Annoying I know, but what are my chances?

[TheEyesHaveIt]

I know that these "what are my chances..." type posts can be
somewhat annoying, so my apologies in advance.

saying that, what are my chances of landing a EM residency from a european school with a good rep (if that matters) and 223 on step 1.

I'm guessing not great now, so part 2 or my question is what can i do if anything to give me a realistic chance. I'm american so the immigration issues don't come into it.

any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Annette]

Do you have your ECFMG certification yet? If you don't have step2 and the CSA by the rank order deadline, you'll be pulled from the match. All the CSA dates to be ready for the match are filled.

 

[TheEyesHaveIt]

hi. actually im not applying this year. im doing step 2 this summer and applying in 2003 for 2004 spots. again, just wondering what i should do to strengthen my application or if i should reconsider the whole thing since i will be an img with 'ok' step 1 scores.
again, any advice would be great.

 

[TheEyesHaveIt]

so guys, what gives. 500+ people have read this thread and only one person has given me any tips or advice. Any body got any advice for someone who is 1 year away from the match and wondering if emergency medicine is out of reach?
thank you.

 

[overnight]

Re. advice:
500 have people have read your post without replying for 2 possible reasons: 1. med students are incredibly lame; 2. people who read this site without ever contributing to the discussion are very lame; 3. the question seems a bit lame.

It would seem the things to do re. improving yr match chances in EM are obvious (maybe they're not): do as many visiting rotations as possible, try to initiate some sort of EM research, get involved with SAEM and with an EM interest group at your school, write a few programs now and ask how you can bolster your future application.

Advice is over-rated, action is under-rated.

 

[TheEyesHaveIt]

um, thanks for the second half of the post. much appreciated. some of your suggestions are obvious but others weren't. I'm not sure if you are a med student or a resident or what, but i can't imagine that you have not had help or advice from anyone along the way.

my advice to you it to try to relax, and be nice to people, it doesn't hurt that much.

thanks again.

 

[Coleman]

I would also add that part of your question was your chances of landing a "European" EM residency, of which most american med students know nothing about. Upon re-reading your post, I realized that you meant you are from a european med school and want an american residency.

I don't know all the extra hoops you have to jump through being from a foreign med school, but I know they are there and it is harder for you than for an american student.

From person experience from friends and personal consideration about going to a european med school if I didn't get in here most of those people are "down-to-earth" so to speak and really fit the character type of EM. I think with your numbers (no matter what they are actually) you've done all you can. Like "overnight" getting involved with the various organizations, research etc, are all ways to show your interest in the field. Then just be yourself at the interview. One suggestion I've heard from a EM attending is to take some "relevant" classes in your 4th year (i.e. CCU, ICU, MICU, plastics etc). Even if you haven't had these rotations by your inteview date, you can bring it up on your interview. It shows dedication during the 4th year which is usually the burnout year for most med students.

Good luck,

Cole.