Match poll/stats for those who applied, matched or unmatched.

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I’m just a lowly beginning 3rd year, very interested in dermatology, and would like to know what makes for a successful match. I’ve read the radiation oncology forum, and ophthalmology forum and found useful threads that discussed what kind of stats made for a successful match in those fields. I was thinking that the dermatology forum could use such a thread as well, to help those who are applying in the future get all our “ducks lined up in a row.” Here is what those other forums used:

--Board Scores:
--AOA and class rank: if known
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc)
--Research: (none, some, derm with no publications, derm publications)
--Honors in clerkships: (especially surgery and medicine)
--# and where you did away rotations:
--# of programs you applied to:
--Where invited for interviews:
--Where matched:
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, etc)

For those who have matched in the previous years please help us wannabe’s get to where you are at, and post your stats. Thanks in advance.

450 views and not one reply, come on help a clueless med student out.

508 and counting...


how about we summarize it by this.

Numbers, numbers, numbers, blah, blah, blah,...

derm is very hard to get. work your butt off, do your best, and hope for good luck on match day. that's about all you can do.

Originally Posted by Long Dong

I’m just a lowly beginning 3rd year, very interested in dermatology, and would like to know what makes for a successful match. I’ve read the radiation oncology forum, and ophthalmology forum and found useful threads that discussed what kind of stats made for a successful match in those fields. I was thinking that the dermatology forum could use such a thread as well, to help those who are applying in the future get all our “ducks lined up in a row.” Here is what those other forums used:

--Board Scores:
--AOA and class rank: if known
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc)
--Research: (none, some, derm with no publications, derm publications)
--Honors in clerkships: (especially surgery and medicine)
--# and where you did away rotations:
--# of programs you applied to:
--Where invited for interviews:
--Where matched:
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, etc)

For those who have matched in the previous years please help us wannabe’s get to where you are at, and post your stats. Thanks in advance.

Long Dong,

I'm waiting on this too. How come these derm students/residents don't want to help other out. Geez!

you just won't get enough responses ... no one, much less a busy derm resident, reads this forum that's plagued by inane "i've got this rash"-type threads. be that as it may, i'll try to shed some light on all this.

i see two schools/types of derm residents: those who've put in significant research time through fellowships, etc to land their spots, and those who were just stellar in med school and matched right through.

of those who've matched, 40-50% do so at their home program or other program they've rotated through. the same skill set that allowed them to honor most of their 3rd year clerkships (and get AOA) allowed them to excel in the eyes of their derm dept or at their derm aways. it's not always about book smarts as you know ... as your board scores should naturally reflect that ... they should be comfortably north of 235, btw.

things that will make your life harder:
not having a home derm dept
no big shot letter writer
being a D.O. (very few D.O spots)
social ineptitude

everyone seems to harp on research .... do it if you can. just seen too many people take a year off to accomplish two crummy case reports and a few projects "in submission". worthless experience and no one in derm bats an eye. journal club teaches us the kind of crap jaad and archives publishes. and there goes a year of your life. if anything, research is the path to get to big-shot letter writer, etc, etc.

good luck

Originally Posted by MrHide

being a D.O. (very few D.O spots)

Thats cause we have our own derm residencies. Don't equate lack of DO students matching into allopathic derm programs with inferiority. Being that derm is close to impossible to match, MD/DO, you'd better believe that I would focus on osteopathic derm programs ALOT more.

Your reply was, otherwise, very helpful. Thanks..

ps- are derm residents really THAT busy?

Originally Posted by DOCTORSAIB

Thats cause we have our own derm residencies. Don't equate lack of DO students matching into allopathic derm programs with inferiority. Being that derm is close to impossible to match, MD/DO, you'd better believe that I would focus on osteopathic derm programs ALOT more.

Your reply was, otherwise, very helpful. Thanks..

ps- are derm residents really THAT busy?

i implied nothing .... assigned d.o spots are even fewer for the number of d.o applicants. how was this not an accurate statement of very high competiveness. no need to be so sensitive for absolutely no reason ....

please don't be THAT oversensitive d.o who's always picking a fight to "defend" osteopathy. chill.

Originally Posted by MrHide

i implied nothing .... assigned d.o spots are even fewer for the number of d.o applicants. how was this not an accurate statement of very high competiveness. no need to be so sensitive for absolutely no reason ....

please don't be THAT oversensitive d.o who's always picking a fight to "defend" osteopathy. chill.

If you knew me, you would know that I am probably the last person to get overly sensitive about osteopathic medicine. I'm not particularly in love with OMM but that's just b/c OMM has little/no relevance to the field I plan on entering (ophtho). Otherwise, OMM is a great tool. If my friends in allopathic schools had the opportunity to take a few classes in OMM and either watched it performed or better yet had it performed on them, I'd bet my money they'd be convinced.

Back to my main point. What exactly do you mean by "there are very few DO spots?" Are you saying that the number of osteopathic (AOA) derm spots are very small relative to the number of osteopathic derm applicants? (i.e. smaller than "number of ACGME derm spots/total # of allopathic derm applicants"). If so, do you have the actual data to support this?

Originally Posted by DOCTORSAIB

What exactly do you mean by "there are very few DO spots?" Are you saying that the number of osteopathic (AOA) derm spots are very small relative to the number of osteopathic derm applicants? (i.e. smaller than "number of ACGME derm spots/total # of allopathic derm applicants"). If so, do you have the actual data to support this?

can you just go back to the ophthal board and defend your precious D.O. degree there? you're not important enough for me to read up on your previous posts and surmise your reputation of "OMM-hating." or, for that matter, dig up stats for. we'll all pretend you got into an allopath school and chose D.O anyway .... happy now? now git.

I'd hate to break it to the poster, but I'm pretty sure that DO's trying to match into ophtho have just as hard of a time as DO's trying to match into Derm. I'm sure it's doable, since there are a handful matching each year into DO and MD programs...but it's an uphill battle, and it's probably a little easier to tackle without a chip on your shoulder. In general...I'd recommend that people with their hearts set on specialties like Derm, Ophtho, Neurosurg, Plastics, ENT, etc. think hard about going MD instead of DO. I have no hate for DO's...I just think that I'm giving good advice.

Originally Posted by MrHide

can you just go back to the ophthal board and defend your precious D.O. degree there? you're not important enough for me to read up on your previous posts and surmise your reputation of "OMM-hating." or, for that matter, dig up stats for. we'll all pretend you got into an allopath school and chose D.O anyway .... happy now? now git.

Now I see how people get dragged into these pissing contests on SDN. I'll take the higher road.

where do residencies usually like you to do your rotations? anywhere specific? how critical is the reputation of the medical school you attended?

To be frank I think you all know the answer - You need to be in the very top % of your class, do some research, show interest and have some great letters. I matched in 04 to my school and interviewed at several others. Try to keep a positive view, but understand that there are very very few spots to go around and this won't change anytime soon. Don't wait till the last second to get on the ball, no program wants someone like that.

Here's how things went for me.

Some great letters from top derm staff

Research

Top 5% of class

Great board scores

Talk with Staff, show interest, blah blah blah.

Be realistic with yourself and do your best. You didn't make it to this point without having some smarts.

Best of Luck

Originally Posted by Long Dong

I’m just a lowly beginning 3rd year, very interested in dermatology, and would like to know what makes for a successful match. I’ve read the radiation oncology forum, and ophthalmology forum and found useful threads that discussed what kind of stats made for a successful match in those fields. I was thinking that the dermatology forum could use such a thread as well, to help those who are applying in the future get all our “ducks lined up in a row.” Here is what those other forums used:

--Board Scores:
--AOA and class rank: if known
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc)
--Research: (none, some, derm with no publications, derm publications)
--Honors in clerkships: (especially surgery and medicine)
--# and where you did away rotations:
--# of programs you applied to:
--Where invited for interviews:
--Where matched:
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, etc)

For those who have matched in the previous years please help us wannabe’s get to where you are at, and post your stats. Thanks in advance.

Bump for those who have matched, would you mind filling the 411 on what it took to match this year.

...

I'll give you my statistics, but the one thing you need to know about matching into derm is there is no formula. People with board scores of 210 do match and those with 250 don't sometimes. It's a lot about who you know more than what you know sometimes.

Me:
-AOA
-top 10-15 med school
-boards step 1 247 step 2 258
-Research when applied: lots of fluff from undergrad, a little from med school, unrelated to derm, two submissions at time of eras submission, lots of unpublished research currently being done that was put on eras (derm related)
-Honors in clerkships (I really think this matters very little, they generally look at AOA or not AOA and if there's nothing glaring I don't think they analyze your grades or anything
-no aways, though did 1 year research at good derm program (not home program)
-applied to 60 or something
-7 interviews, none in home state, all in different states, both coasts, top five programs and bottom programs (very random spread)
-helped my app? well, i have a very supportive mentor who made one phone call, though he/she is not a heavy hitter in derm (yet)
-matched, though i don't know where yet. thank the lord. not everyone was so lucky.

Congrats! I was wondering how much the application fee is for all these programs? Or is it free?

Thanks!

I matched awhile ago, but here's my info anyway

--Board Scores: Both USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores around 240
--AOA and class rank: NOT AOA, Graduated in Top 18% of class
--Reputation of medical school: middle-tier MD med school
--Research, Publications, Presentations: Non-derm research (between 1st and 2nd year of med school), 3 derm publications (2 were in print during application process), 1 presentation at regional Derm meeting
--Honors in clerkships: Honors in all 3rd year clerkships, except Surgery and Peds. Honors in my 3 Derm rotations.
--# of Derm rotations: 3 TOTAL Derm rotations (2 away, 1 with home program)
--# of programs you applied to: 75
--# of interviews: 14 (I was pleasantly surprised by this number). Interviews were all over the country (West, Mid-west, Northeast, South). I recommend to apply widely and broadly.
--Where matched: My #1 choice, where I did an AWAY rotation at. It's somewhere sunny and on the coast
--Anything that helped your app:
- I'm an older applicant with some unique experiences before getting into Derm. Most of my interviews asked questions about these unique experiences.
- Dermatologic disease also runs in my family. So I have a vested interest in Derm.
- All of my letters of recommendation (3 dermatologists, 1 internal medicine) were glowing and very praising. They were written by junior, unknown faculty. I think the quality of the letter is more important than who wrote it. But if you can get KNOWN faculty to write you a great letter, the more power to you!

Good Luck

-Poro

Originally Posted by darrvao777

Congrats! I was wondering how much the application fee is for all these programs? Or is it free?

Thanks!

Ha! As if anything in this process is even remotely free. No, The ERAS fees were about 1500$, NRMP ended up being 115 b/c I registered late (don't do that). USMLE also took their cut, maybe 100$ or something all told. Interviews added even more, though I did pretty well there.
Sucks, but if you match totally worth it.

Originally Posted by Horns2005

Ha! As if anything in this process is even remotely free. No, The ERAS fees were about 1500$, NRMP ended up being 115 b/c I registered late (don't do that). USMLE also took their cut, maybe 100$ or something all told. Interviews added even more, though I did pretty well there.
Sucks, but if you match totally worth it.

haha...that's pretty much what i was expecting

but you're right...it must seem like pocket change if you match

again, congrats!!

Originally Posted by porokeratosis

I matched awhile ago, but here's my info anyway

--Board Scores: Both USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores around 240
--AOA and class rank: NOT AOA, Graduated in Top 18% of class
--Reputation of medical school: middle-tier MD med school
--Research, Publications, Presentations: Non-derm research (between 1st and 2nd year of med school), 3 derm publications (2 were in print during application process), 1 presentation at regional Derm meeting
--Honors in clerkships: Honors in all 3rd year clerkships, except Surgery and Peds. Honors in my 3 Derm rotations.
--# of Derm rotations: 3 TOTAL Derm rotations (2 away, 1 with home program)
--# of programs you applied to: 75
--# of interviews: 14 (I was pleasantly surprised by this number). Interviews were all over the country (West, Mid-west, Northeast, South). I recommend to apply widely and broadly.
--Where matched: My #1 choice, where I did an AWAY rotation at. It's somewhere sunny and on the coast
--Anything that helped your app:
- I'm an older applicant with some unique experiences before getting into Derm. Most of my interviews asked questions about these unique experiences.
- Dermatologic disease also runs in my family. So I have a vested interest in Derm.
- All of my letters of recommendation (3 dermatologists, 1 internal medicine) were glowing and very praising. They were written by junior, unknown faculty. I think the quality of the letter is more important than who wrote it. But if you can get KNOWN faculty to write you a great letter, the more power to you!

Good Luck

-Poro

thanks for posting your info--very impressive. wondering how your were able to get three derm. pubs out during school w/no derm research btwn 1st and 2nd year. when did you do the research, and what type of manuscripts were they?

"Honors in all 3rd year clerkships, except Surgery and Peds"

Hey, congrats on matching in derm. I have to say, though, that the above made me chuckle.

Originally Posted by javandane

thanks for posting your info--very impressive. wondering how your were able to get three derm. pubs out during school w/no derm research btwn 1st and 2nd year. when did you do the research, and what type of manuscripts were they?

My Derm pubs were case reports. At my home program, I was fortunate to have good mentors who gave me the opportunity to write up a case report and be first author. The case reports were started on during my 2nd year of med school. They only take a few weeks to write up. But it took about over 1 year for them to get published (ie, med journal review and decision).

Hi all, I have a friend who's finishing his final year of medicine at Oxford University in the UK. As we all know, Oxford medicine is one of the best in the world; but we also all know that if he applies for residency in the US he will be disadvantaged being an IMG no matter how famous his med school is. He's interested in derm as well and would like to do his derm residency in the US. He did well on step I (though I don't know what he got for it), and has been a top 10 student since first year. He has 2 publications during his intercalated research year, both derm-related. I bet he'll have a hard time matching into derm in the US since we all know it's notoriously difficult. However, is it at all possible? Has anyone heard of an IMG with a stellar track record of accomplishments who matched into competitive specialties in the US (opthalmology, derm, rad, etc) straight after graduation from med school?

I've always found it odd that despite being from "name brand" schools, graduates of med schools like Oxford (I have a friend who just graduated from Cambridge) have such a hard time getting into competitive American residencies.

Originally Posted by cdql

I've always found it odd that despite being from "name brand" schools, graduates of med schools like Oxford (I have a friend who just graduated from Cambridge) have such a hard time getting into competitive American residencies.

Yeah, I totally agree with you. I mean, people who get in to med schools like Oxford, Cambridge,Melbourne, Edinburgh, and even HKU and some Japanese schools are in the top league and can compete very favourably with the best of American med students. However, it's not unreasonable that American schools and professional organisations have to protect the welfare of their own products first.

May I ask what residency your friend from Cambridge has landed? By the way, I think their med degree is pretty cool I think it's MBBChir (Cantab) instead of the more common MBBS in Europe/Asia or MD in the US.

She's currently doing research trying to get a derm residency right now.

A long, arduous path

Originally Posted by Edison

Hi all, I have a friend who's finishing his final year of medicine at Oxford University in the UK. As we all know, Oxford medicine is one of the best in the world; but we also all know that if he applies for residency in the US he will be disadvantaged being an IMG no matter how famous his med school is. He's interested in derm as well and would like to do his derm residency in the US. He did well on step I (though I don't know what he got for it), and has been a top 10 student since first year. He has 2 publications during his intercalated research year, both derm-related. I bet he'll have a hard time matching into derm in the US since we all know it's notoriously difficult. However, is it at all possible? Has anyone heard of an IMG with a stellar track record of accomplishments who matched into competitive specialties in the US (opthalmology, derm, rad, etc) straight after graduation from med school?

There's a first year ophtho resident at Hopkins who went to Oxford for med school.....

I'll add my 2 cents.

--Board scores: step 1 (259), step 2 (250) not sure if helped didn't come in unitl the day before ROL was due.
--Not AOA, I think AOA matters more then boards score. Seen classmates with lower boards then mine but AOA get a lot more interviews then me.
--Med school us news top 10. Not sure how important this one is, seen peeps from big name schools and some from not so big names on interviews.
--Research 2 months path research between m1-m2= 1 poster, 2 months derm research between m3-m4= 2 submission at time of application, 1 of which got accepted for pub ~2 weeks before ROL due. I think pubs means alot seen 2 classmates both AOA, but one took a year off for research got many pubs and so many interviews that he couldn't make it to all them and cancel some, the other AOA sutdent w/o year off didn't have this problem of too many interviews.
--Honors: My school doesn't have honors just what they call letter of distinction similar to honors but there are no qoutas on how many students per rotation can get these. Letters in psych, family, og/gyn, peds, primary care.
--#of aways 2, one research elective, and one away in Feb UCI. I wish I'd done them before Nov and have done more. Don't be like me, I got rejected in Dec by UCI and I was scheduled to do an away with them in Feb, felt pretty useless being there when they already rejected me. Good thing about that away is they have a history for taking thier research fellow so if I didn't match it was a chance to get to know faculty in case I had to apply to their research fellowship. But rotating at a place that had already rejected you was pretty demoralizing.
--# of programs applied to: All of them, I think 106 total, some might say excessive but in derm nothing can be taken for granted.
--# of interviews 4, this was very demoralizing thought I might get more, but was very glad I applied broadly, and thankful for the few interviews I got.
--Where match: Matched
--Anything that helps app: Asked a chief of a program to make a call for me, but not sure if he did. The derm that I did 2 months of research with is well known, his letter helped alot. The pathologist I did research with also wrote a strong letter for me.

Like Horns2005 said "Thank the lord I matched, not everyone was so lucky." I hope this post helps you future applicants, because a post like this that was PMed to me by a poster named 4skin who is now banned helped me alot and guided me.

Whoa! You applied to ALL Derm programs? That's dedication! And as it seems it paid off, congrats to you.

Thing to remember is, that it's difficult to stand out in a pool where all applicants are "special" or "above average". I think it's difficult to say exactly what ticks with PD's, as it varies wildly. Yes, AOA is good, but some schools simply don't have AOA, and inclusion criteria vary. Research experience is very good, but again, a lot of applicants have that.
Personally, I feel that one of the important "swing factors" is a very strong LoR, preferably from a well-known physician who knows you well. And obviously, interview (if you're invited) is also important.

Originally Posted by Long Dong

I'll add my 2 cents.

--Board scores: step 1 (259), step 2 (250) not sure if helped didn't come in unitl the day before ROL was due.
--Not AOA, I think AOA matters more then boards score. Seen classmates with lower boards then mine but AOA get a lot more interviews then me.
--Med school us news top 15. Not sure how important this one is, seen peeps from big name schools and some from not so big names on interviews.
--Research 2 months path research between m1-m2= 1 poster, 2 months derm research between m3-m4= 2 submission at time of application, 1 of which got accepted for pub ~2 weeks before ROL due. I think pubs means alot seen 2 classmates both AOA, but one took a year off for research got many pubs and so many interviews that he couldn't make it to all them and cancel some, the other AOA sutdent w/o year off didn't have this problem of too many interviews.
--Honors: My school doesn't have honors just what they call letter of distinction similar to honors but there are no qoutas on how many students per rotation can get these. Letters in psych, family, og/gyn, peds, primary care.
--#of aways 2, one research elective, and one away in Feb. I wish I'd done them before Nov and have done more. Don't be like me, I got rejected in Dec by the program I was scheduled to do an away with in Feb, felt pretty useless being there when they already rejected me. Good thing about that away is they have a history for taking thier research fellow so if I didn't match it was a chance to get to know faculty in case I had to apply to their research fellowship. But rotating at a place that had already rejected you was pretty demoralizing.
--# of programs applied to: All of them, I think 106 total, some might say excessive but in derm nothing can be taken for granted.
--# of interviews 4, this was very demoralizing thought I might get more, but was very glad I applied broadly, and thankful for the few interviews I got at UCLA, Harbor/UCLA, Mayo, Wash U.
--Where match: don't know where yet but did match, will edit when I know the 411.
--Anything that helps app: Asked a chief of a program to make a call for me, but not sure if he did. The derm that I did 2 months of research with is well known, his letter helped alot. The pathologist I did research with also wrote a strong letter for me.

Like Horns2005 said "Thank the lord I matched, not everyone was so lucky." I hope this post helps you future applicants, because a post like this that was PMed to me by a poster named 4skin who is now banned helped me alot and guided me.

Not to play the role of buzzkiller here, but you have some amazing statistics. Is there any reason you can think of why you got such a low # of interviews?

At our school, they say the magic number is close to 8. If you have 8 interviews, you can feel relatively confident you got in somewhere. Any less than 5, and we're supposed to go down and speak with our academic dean about a contingency plan.

I was surprised that a person who has such great stats and applied so broadly didn't get more interviews?? Or have I underestimated how brutally competitive this field really is?

Originally Posted by PathOne

Whoa! You applied to ALL Derm programs? That's dedication! And as it seems it paid off, congrats to you.

Thing to remember is, that it's difficult to stand out in a pool where all applicants are "special" or "above average". I think it's difficult to say exactly what ticks with PD's, as it varies wildly. Yes, AOA is good, but some schools simply don't have AOA, and inclusion criteria vary. Research experience is very good, but again, a lot of applicants have that.
Personally, I feel that one of the important "swing factors" is a very strong LoR, preferably from a well-known physician who knows you well. And obviously, interview (if you're invited) is also important.

Thanks.

Agreed, so hard to stand out with so many superstars applying. Moral of the story: big boards, AOA, pubs (not just subs), strong LOR w/name= more interviews then what I got and less stress and feelings of inadequacy during interview season.

Hey pathone can you recommend any beginer dermpath books I can read as a primer?

Originally Posted by cdql

Not to play the role of buzzkiller here, but you have some amazing statistics. Is there any reason you can think of why you got such a low # of interviews?

At our school, they say the magic number is close to 8. If you have 8 interviews, you can feel relatively confident you got in somewhere. Any less than 5, and we're supposed to go down and speak with our academic dean about a contingency plan.

I was surprised that a person who has such great stats and applied so broadly didn't get more interviews?? Or have I underestimated how brutally competitive this field really is?

I think I got low interview # cuz of no pubs, not aoa, and yes I too underestimated how brutally competitive this field is. I wasn't 100% derm till 3rd year, was thinking between derm and path at first. I think that hurt alot should've gotten to know home program earlier, like some of my classmats did in year 1. Also didn't have any real guidance/mentor mainly read dermboard, and PMs to 4skin on the forums but he got banned. Didn't even get derm letters from my school, my PI was from another school. Future apps don't make this mistake if you even have the slightest inclination to do derm get to know your home program well asap.

Originally Posted by Long Dong

I think I got low interview # cuz of no pubs, not aoa, and yes I too underestimated how brutally competitive this field is. I wasn't 100% derm till 3rd year, was thinking between derm and path at first. I think that hurt alot should've gotten to know home program earlier, like some of my classmats did in year 1. Also didn't have any real guidance/mentor mainly read dermboard, and PMs to 4skin on the forums but he got banned. Didn't even get derm letters from my school, my PI was from another school. Future apps don't make this mistake if you even have the slightest inclination to do derm get to know your home program well asap.

I see. Another question for you (this might be more of a general match type question), how are you guys aware of where you matched already? I was under the impression match day was Thursday?

And soory I forgot this in the first post, but congratulations!! (I can say with all certainty that when it's my time to match and I know I've gotten in somewhere, my BAC will be way too high to be this helpful on a messageboard )

Originally Posted by cdql

I see. Another question for you (this might be more of a general match type question), how are you guys aware of where you matched already? I was under the impression match day was Thursday?

And soory I forgot this in the first post, but congratulations!! (I can say with all certainty that when it's my time to match and I know I've gotten in somewhere, my BAC will be way too high to be this helpful on a messageboard )

Thanks.

Don't know where yet, just knew on monday (black monday) @ 9 a.m. pacific if I matched, cause I only ranked derm programs and no other back up specialties. Email said congratulations you've matched. Those that ranked back ups don't know if they matched derm, rads, or IM. Spent all day yesterday celebrating w/gf. Well know where I matched thursday. What's BAC? Posting cause on a chill rotation with alot of sitting around, now just nervous about where I'm going.

Originally Posted by Long Dong

Hey pathone can you recommend any beginer dermpath books I can read as a primer?

Well, there's basically three "bibles" in Dermpath:

- Weedon's Skin Pathology - covers everything, but is also of absurd physical dimensions.
- McKee's Pathology of the Skin w/ Clinical Correlations - a two-vol set, also on the very large side, but with a lot of clinical pics/info.
- Lever's Histopath of the Skin - a classic.

However, as you really don't want to think about doing Dermpath now (considered competitive even for boarded Dermatologists) my recommendation would be:

A Clinical Atlas of 101 Common Skin Diseases: with Histopathologic Correlation

It has A TON of clinical pics+histo slides. And it'll give you a feeling for how many really weird skin diseases are out there. And then it's almost pocket sized (at least compared to the bibles).

Good luck with the career!

Originally Posted by Long Dong

Thanks.

Don't know where yet, just knew on monday (black monday) @ 9 a.m. pacific if I matched, cause I only ranked derm programs and no other back up specialties. Email said congratulations you've matched. Those that ranked back ups don't know if they matched derm, rads, or IM. Spent all day yesterday celebrating w/gf. Well know where I matched thursday. What's BAC? Posting cause on a chill rotation with alot of sitting around, now just nervous about where I'm going.

BAC = blood alcohol content

I'm not sure how I pulled off matching

No honors in 3rd year except for neurology
Step 1 - 237 Step 2 - 232
1 case report + 1 other case report in progress (both in derm)
no AOA
Wrote my personal statement about interest in dermpath which is what I want to go into (tended to get interviews at places where PD was a dermpath)
(older student) Had various experiences living abroad and working that made for interesting interview conversation topics
Top 10 medical school
Good letters but not from luminaries (not from my home dept either)
Did 2 rotations both at away departments (did not like my home program at all so did not rotate there)
Had no good connections or anyone to make calls on my behalf
Applied to every prog in country (over 110)
8 interviews - 1 at home school, 2 at my away rotations, + 5 others
Matched at one of the other 5, a place I went back to for a second look
Program is extremely good but probably less popular because it's not in the most desirable location
Wasn't my #1 but I am very happy with it (big, cheap house here I come!)

Originally Posted by alabaster

I'm not sure how I pulled off matching

No honors in 3rd year except for neurology
Step 1 - 237 Step 2 - 232
1 case report + 1 other case report in progress (both in derm)
no AOA
Wrote my personal statement about interest in dermpath which is what I want to go into (tended to get interviews at places where PD was a dermpath)
(older student) Had various experiences living abroad and working that made for interesting interview conversation topics
Top 10 medical school
Good letters but not from luminaries (not from my home dept either)
Did 2 rotations both at away departments (did not like my home program at all so did not rotate there)
Had no good connections or anyone to make calls on my behalf
Applied to every prog in country (over 110)
8 interviews - 1 at home school, 2 at my away rotations, + 5 others
Matched at one of the other 5, a place I went back to for a second look
Program is extremely good but probably less popular because it's not in the most desirable location
Wasn't my #1 but I am very happy with it (big, cheap house here I come!)

congratufrickenlations

that fills me with such hope, wow......

good for you

This should give hope to many of you...
Board Scores: Step 1 200 and step 2 230
--AOA and class rank: NOT AOA,
--Reputation of medical school: upper-tier MD med school
--Research, Publications, Presentations: 13 basic science publications (6 first author - no i am not mdphd), 6 presentations at national meetings (2 national awards)
--Honors in clerkships: All high pass in third year rotations. Honors sub-i
--# of Derm rotations: 2 TOTAL Derm rotations (1 away, 1 with home program, 1/2 year research away rotation)
--# of programs you applied to: 20
--# of interviews: 2. I however recommend to apply widely and broadly.
--Where matched: My #1 choice
--Anything that helped your app:
- I would have to say my extensive research helped my app
-
- All of my letters of recommendation (3 dermatologists, 1 internal medicine) were glowing and very praising and from leaders in the field (3 charis). "I think the quality of the letter is more important than who wrote it." is true to a certain extent. I agree with " But if you can get KNOWN faculty to write you a great letter, the more power to you!"

Originally Posted by Don'tbeagunner

This should give hope to many of you...
Board Scores: Step 1 200 and step 2 230
--AOA and class rank: NOT AOA,
--Reputation of medical school: upper-tier MD med school
--Research, Publications, Presentations: 13 basic science publications (6 first author - no i am not mdphd), 6 presentations at national meetings (2 national awards)
--Honors in clerkships: All high pass in third year rotations. Honors sub-i
--# of Derm rotations: 2 TOTAL Derm rotations (1 away, 1 with home program, 1/2 year research away rotation)
--# of programs you applied to: 20
--# of interviews: 2. I however recommend to apply widely and broadly.
--Where matched: My #1 choice
--Anything that helped your app:
- I would have to say my extensive research helped my app
-
- All of my letters of recommendation (3 dermatologists, 1 internal medicine) were glowing and very praising and from leaders in the field (3 charis). "I think the quality of the letter is more important than who wrote it." is true to a certain extent. I agree with " But if you can get KNOWN faculty to write you a great letter, the more power to you!"

Word, that's what I'm talking about. Keep these inspiring stories coming, so future applicants can get advice from you guys/gals.

And congrats to you and alabaster.

See ya'll at the AAD.

Hey Long Dong, Alabaster, Don'tbeagunner, and other recent Derm residency applicants:

If you don't mind, can you please re-post your stats, info, and any advice on the "Dermatology.Matchapplicants" website? This website is part of the SDN network.

http://dermatology.matchapplicants.com/

Personally, I think this website displays data that is easier to sift thru for future applicants. Thanks guys/gals

Bump for those about to match we salute you.

Originally Posted by Long Dong

Bump for those about to match we salute you.

Thanks! Just matched to my #1. I'll be a dermatologist!

Originally Posted by Sonora

Thanks! Just matched to my #1. I'll be a dermatologist!

stats please

Also, do you guys have any advice for those of us just starting out, who know we are genuinely interested in dermatology? (1st yrs) How can we begin building our apps day 1?

Originally Posted by Sonora

Thanks! Just matched to my #1. I'll be a dermatologist!

Congrats! Can you post your stats?

Most of the stats are posted on dermboard.

Originally Posted by Horns2005

-Honors in clerkships (I really think this matters very little, they generally look at AOA or not AOA and if there's nothing glaring I don't think they analyze your grades or anything

Has this changed from 2 years ago? I was thinking about this field but I'm non-AOA and have just HP's thus far.

Med school: Not a top institution
Step 1: 250+
Step 2: Going to hold off for as long as possible
Research: 1 yr of non-derm research in med school. 0 pubs out of it however. Currently aligned to do derm research 4th year with prominent faculty.

Originally Posted by Sonora

Most of the stats are posted on dermboard.

Yeah I know most of the stats are on dermboard. But they are all anonymous post. I'm trying to get posters who have some credibility on this forum to post their stats so hopefully others with similiar numbers can find encouragement or be able to PM them for questions. Hopefully others who have matched well step up to the plate post their stats and take PM's on what are my chances and what should I do next.