I just wanted to get everybody's thoughts and opinions on this matter and any advice on how to broach this topic with my PD. Thanks for taking the time to read and help!
Sidebar: I have been in a relationship with a wonderful partner for 7 months now and she has helped me tremendously on this path to self acceptance. She lives in a city about 3 hours away from where I'm currently doing residency. She can't and won't move to where I am because her job is not transferable and she doesn't feel safe being out in a small town. I know 7 months might not be a long to many people but we are both in our 30s and we are lesbians so our relationships notoriously move pretty fast lol. If I'm transferring, ideally I'd like to move to where she is BUT I don't know if that's something to bring up with my PD as a reason, since we're not married or starting a family or anything like that.
I’m a current PGY-1 in FM thinking about transferring residency programs. USMD, Step 1 21X, Step 2 23X. Currently at an unopposed rural program that I ranked #2. I really liked the program because it had great exposure to OB while also being a 3 hour drive from where my parents live. When I started out, I thought that I wanted to do an OB/Womens Health fellowship. Turns out, I really only liked OB during my medical school rotation lol. More importantly, my interests have shifted more towards LGBT health and potentially addiction medicine. I am gay myself but it is something that took a really long time for me to accept due to conservative religious upbringing. Now that I've done a lot of legwork in overcoming that hurdle myself, I find that my interest within FM is gearing more towards working with marginalized demographics with a big community health focus. Unfortunately, I'm really not getting the opportunity here. There are no electives available at my current program focused LGBT care and the community healthcare rotation is kind of a joke (it's rotating through the 7 million nursing homes we have in town and that's it). Obviously, I am really hesitant to leave my residency since I get along well with everyone here and enjoy the other learning opportunities I've had. I ranked it #2 for a reason! So I thought hey, let me just do a fellowship after in order to get more experience. The problem is, I've talked to my advisor from medical school as well as a trusted faculty member here about pursuing LGBT Healthcare Fellowships and both of them have told me the same thing - my chances of securing a spot with those fellowships with limited (and possibly no) experience within residency is virtually zero. Both of them have encouraged me to look into transferring to a residency that will provide more exposure. My medical school advisor told me to look specifically at urban based residencies. I've attended virtual seminars held my a few of my top fellowship programs as well and all of them emphasized that the top things they look for in applicants are LORs followed by exposure/experience. The faculty member I spoke to also hinted heavily that it might be difficult for me to secure LORs due to the prejudice held by many faculty members. This is a small town, where I think 93% of residents voted for Trump during the last election. I just wanted to get everybody's thoughts and opinions on this matter and any advice on how to broach this topic with my PD. Thanks for taking the time to read and help!
Sidebar: I have been in a relationship with a wonderful partner for 7 months now and she has helped me tremendously on this path to self acceptance. She lives in a city about 3 hours away from where I'm currently doing residency. She can't and won't move to where I am because her job is not transferable and she doesn't feel safe being out in a small town. I know 7 months might not be a long to many people but we are both in our 30s and we are lesbians so our relationships notoriously move pretty fast lol. If I'm transferring, ideally I'd like to move to where she is BUT I don't know if that's something to bring up with my PD as a reason, since we're not married or starting a family or anything like that.
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