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Medical Career Pathway by PracticeLink®
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Level 8

3-7 Year Programs

Graduate Medical Education

Residency & Fellowship Training

Overview

Level 8 represents Graduate Medical Education (GME), where physicians complete residency training to become board-eligible in their chosen specialty. This supervised clinical training ranges from 3 years for primary care to 7+ years for complex surgical subspecialties.

Residency training occurs in ACGME-accredited programs across the United States, with physicians progressing from intern to senior resident to chief resident. Fellowship training follows residency for those pursuing subspecialization in areas like cardiology, oncology, or surgical subspecialties.

Program Types Available

Primary Care Residencies

Family Medicine (3 yr), Internal Medicine (3 yr), Pediatrics (3 yr), and Med-Peds combined programs.

Surgical Residencies

General Surgery (5 yr), Orthopedics (5 yr), Neurosurgery (7 yr), and other surgical specialties.

Fellowship Training

Subspecialty fellowships in cardiology, gastroenterology, oncology, and 180+ other subspecialties.

Rural Training Tracks

1-2 and 2-2 programs with enhanced rural medicine training and practice placement support.

Featured Programs

Primary Care Residency Programs

Training Pipeline

ACGME-accredited residencies in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics preparing physicians for comprehensive patient care.

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Surgical Residency Programs

Training Pipeline

5-7 year general surgery and surgical specialty residencies with intensive operative training and research opportunities.

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Rural Training Track Programs

Training Pipeline

Specialized residency tracks preparing physicians for rural practice with enhanced training in underserved community medicine.

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Browse All Level 8 Programs

Quick Facts

Program Length
3-7 Years
Specialties
186+ ACGME-approved
Resident Salary
$60,000 - $75,000/yr
Match Rate
~94% US MD seniors

Typical Outcomes

  • Board certification eligibility
  • Specialty certification
  • Independent practice license
  • Fellowship eligibility

Next Steps

After residency, physicians enter practice with support from loan repayment programs and placement services.

Explore Level 9