Ok this question was prompted by a TV show I saw called Everwood.

Synopsis...a big city neurosurgeon moves to small town after his wife dies and practices family medicine.

Can this really happen without a FP residency? I've heard of small town FP's doing ER...but I was wondering if this is even possible?

Yes, it's possible. There are many general practitioners who work side by side with FP or IM. Once you complete an internship...get a license...essentially (at least in California) you can do whatever you can get a job (and malpractice insurance coverage) doing. Now, obviously, it's not a good idea to try and do heart surgery just because you *can*...especially if you really can't. But, family practice-like medicine is something that most physicians can do, and are qualified to do with a medical license. I actually did general practice after my internship to make some extra money. Basically I was like a family practice doctor, but they (of course) got paid a bit more than me (being that they were specialists and all) and they (probably) had more job options, and more leverage...but I was able to find a job just fine.

The only bad things about doing what the surgeon did is:
#1 sometimes surgeons -turned -FP are a little scary ( ie it has been twenty yrs since they treated an ear infection on a baby)
#2 you get very DUBIOUS looks from prospective employers who figure you are a quack who was getting sued too often doing your subspecialty and you must;'ve seen FP as an easy way out...( a former surgeon at the age of fity considered our practice and I doubt we even gave him an interview)

That's too bad that the fifty year old former surgeon didn't get a chance to discuss why he was at a stage in his life to consider FP without negative assumptions being made about him. Everyone has a story to tell as many of the women who post here do! In my former practice we had a 60 year old former surgeon who simply wanted to have more of a "life", especially after becoming widowed and having to finish raising his youngest children by himself. Also he didn't feel that he wanted to run at a surgeon's pace any longer. He did mostly urgent care and was a real benefit to the group because he took care of a number of minor outpatient surgical procedures quite competently and efficiently.

Anyway, that's been my experience with that type of specialty change... btw, I never saw the TV show so the situation sounds a bit like my former colleague as his wife also passed on.

What a coincidence. Anyway, not to get off topic but I have a question kind of relating to this. First off, if you are going into a specialty that requires a 3 year residency, does the first year of internship count? Another question I have is if say a ped doc wanted to go into EM, would that have to have another 3 yrs of residency in that field? How would that work?

Dana,

Yes, internship counts.

And, no, one cannot be a specialist in one area then simply switch and be considered specialist in another area without taking the board exam for that specialty. And most specialties (if not all) require the completion of a accredited residency in that area to be eligible to sit for the exam. Some areas will allow special circumstances to prevail (such as extensive time/experience practicing in an area) and permit one to sit for the board exam despite not having completed a residency.

If a pedi doc wanted to to EM, she would have to do an EM residency...take the board, then she can call herself an emergency medicine specialist (and of course she'd be double boarded as a pediatrician as well.)

-Mya

Oh thanks Mya! How long is EM residency? I know you are an EM doctor.

---Dana

3 years, but some require a preliminary year (internship) prior to starting your training in EM, so that's 1+3.

Thanks, so I guess for some, that year of internship doesnt count?

Thanks everyone,
I know it's kind of silly, but it is nice to know as a doctor you have "options." Thanks everone for your answers.

Diana :p