Guidance from those who came before me...

[DocT24]

Dear SDN,

This is one of those "what are my chances threads"... I appreciate all the input in advance!

DO student
Step 1: 217-222
Level 1: 587-592
5 publications (3 of them case studies/surgical and non-surgical/none ENT related)

I've always had an interest in pursuing a surgical field, however ENT was not something I had looked into until... I was diagnosed with chronic ENT condition X and began shadowing my doc. Several years later, I have truly fallen in love with the field. The surgeries are so elegant, there is a perfect amount of medicine involved, head and neck anatomy, diversity of procedures....

I'm so disappointed in myself for underperforming on my first set of board exams but I'm willing to work that much harder. Unfortunately, I have read how competitive this field is and how there are so many amazing applicants out there that kill these exams and deserve the spots. Additionally, coming from a lesser established osteopathic institution with no home program, it's been difficult finding guidance and building meaningful relationships in the field.

Can ENT still be a reality for me?

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[MrBigglesworth]

Extremely difficult, especially without a home program.

Doing a research year is almost a requirement. You face two big "red flags", which are low step score, and coming from a DO program. I imagine a research year between 3rd and 4th year and doing AMAZING work and getting connections is the main way to match.

 

[Wordead]

Doubtful unless you have some amazing connections you're not mentioning or are very willing to go unmatched.

 

[onokentauros]

Echoing MrBigglesworth, this is definitely an uphill climb. It is certainly possible (applicants with low Step I scores have matched). Furthermore, the coronavirus pandemic may frustrate your efforts to develop contacts at meetings etc.

I would suggest the following plan:

1. Reach out to your graduate medical education department - discuss taking a year off to pursue a focused ENT research experience
2. Get in contact with one or two ENT program directors in your region, and discuss mentorship (and research if they offer it - if not, ask them what they would recommend - departments like MUSC regularly offer funded research positions, so you'll need to do some searching and apply broadly to these)
3. You must absolutely destroy step II CK (or the equivalent). While it won't make up for a suboptimal step I score, if you perform poorly on this exam, your chances of matching ENT diminish further.

Good luck.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

For the DO programs you are significantly behind the 8 ball. DO ENT applicants are traditionally the best of the best in the DO world. If you want to go for it, then do it, but I would have a plan 1b going into app season. Perhaps dual apply primary care or something that wouldn't require auditions.

MD ENT is off the table completely IMO. Unless you personally know a few department chairs that you are neglecting to mention.

 

[operaman]

Yeah echoing the above that your chances are pretty slim. You have a Step 1 score below the 5th percentile for MD applicants to ENT. You have no ENT research. You have no home program and it's a year where aways aren't really happening.

Even with a research year it would be extremely difficult. Your best hope would be to match at the place you do research but even that is tricky. In reality you would be looking at 1-2 years of hard work with very little chance of landing a position. The alternative would be to find a different field and be done with training in the same time frame.

There are plenty of other fields that are similar. Consider general surgery with an eye toward endocrine or plastics. Even GS with your step score will be a challenge but more doable than ENT.

 

[DrNoseBest]

Dear SDN,

This is one of those "what are my chances threads"... I appreciate all the input in advance!

DO student
Step 1: 217-222
Level 1: 587-592
5 publications (3 of them case studies/surgical and non-surgical/none ENT related)

I've always had an interest in pursuing a surgical field, however ENT was not something I had looked into until... I was diagnosed with chronic ENT condition X and began shadowing my doc. Several years later, I have truly fallen in love with the field. The surgeries are so elegant, there is a perfect amount of medicine involved, head and neck anatomy, diversity of procedures....

I'm so disappointed in myself for underperforming on my first set of board exams but I'm willing to work that much harder. Unfortunately, I have read how competitive this field is and how there are so many amazing applicants out there that kill these exams and deserve the spots. Additionally, coming from a lesser established osteopathic institution with no home program, it's been difficult finding guidance and building meaningful relationships in the field.

Can ENT still be a reality for me?

Not going to sugarcoat it, your low step 1 and DO school will hurt you at many programs. Some screen for interviews by a step 1 threshold, and others by MD status, which can prevent you from being looked at to begin with. Even programs with holistic application reviews might not consider you unless your other factors (grades, research, AOA, letters, etc) are stellar. So you are really at a disadvantage from your dual handicap and it will be an uphill battle.

That said, if you truly are committed to the field and cant imagine doing anything else, there are always a few outliers with low step scores and/or DO status who match at MD otolaryngology programs each year. As a DO, you get there by networking heavily, doing away rotations at select institutions you are trying to match at, and getting letters of recommendation from those MD program faculty. As low step score, you need to compensate elsewhere to show your commitment and ability to perform well in residency; other than doing well in clinical clerkships and step 2ck, another way you can do that is through a research fellowship year in otolaryngology that will lead to many publications and networking chances.

Finally, there are 10-12 DO ENT programs out there that you should focus on if you haven't already (yes, technically allopathic and osteopathic matches merged last year, but the historically DO programs still largely only selected DO candidates). I don't know much about what their selection criteria are, but as a DO I imagine your best shot at ENT is through one of those programs. So I'd look into them more closely.