Hi Tammy – yes, we’ve been offering this at Harvard for a while. It is not a track that residents have to match into. Ideally they decide to do it after their PGY-3 year (but some have done it after PGY-4). Some have taken 2 years off, some just 1. One of our PhD faculty has a T32 grant that has helped to support these residents during their research year (although some have had to identify other funding sources when the T32 wasn’t available). They often moonlight to supplement their income also.
As far as the regulatory bodies (ABOS, ACGME) are concerned, there is no problem with extending their training in this manner (though someone with a visa would run into problems). We’ve had some problems with hospital credentialing recognizing them as clinical trainees when they are not on the residency schedule, but that’s a local issue.
Logistically, it is tricky because it means adjusting the rotation schedules to accommodate the fluctuating number of residents each year. If you want to chat in more detail about our experience with this feel free to contact me directly!
