I have a parent recently diagnosed with a terminal illness and I want to transfer to a program close to home. I have tried cold calling programs near home within my same specialty (IM) without any luck. Does anyone have advice on what else to try? I have informed by PD but aside from giving me time off to visit it doesn't appear I will be given much help in the way of phone calls or outreach on my behalf (which I guess is understandable since you wouldn't want to lose a trainee and have to fill the spot). I am willing to switch into other specialties but I guess it would be limited to surgery/rads/anesthesia since I wanted to pursue a procedure oriented career. Thanks.
Transferring home to be close to parent
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How terminal? like, a few weeks to live, or 1-year?
Are you otherwise in the training program (specialty/location) that you want to be in?
I think taking a leave of absence (most programs have a mechanism for this, -3, -6 months, maybe even a year) is better than transferring, especially if you're already in the right program for you.
I do like my current specialty but I always had a broad interest in those other specialties to begin with which is why I am open to other types of programs if it can facilitate this process. As far as location, no, it is not ideal for me since it is far enough from home to make it difficult to travel often.
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I don't mean to be morbid, but how much time are we talking about here? Metastatic CA with 3 months, or dementia which could be almost any timeframe? If the former, talk to you PD about taking a leave of absence (doing that would be faster than transferring). If it's the latter, that's a tougher situation.
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Yeah OP since you're in IM how large is your residency? Are you a PGY-1 or PGY-2? Nice thing about larger programs is that they can usually absorb residents taking a LOA pretty easily. If it's a pretty defined timeframe, might be better to try to get a LOA because if there's no open spot, then there's no spot at the program near where you want to be, they probably aren't going to suddenly come up with additional funding for another spot.
I'm a PGY1, my program is medium size (though I don't think they can absorb a LOA quite as easily due to other factors). As for time frame I don't know and if I'm being honest I try not to think about it too much at this point, but 5 year survival is in the teens % wise.
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OP, I'm so sorry to hear that you're in this situation. You've worked so hard and I am sure both your parents are extremely proud of you.
There are a few outcomes here.
1.) Take the LOA they're giving you and come back. The cons are obvious as you likely won't get to spend as much time with this parent.
2.) Reapply as a PGY-1 for Fall 2022 setting you two years behind and likely at a less competitive program. (This is more of a fallback as I'm sure it'll work out but you're losing 2 years).
3.) Try to find a swap.
2/3 aren't necessarily mutually exclusive and doing 3 won't hurt your chances at 2, but I think you should make a decision between 1 v. 3+/-2. Make that decision first. Consider what elements BOTH you and your parent would benefit from from living at home. Is it the touch, proximity, would you serve as a caregiver? Could this be managed alternatively by taking off every single extended off period to see them with daily video chatting? Also, think about what your parent will have wanted. It's not an easy decision and only you can make the right decision for yourself. I'm just trying to help organize the thought process.
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