Med School Residency Out West

[isu22andy]

Anyone on here know anything about Medical school residency in the western states ? States like Wyoming Colorado Montana Kansas . Citys like Billings ,Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie, Colorado Springs ect...... Are they easier to get accepted to vs traditional eastern states with higher populations ? Reason I ask is girlfriend graduates next year this time and is looking for family medicine residency options . I threw out the idea of heading west for 3-4 years but didnt know if they were harder to get into over the bigger cities in the eastern side of the country. Thanks for any info or experience.

 

[Billinsd]

My friend's wife is doing her residency in Minot, ND. She didn't pick it, because she wanted to live there. It was more like she could get in. I'd imagine the less touristy, more rural places would be easier to get into. I'd look at Eastern Montana/Wyoming.

 

[nrh6.7]

Not sure about getting into residencies (although it is probably easier because those areas are underserved), but if she wants to work as an FP in a rural area the clinics and hospitals will go to great lengths to recruit her. I used to deal with hospitals in the UMW (North Dakota and MN) and many would offer up to $20K/year in loan forgiveness. And if she will do OB, she can make some major coin.

 

[bobr1]

Residency programs in low population areas are very difficult to get into out west especially in Montana and Wyoming. Wyoming and Montana don't have medical schools so the resources for training new residents are very limited. This is from an article about how extremely difficult it is to get a residency spot in Montana.

"Montana has three medical residency programs. In Missoula, the University of Montana's three-year Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana launched in July 2013 and has 10 slots for each class. The Billings Clinic Internal Medicine Training Program, which started in October, drew 1,300 applicants for its six slots. And the state's oldest program, the Montana Family Medicine Residency program in Billings, regularly has about 1,000 applications for its eight slots "

I'm not her, but I would try to go to the best residency program and the one I'd be most likely to match into.

Colorado would probably be a better option if you were looking for a western state.

After residency, its completely opposite and the smaller more rural areas will want her.

Good luck

 

[brsnow]

My wife did it in Grand Junction CO, but I would warm the medical profession pays much in others states. CO you choose to give up pay for the lifestyle.

 

[DWBMontana]

My wife is FP/OB here in Montana, actually works with students from MSU Bozeman, involved in the WAMI program run by UW. She is out of town till early next week, I will try and remember to ask her this for you, you might send me an PM on Monday so I do not forget, LOL. I know you have to apply for residency, but , as a trophy husband, I do not know much about it....

 

[johnsd16]

There is a FM residency here in Coeur d’alene Idaho. Smaller program and I’m not sure about it’s competitiveness. Lots to do here and easy access to spokane. I’m a gastroenterologist here in town and do some teaching with the residents. Not sure how many other programs in ID but I’m sure Boise, maybe Idaho falls or something, maybe one other but we are the only one up north. Is she dead set on family medicine? Feel free to PM me.

 

[isu22andy]

Thanks for all the replies - we really appreciate it . No she is not dead set on family medicine . She is going through her clinical rotations right now in Miami FL but we are just planing for the future what our next big move is and what are odds are at moving somewhere desirable. Trying to find a place that isn’t a crazy downtown metropolitan for miles upon miles if that’s possible . We are Midwest small town people and aren’t used to that lifestyle . Again I don’t know much about it but it sounds like you have to send 100s of applications before you get accepted so could end up anywhere !

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[brettdunn7]

Thanks for all the replies - we really appreciate it . No she is not dead set on family medicine . She is going through her clinical rotations right now in Miami FL but we are just planing for the future what our next big move is and what are odds are at moving somewhere desirable. Trying to find a place that isn’t a crazy downtown metropolitan for miles upon miles if that’s possible . We are Midwest small town people and aren’t used to that lifestyle . Again I don’t know much about it but it sounds like you have to send 100s of applications before you get accepted so could end up anywhere !

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Utah would maybe be a consideration. Lots of hospitals and they are really good. Also it’s not a very big city. I was really surprised actually the first time we went here and actually moved here 2 months ago. Wife is a nurse just got a job within 4 days of putting in an app.


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[wyosam]

The residency options in the rural areas in WWAMI states (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) are extremely competitive for people from other areas. Other schools partner with the University of Washington to train medical students, with the goal being to retain future doctors in these rural states. This is my understanding from a couple of friends who have gone through the program (and matched in their home state). I also work with residents at my facility, and the few residents I've seen that weren't from wwami had friends in very high places within the hospital.

 

[johnsd16]

Depending on her qualities as a candidate for what specialty she picks, she will probably be applying to 10-20 programs and going on 6-8 interviews. You have to remember the massive number of applicants is driven by FMGs (foreign medical grads) who did medical school outside the US.

 

[RLGrats]

Regarding residency program selection, I’d be primarily concerned about the quality of the training program as she will spend WAY more time practicing than training, and her practice options will be proportionate to the quality of her training. A “C” level program will leave her with FAR fewer practice options than an “A” or “B” level program.


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[Dustin the wind]

For my wife's pharmacy school we had an easier time getting her into Missoula as apposed to Oregon schools, WA schools and so on. Missoula is a desirable town in MT but not in the country so that is a big reason the competition was lessened. Do more than one interview at a school so she has a backup spot if the 1st choice falls through. I would say any school not inside a coastal state is going to have much improved acceptance chances.

Edit: Oddly enough my wife was first admitted to and attended a HI school but transferred to MT after her first year. HI had a pretty new pharmacy program and was even easier to get into.

 

[Schism]

Pick a specialty and try to get into the best residency program possible, no matter the location. The 3-5 years spent training at a well renowned facility will enhance the education, experience and resume which will provide greater job opportunities for the rest of her career.

 

[isu22andy]

Application time for her . She did really well on her USMLE . Above the National average. Also broke down on one knee and got engaged. Going to be alot of changes coming for us soon !

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Lots of big changes ahead. Congratulations! (and smart move locking down that doctor!)

Take a look at Alaska too. They struggle to get quality medical folks up there sometimes, so there may be opportunities for her there, and as a resident, you won't need a guide for sheep, goats, brown bears, or anything else!

 

[ahlgringo]

The residency options in the rural areas in WWAMI states (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) are extremely competitive for people from other areas. Other schools partner with the University of Washington to train medical students, with the goal being to retain future doctors in these rural states. This is my understanding from a couple of friends who have gone through the program (and matched in their home state). I also work with residents at my facility, and the few residents I've seen that weren't from wwami had friends in very high places within the hospital.

IMO as a physician going through the WWAMI program this is not quite true.
Getting into med school through the WWAMI and being from a WWAMI state other than Washington is competitive, but for residency match not so much.

FP is not a super competitive field to match into. Being a USMG and doing well on the USMLE, unless there are glaring red flags on her application- she will be very competitive to most programs. I would also argue that some of the smaller FP programs in smaller cities/towns may actually provide a broader scope of practice training. Large University based programs are often limited in scope as many patients with any complexity get farmed out to subspecialty for consultation/procedures.

I did a rotation while in med school with a rural Washington FP who actually did all of his own endoscopy, OB, and minor surgical procedures himself. This would be very rare in a larger city where subspecialty Docs abound. The caveat being that some larger training institutions now have a designated "rural" track for training that may provide this type of experience.

Take it for what its worth- I am not a primary care doc, I am an Anesthesiologist at a large training institution- but these have been my observations.

 

[willfrye027]

Application time for her . She did really well on her USMLE . Above the National average. Also broke down on one knee and got engaged. Going to be alot of changes coming for us soon !

Shoot me a PM sometime I’d be happy to chat with you or her. I’m not in FP but I’m training at a place with two FP residencies. Depending on what you like to hunt...I hunt almost year round here. Waterfowl is world class even on public, deer hunting not great but big bucks exist, bear hunting, plenty of turkeys, good fishing, some wild pigs on public. Good quail hunting. Good fishing too. The unfortunate part is thats it’s in California but it’s not so bad in the more rural places where I’m at. Nothing is exceptional but it’s all available and not too expensive to live here.

 

[cmeadors13]

university of Washington has an awesome orthopedic program and a word renowned shoulder and elbow fellowship.

 

[willtim]

As a fellow physician please don't pick a residency based on location. Get the best possible training you can. After that the world is your oyster.