u/Embarrassed-Peak-348

A bit of an atypical situation, would love people's candid advice

USMD U.S citizen, graduated from a top 20 med school 3 years back. Previously aimed for a competitive specialty (e.g, ortho, derm, etc) but decided to pursue non-clinical healthcare business work past few years. However, now wanting to return to clinical medicine (long story, parental illness etc.).

Going to spent next two years finishing up my current work, take step 3 (had high step 1 and 2 scores 260+ and 270+, so good test taker previously. Half Honors half high pass for core clerkships. Honors in neuro for more info), do observerships then apply next year 2027. Currently planning on applying family medicine for sure given it's most receptive to people with gaps, but also considering whether I should consider doing an observership in neuro then dual applying as it was one of the specialties I heavily considered but ultimate did not pursue while in med school. Or should I not even bother since it's unrealistic and just focus my efforts on FM instead?

Thanks for your help!

A bit of an atypical situation, would love people's candid advice

USMD U.S citizen, graduated from a top 20 med school 3 years back. Previously aimed for a competitive specialty (e.g, ortho, derm, etc) but decided to pursue non-clinical healthcare business work past few years. However, now wanting to return to clinical medicine (long story, parental illness etc.).

Going to spent next two years finishing up my current work, take step 3 (had high step 1 and 2 scores 260+ and 270+, so good test taker previously. Half Honors half high pass for core clerkships with HP in psych for more info), do observerships then apply next year 2027. Currently planning on applying family medicine for sure given it's most receptive to people with gaps, but also considering whether I should consider doing an observership in psych then dual applying as it was one of the specialties I heavily considered but ultimate did not pursue while in med school. Or should I not even bother since it's unrealistic and just focus my efforts on FM instead?

Thanks for your help!

In an odd situation different from most and would appreciate advice on how to invest / save up for retirement / family and kids in the future.

USMD, graduated from a top 20 med school 3 years back, previously aimed for a competitive specialty (e.g, ortho, derm, etc) but decided to pursue non-clinical healthcare business work past few years. However, now wanting to return to clinical medicine (long story, parental illness etc.).

Going to spent next two years finishing up my current work, take step 3 (had high step 1 and 2 scores 260+ and 270+, so good test taker previously) just to aim for passing to get medical license, do observerships then apply for IM / FM residency since those are likely the only specialties that will take me due to long gap post graduation. FM advisor at school said I should have no problem matching outside of top academic programs and should have decent geographic flexibility.

Currently at ~500k net worth, no student loans or any debt. Overall fairly frugal / not spend heavy person since I’m a homebody.

Once I become an attending, what should I do to both maximize my income from work perspective (assuming PCP / FM doc, maybe something that can leverage business background) and any investment advice? Currently just been doing broad market index funds.

Thank you for your help!

In an odd situation different from most and would appreciate advice on how to invest / save up for retirement, especially from PCP docs.

USMD, graduated from a top 20 med school 3 years back, previously aimed for a competitive specialty (e.g, ortho, derm, etc) but decided to pursue non-clinical healthcare business work past few years. However, now wanting to return to clinical medicine (long story, parental illness etc.).

Going to spent next two years finishing up my current work, take step 3 (had high step 1 and 2 scores 260+ and 270+, so good test taker previously) just to aim for passing to get medical license, do observerships then apply for IM / FM residency since those are likely the only specialties that will take me due to long gap post graduation. FM advisor at school said I should have no problem matching outside of top academic programs and should have decent geographic flexibility.

Currently at ~500k net worth, no student loans or any debt. Overall fairly frugal / not spend heavy person since I’m a homebody.

Once I become an attending, what should I do to both maximize my income (assuming PCP / FM doc) and any investment advice? Currently just been doing broad market index funds.

Thank you for your help!

Would love if someone can shed light on the 7-year rule for U.S state medical licensing.

I took my Step 1 and 2 back in 2020, now returning to clinical medicine and planning on taking step 3 mid-January 2027. My step 1 was taken Feb 19th, 2020, with score released on March 10th, 2020.

My questions are that:

1. When does the 7 years start? The date I took my test (Feb) or the day the score is released (March)?
2. Is taking Step 3 (the exam date) before Feb 2027 (assuming I pass) count as meeting the deadline? Or do I have to have a released score (but I can't control how long it takes to score the exam) that's under the 7 year limit?

Thanks! Quite confused.

Would love if someone can shed light on the 7-year rule for state medical licensing.

I took my Step 1 and 2 back in 2020, now returning to clinical medicine and planning on taking step 3 mid-January 2027. My step 1 was taken Feb 19th, 2020, with score released on March 10th, 2020.

My questions are that:

1. When does the 7 years start? The date I took my test (Feb) or the day the score is released (March)?
2. Is taking Step 3 (the exam date) before Feb 2027 (assuming I pass) count as meeting the deadline? Or do I have to have a released score (but I can't control how long it takes to score the exam) that's under the 7 year limit?

Thanks! Quite confused.

Long story ahead, but would appreciate advice given my specific situation. I graduated from a T20 medical school in 2023. I'm currently in healthcare business but seriously considering returning to residency / applying to this year's 2027 match for Family Medicine as I realized after being on the business side of healthcare for a bit that grass was greener on the other side effect was real. Couple key questions below that I would love for someone to help shed light on. 

1. I applied twice to a competitive specialty and did not match for 2022-2023. I did match a prelim for internal medicine in 2023, but left after 3 months to pursue other opportunities at that time. Would that have any effect on my eligibility for matching in 2027? Under my best knowledge there was no match violation as I resigned from the program without issue. 
2. Can I re-use old letters of recommendation with permission from writers? I'm still working right now and won't have time to do anything clinical.
3. I also had one previous preceptor that was in the community for my family medicine rotation, would it be possible to contact him to ask for a letter of recommendation based solely on my evaluations during that rotation? That should cover two letters and likely be sufficient with third from school.
4. Unfortunately I took 6 years for medical school, including a research year and additional exploration year. Took both my Steps in 2020, So my test scores for Step 1 and step 2 will expire next year in March and September respectively. Does this mean I will need to take step 3 and pass before march?
5. In the contingency case that I match to a program, find out I did not pass step 3, what happens then? I did have relatively high Step 1 and Step 2 scores, 260+ and 265+ respectively, is it reasonable to assume with 4 months of dedicated prep I can pass step 3?

Appreciate everyone's help, feel free to answer as much or as little as you like.