D.O. residency: do I even have a chance?

[cloister]

Hello, SDN. This is my first post, and I will admit at the start that if I had been a part of this site sooner I may have avoided my current predicament.

My question is simple: do I even have a chance at an osteopathic residency?

I'm an American citizen, passed all COMLEX boards first time with average scores and graduated with 3.5gpa from an American D.O. school in 2009, but did not match. (at the last minute I pulled my RoL for what in retrospect were idiotic reasons). At that time I applied to 5 AOA FM spots and got 1 interview. I really loved the FM program I interviewed at, as I also did a month there in audition that went real well.

My record has three dark spots on it:
1) had to remediate a first-year anatomy lab,
2) one month off 3rd yr for personal reasons, and
3) time off since graduating.

I have the three LoRs from med school and none since: 1 rural FM, 1 GS, 1 FM/EM, oddly all from M.D.s. (none from a D.O. )

Since graduating I've gone thru a rough patch and was homeless until we moved overseas. I've been doing some very light observing, but otherwise I've been full time care-taker to our baby.

I went to D.O. school because I really wanted to do rural FM and I still want to end up rural whatever I do. But I'm not sure if I even have a chance to match into ANY residency...

I've got a list of 23 unopposed AOA FM programs we have been saving just enough spare dough to apply to them. Location doesn't concern me much.

But it's not worth the financial and emotional effort to me if I have ZERO chance from the start because of the time off.

Anyhoo, I'd be very grateful for any advice. Hopefully I've provided the pertinent info. Should I even bother?

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[peppy]

If I were you I'd focus on applying to the FM programs. You can do some surgery as a rural FM doc. Surgery is going to be tough to get, so if you can afford to spend the money and see how it goes then go for it, but if you really can't afford it then I think it would be a better investment to apply for more FM programs.
I think it would be a waste of your time to apply to Psych, because if you can't get into FM you probably won't be able to get into Psych either. In the AOA world, there are only a few AOA psych programs with not very many spots and people who are sincerely interested in psych will be competing against you for them. There is no reason to compete for those spots when you don't even like the specialty (and psych is a field where it can be very detrimental to your ability to treat patients if patients can pick up on the fact that you're not interested in them and don't want to be there).

 

[Shinken]

I also think - but cannot prove - I've got a questionable Dean's letter.

Your Dean's letter is not confidential, you have access to it. All you have to do is ask your school's Student Affairs office for a copy of it. I'm surprised they didn't provide you a copy anyway to make sure the information on the Dean's letter is accurate.

Besides, a Dean's letter is not a letter of recommendation, it's basically a summary of your four years in medical school, they're boring and pretty objective in their information.

 

[Sneezing]

As some one in psych now who loves it, but does recognize there are days of frustration, I must highly encourage you not to apply to pscyh if it isn't want you like or can enjoy.

It will eat you up and spit you out and along the way your patients will suffer. Please don't apply to psych.

 

[cloister]

Okay so I'm convinced not to apply to psych. Got it...

But that still leaves me wondering that given the info above do I have ANY reasonable expectation to obtain an FM residency somewhere?

 

[peppy]

I think you have a chance. Nobody can promise anything because each year the match can be a bit unpredictable, but I think it's reasonable to try.
If you can think of a way to explain why you withdrew your rank list the last time that doesn't sound bad, you may want to try seeing if that program that liked you before still remembers you. Maybe try to set up a meeting with some of the PDs at the programs you like the most.

 

[danzman]

I think you have a really strong chance at an AOA FM program. One question though, how long ago did you graduate?

 

[cloister]

I think you have a chance. Nobody can promise anything because each year the match can be a bit unpredictable, but I think it's reasonable to try.
If you can think of a way to explain why you withdrew your rank list the last time that doesn't sound bad, you may want to try seeing if that program that liked you before still remembers you. Maybe try to set up a meeting with some of the PDs at the programs you like the most.

The reality is that I pulled the RoL and took time off because my marriage was about to fall apart, and I viewed it as more important than the residency.

I am not sure this will be an acceptable explanation to a residency program.

It's that time off since graduating that really has me wondering if I should even bother...

 

[peppy]

The reality is that I pulled the RoL and took time off because my marriage was about to fall apart, and I viewed it as more important than the residency.

I am not sure this will be an acceptable explanation to a residency program.

It's that time off since graduating that really has me wondering if I should even bother...

Well, the real reason isn't as important as the spin you put on it. You should definitely spend some time thinking about how you can put a positive spin on the situation without being dishonest about it.
If it were me, I'd probably say something about having some family issues that you knew would distract you from being the best resident you can be, and you didn't want to give any less than your best. Now that those issues are done you're ready to focus on residency. (I'm not saying this is the best answer; just an example of how you can try to make it sound better)

You do have some blemishes on your record but it's not like you are the worst applicant I've ever heard of. Family Medicine is a realistic goal and you should definitely at least try applying and see what response you get.

 

[bigDinLV]

Okay so I'm convinced not to apply to psych. Got it...

But that still leaves me wondering that given the info above do I have ANY reasonable expectation to obtain an FM residency somewhere?

You absolutely have a chance. I heard about a guy that is kicked out of one state as an OB resident now doing a FP residency in a different state. If that guy can get a job, i'm sure you can. Just apply to as many places as it takes.

 

[cloister]

Well I picked out a couple dozen AOA-only FM programs and a dozen AOA-only IM programs and am just going to go for it.

Because of the time off since graduating, lack of research experience, and the fact I never took the USMLE, I decided it's probably better not to waste the time and money applying to ACGME FM/IM programs. It seems I'd have no realistic chance of obtaining one.

Heck, I'm gonna be totally blown away if I can even get any FM or IM residency.

The personal statement is taking a lot of work to make as positive as I can think to: I've highlighted my experiences here during the uprisings, why I left the match due to family pressures, but now it's completely resolved and I want to finish my quest to be a hospitalist / general practitioner. (I have absolutely no desire to pursue a sub-specialty at all, after having rotated thru a few during 3rd/4th years)

Any other suggestions of any kind will be most warmly welcomed...

 

[voidlogin]

In opportunities.osteopathic.org you can see # of open positions a program has. A place with more open programs will be more willing to fill spots.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Soccer171983]

please tell me it was not a resident in ohio

 

[cloister]

Well, it's done and submitted. All unopposed, AOA-only programs: 22 FM and 11 IM.

I'm not expecting much, but I can at least say I did my absolute best and move on.

Thank you all so much for your help and advice. I'm very grateful.