Internal Medicine Residents | Icahn School of Medicine (2023)

FAQs

What is the best residency program for internal medicine? ›

Basic training in internal medicine is three years of residency (termed 'categorical' training) following medical school. Following completion of three years of training, residents are eligible for board certification in internal medicine.

For example, despite the fact that Internal Medicine is categorized as a “less competitive” specialty, the most highly respected and renowned Internal Medicine residency programs are highly competitive and therefore difficult to get into. Exceptions in the opposite direction generally do not hold up as well.

The primary care specialties—family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics—are generally considered the most IMG-friendly because they are the least competitive specialties to match into.

But internal medicine is more difficult than other specialties to categorize and nail down because it's so broad and expansive in what you can do with it. There are also more fellowship options after internal medicine than just about any other specialty, which we'll get to shortly.

Salary Ranges for Internal Medicine Residents

The salaries of Internal Medicine Residents in the US range from $43,500 to $187,200 , with a median salary of $57,826 . The middle 50% of Internal Medicine Residents makes between $53,310 and $57,820, with the top 83% making $187,200.

The shortest residency training programs are three years and the longest are seven. After residency training, some people pursue fellowship training which can range in length from one to three years, on average.

The average first-year resident physician makes about $60,000, and there's not much wiggle room. Resident salaries are determined by an institution and correlate with training year rather than specialty.

Examples of career options for doctors without residency include working in the medical-legal field, teaching, or working in the pharmaceutical or insurance industry. Entry into any of these fields requires some planning and action.

Apart from the top 5 specialties mentioned above, Interventional Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Vascular Surgery, General Surgery and Med/Peds are among the most difficult domains to become a doctor.

How many hours a week do im residents work? ›

Residents work 40–80 hours a week depending on specialty and rotation within the specialty, with residents occasionally logging 136 (out of 168) hours in a week.

Clinical grades are usually based on a curve such that only a small percentage of the class can earn them, meaning you have to outshine your colleagues. In this regard, medical school is much more stressful than residency.

1. Plastic/ Reconstructive Surgery: According to our research, plastic surgery is the hardest specialty. Plastic surgeons specialize in soft tissue such as skin, muscle, and fat rather than bones, which are the domain of orthopedic surgeons.

The most challenging and rewarding aspects of internal medicine: Internal medicine patients tend to be older and sicker, with multiple medical problems and often significant social and psychologic challenges as well.

The top internal medicine programs are very competitive so it is important to understand what your target programs will be. The vast majority of U.S. allopathic seniors match in internal medicine, but, the specialty remains competitive for international and osteopathic applicants.

How many hours will you REALLY work? What's the weekly workload in terms of hours worked during an Internal Medicine residency? According to studies and resident reports, 70-80 hours per week during hospital rotations and 40-50 hours per week on outpatient clinic rotations is normal for this type of residency.

Residents are doctors in training. They have graduated from medical school, been awarded an M.D. degree, and now are training to be a particular type of doctor — such as a pediatrician or pediatric specialist, or a type of surgeon. In their first year of such training, residents are sometimes called interns.

Which residency pays the most? ›

What are the highest paid residencies in the US? Allergy & immunology, hematology, medical geneticists, rheumatology, and most forms of specialized surgery top the list. However, it's important to remember that these are subspecialty residencies, aka fellowships, and so are effectively PGY4+ residencies.

Of note, allergy and immunology physicians also spend the least amount of time on paperwork and administrative tasks out of any specialty on our list at just 14.6 hours per week. For perspective, this is a similar amount of time to dermatology which is known for being one of the best lifestyle specialties.

The length of residency depends on the field a graduate chooses to take. Medical specialties such as family medicine and internal medicine often require three years, whereas surgery usually requires 5-7 years of training, and neurological surgery is the longest at 7 years.

A general practice doctor is probably the easiest doctor to become. Even though students must complete four years of medical school and one or two years of a residency, this is the minimum amount of education required for medical doctors.

Yes, medical schools do accept older students. According to medical school admissions specialists, it is certainly possible for someone age 30 or over to be accepted into med school.

Once a resident finishes their residency, they are considered an attending physician. The attending physician is in charge of the whole medical team- including the residents, intern, and medical student.

Find local schools and libraries in your area and start advertising your services and what subjects you can tutor. You could also tutor your fellow classmates in your medical school! You can contract through an education company and they will connect you with people who are seeking tutors.

Residents have, in fact, been terminated from residency, and threatened with the loss of career, because they called programs on rules violations, or complained about a program's behavior, or posted on this site. There are well documented cases of this. So it's pretty much the same as in the real world.

After termination or resignation, you will most likely be unable to work in the specialty that you trained in since you have not yet finished residency and are not board eligible. Despite hitting this major road block, you must finish residency to optimize your earning potential and to advance in your career.

What is the easiest type of doctor to become? ›

Residency programs typically offer between two and four weeks of vacation, with the flexibility to schedule them increasing as residents advance in their training. We spoke with residents about how they make the most of their extended time away from the hospital and clinic.

In 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) implemented rules limiting work hours for all residents, with the key components being that residents should work no more than 80 hours per week or 24 consecutive hours on duty, should not be "on-call" more than every third night, and should have ...

You match into a residency at a specific hospital or university or other med center. Hospitals may be private, community, large nonprofit or academic. In large cities/urban areas, residents may end up rotating through multiple hospitals across town.

The total national attrition rate remained relatively stable at an average of 3.3% over those 20 years. Additionally, attrition rates appeared to vary by type of degree program.

Residents and fellows around the country have bought into the “medical training myth.” The myth states: “Life will get so much better when I finish residency/fellowship.” Sadly, too many house staff buy into this false belief and experience tremendous letdown when they graduate.

Residency training is exciting and challenging because you get to practice what you studied for. However, the working hours can really get tough especially during your beginning years as you get to adjust with the setup.

What happens if you dont match medical school? ›

Those who do not match in the initial Main Residency Match can apply for the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). There are three SOAP rounds during Match week, in which unmatched students and residency programs can connect, and many applicants are placed into residencies this way.

We recommend being more strategic and applying to no more than 30-35 programs, at most. The “ideal” range could be from 15 to 35, though it's important to remember that there is no actual universally applicable “ideal” number of residency programs to apply to.

To increase your chances of matching, you should research each program's IMG-match rates and overall match rates. If you're applying for residency as an older applicant, meaning you graduated medical school more than five years ago, you should also look at the age trends among current program residents.

Basic training in internal medicine is three years of residency (termed 'categorical' training) following medical school. Following completion of three years of training, residents are eligible for board certification in internal medicine.

According to our research, even the strongest IMG applicant needs to apply to at least 80 programs to have a good probability of a successful match. Mid applicants may need to apply to 120-150 programs.

Emergency medicine physicians have the highest rates of burnout among all physician specialties, according to a Medscape's 2022 Physician Burnout and Depression report.

How many programs should I apply to? All students should apply to at least 12 programs. Some students will need to apply to more. Your assigned DOM advisor will help you figure out the number of programs you need to apply to.

What is a good step 1 score for internal medicine? ›

How many hours will you REALLY work? What's the weekly workload in terms of hours worked during an Internal Medicine residency? According to studies and resident reports, 70-80 hours per week during hospital rotations and 40-50 hours per week on outpatient clinic rotations is normal for this type of residency.

The Happiest Doctors

Rheumatologists -- specialists in arthritis, joints, muscles, and bones -- topped the list with an average self-reported happiness rating of 4.09. They were followed closely by dermatologists (4.06), urologists (4.04), ophthalmologists (4.03), and emergency medicine doctors (4.01).

1. Plastic/ Reconstructive Surgery: According to our research, plastic surgery is the hardest specialty. Plastic surgeons specialize in soft tissue such as skin, muscle, and fat rather than bones, which are the domain of orthopedic surgeons.

Of all of the interviewees participating in the match, nearly all matched into a program somewhere, with no significant difference based on interview timing. Conclusions: When considering all of the interviewees, interview date showed no major influence on matching.

How many letters of recommendation do I need for the residency application? You need at least three letters of recommendation per residency, and you can submit up to four per residency.

Clinical grades are usually based on a curve such that only a small percentage of the class can earn them, meaning you have to outshine your colleagues. In this regard, medical school is much more stressful than residency.

The top internal medicine programs are very competitive so it is important to understand what your target programs will be. The vast majority of U.S. allopathic seniors match in internal medicine, but, the specialty remains competitive for international and osteopathic applicants.

How many hours do residents sleep? ›

According to a study of 4,510 obstetric-gynecologic residents, 71.3% reported sleeping less than 3 hours while on night call. In a survey of 3,604 first- and second-year residents, 20% reported sleeping an average of 5 hours or less per night, and 66% averaged 6 hours or less per night.

Residency programs typically offer between two and four weeks of vacation, with the flexibility to schedule them increasing as residents advance in their training. We spoke with residents about how they make the most of their extended time away from the hospital and clinic.

The average first-year resident physician makes about $60,000, and there's not much wiggle room. Resident salaries are determined by an institution and correlate with training year rather than specialty.