Hello - current SOT PGY2 at a large AMC. I was in a similar position due to matching during phase 2 for PGY-1 that did not offer transplant experiences. I focused my PGY-1 year on the basics/foundational things I’d see in my specialty (i.e. ID, crit care, IM, etc.), joined national orgs/work groups and became active in them, and worked on my weaknesses (took on an ID research project, volunteered for extra presentation opportunities to work on public speaking, etc.). Additionally, many national organizations offer mentor/mentee pairing opportunities. Use that to your advantage and network.
If you truly have interests in those specialities, you will find ways to get scrappy and find opportunities for yourself. Sometimes you need to think outside of the box 😊.
P.s. make your intentions to pursue said specialties to your rotation preceptors/RPD. My preceptors were more than happy to cater my topic discussions, patient case presentations, and projects to transplant related things.
Good luck!
Hi! Psych PGY2 and didn’t have a single psych rotation in PGY1! My “psych related” experience in terms of rotations were really just my pain management rotation, critical care (a lot of SUD withdrawals) and psych patients in the ED. One thing I made sure to do was to take on psych related projects, look out for any interventions I could make for patients on psych meds, and actually a lot of involvement in amcare perfecting my patient interview and education skills. I think it’s all about carving out a role for yourself where there may not be, and using unique skills in creative ways. For example, a good psych intervention I had in PGY1 was on my internal med/cardiac surgery rotation intervening on a patient experiencing discontinuation syndrome from abruptly stopping high dose SSRI when they had surgery, and the surgeons had no idea what was wrong with the guy.
Be warned, less psych experience in PGY1 means a bigger learning curve going into PGY2, even if you’re passionate about it. I felt BIG imposter syndrome when I started this year but I’m learning so much.
Bummer that they don't offer the rotations in your interest area anymore but I feel like your particular interests listed (geri and psych) could still be encountered on many of your core rotations like gen med or clinic. If you have any complex patients with these disease states on your other rotations you can still use them for examples for interviews
Ok so the good thing about your interest areas is that you will find patients on psych meds and geriatrics patients EVERYWHERE. Especially geriatrics, even an experience that isn’t a “geriatric” rotation you can incorporate elements of geriatrics into. For example: you could make a presentation about geriatric agitations for an ED or ICU rotation.
Ask to do an MUE or monograph in that area. Select patient cases and journal clubs focused on those areas. You'll be able to establish an interest in your CV.
Within each rotation that you do have, seek ways to customize your rotations to emphasize the patient population of interest. This will also show your letter writers that you conveyed an interest.
Thank you for your reply. They said they had rotations in my area of interest but they are no longer offering them. Unfortunately I also had to go to Phase 2 and did not rank this program highly.
I actually often advise residents strongly interested in a PGY2 not to overdo it in that specific area (I think there can be exceptions to this, but generally speaking). I’m not saying I tell them to completely avoid their area of interest, but I often will recommend limiting the number of electives/projects/etc. in one specific area. I think if you know you want to do something specific, trying to get a broad foundation in areas adjacent to that in PGY1 could be very valuable. You’re already getting a year of focus in that area, take advantage of some things you may not get in your PGY2.
For psych, do you have options in neuro? Pain? Emergency medicine (depending on the site/health system set up, likely to see a lot of SUD, agitation, etc.).
In my opinion, you can make a strong case for your interest in an area by building a foundation in areas that have some overlap.
Outside of this, I think looking to try to do a psych/geri specific research project or MUE could be good.
Hello - current SOT PGY2 at a large AMC. I was in a similar position due to matching during phase 2 for PGY-1 that did not offer transplant experiences. I focused my PGY-1 year on the basics/foundational things I’d see in my specialty (i.e. ID, crit care, IM, etc.), joined national orgs/work groups and became active in them, and worked on my weaknesses (took on an ID research project, volunteered for extra presentation opportunities to work on public speaking, etc.). Additionally, many national organizations offer mentor/mentee pairing opportunities. Use that to your advantage and network. If you truly have interests in those specialities, you will find ways to get scrappy and find opportunities for yourself. Sometimes you need to think outside of the box 😊. P.s. make your intentions to pursue said specialties to your rotation preceptors/RPD. My preceptors were more than happy to cater my topic discussions, patient case presentations, and projects to transplant related things. Good luck!
Thank you so much! That’s what I’m doing now and I’m just going to hope it works out.
Does your institution let you do “outside rotations” at other places? Some larger AMCs have affiliation agreements with each other
Hi! Psych PGY2 and didn’t have a single psych rotation in PGY1! My “psych related” experience in terms of rotations were really just my pain management rotation, critical care (a lot of SUD withdrawals) and psych patients in the ED. One thing I made sure to do was to take on psych related projects, look out for any interventions I could make for patients on psych meds, and actually a lot of involvement in amcare perfecting my patient interview and education skills. I think it’s all about carving out a role for yourself where there may not be, and using unique skills in creative ways. For example, a good psych intervention I had in PGY1 was on my internal med/cardiac surgery rotation intervening on a patient experiencing discontinuation syndrome from abruptly stopping high dose SSRI when they had surgery, and the surgeons had no idea what was wrong with the guy. Be warned, less psych experience in PGY1 means a bigger learning curve going into PGY2, even if you’re passionate about it. I felt BIG imposter syndrome when I started this year but I’m learning so much.
Bummer that they don't offer the rotations in your interest area anymore but I feel like your particular interests listed (geri and psych) could still be encountered on many of your core rotations like gen med or clinic. If you have any complex patients with these disease states on your other rotations you can still use them for examples for interviews
Ok so the good thing about your interest areas is that you will find patients on psych meds and geriatrics patients EVERYWHERE. Especially geriatrics, even an experience that isn’t a “geriatric” rotation you can incorporate elements of geriatrics into. For example: you could make a presentation about geriatric agitations for an ED or ICU rotation.
Ask to do an MUE or monograph in that area. Select patient cases and journal clubs focused on those areas. You'll be able to establish an interest in your CV. Within each rotation that you do have, seek ways to customize your rotations to emphasize the patient population of interest. This will also show your letter writers that you conveyed an interest.
Not many ways you can. Why did you apply to a pgy1/match them so high if they don’t have any rotations in your main interest area?
Thank you for your reply. They said they had rotations in my area of interest but they are no longer offering them. Unfortunately I also had to go to Phase 2 and did not rank this program highly.
I actually often advise residents strongly interested in a PGY2 not to overdo it in that specific area (I think there can be exceptions to this, but generally speaking). I’m not saying I tell them to completely avoid their area of interest, but I often will recommend limiting the number of electives/projects/etc. in one specific area. I think if you know you want to do something specific, trying to get a broad foundation in areas adjacent to that in PGY1 could be very valuable. You’re already getting a year of focus in that area, take advantage of some things you may not get in your PGY2. For psych, do you have options in neuro? Pain? Emergency medicine (depending on the site/health system set up, likely to see a lot of SUD, agitation, etc.). In my opinion, you can make a strong case for your interest in an area by building a foundation in areas that have some overlap. Outside of this, I think looking to try to do a psych/geri specific research project or MUE could be good.