ladydoc2be said:
Can anybody on here who is a dermatologist already or in a residency tell me what you did in medical school to be able to be at the top of your class and get great board scores? I will be entering med school this fall and I have my heart set on derm so I want to do well right from day 1. How did you manage you time? What were your study skills like? Did you have a life??
Am I faced with four years of hell just so I can get into this residency? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Dermatology is one of the most competitive specialties to enter...it truly is a honor and privilege to get accepted into the small community of dermatology. It's a difficult road to Derm because the competition is fierce and the process is very selective, but then again, all things worth having are earned with hard work and some luck.
I was very fortunate to get into Derm (I thank God and count my blessings everyday). I'm a M.D. who went to a mid-tier med school. I got accepted into a great residency program in one of best cities in the USA (my #1 choice too). I had good grades (Top 15% of my class), but I was NOT AOA. USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores around 240. I published a few Derm case reports. I also did some non-derm research too.
HERE'S MY ADVICE:
1.
BUILD YOUR DERM CONNECTIONS NOW! If your med school has a Derm Dept, state your interest
now ("the early bird gets the worm"). Meet the Derm attendings and the chairman of the dept. They will offer you the best guidance...and hopefully later on, they will write you excellent letters of recommendation (great letters from known faculty is a major key in getting accepted in derm).
Connections are BIG in the SMALL competitive field of Derm. Work hard to impress them (but don't annoy them). If your med school does NOT have a Derm Dept, then contact outside Derm Dept's to see if you can do a summer research project or elective time with them.
2. Start Derm research and publications now (clinical or basic science, review papers, case reports, etc). Ask academic dermatologists about any of these opportunities. Personally, I recommend trying to publish first. It's easy to write a review paper or case report within 4 - 6 weeks time. But the key is getting accepted for publication (sometimes it takes over 1 year for your paper to get accepted by a journal for publication, sometimes your paper gets rejected)...so you have to be persistent and start early. You should at the VERY LEAST publish a 1-2 articles in respected Derm Journals (JAAD, Archives, Derm Surg, Cutis, etc)...this is especially true if you are not AOA or do not have the greatest board scores.
As for actual derm research (clinical or basic science), this may consume a lot of your time and may make it difficult to concentrate on doing well in your med school classes.
Remember, good grades are important in getting into Derm. Only do research if you're motivated, have the time, and it does
not hurt your grades. A great time to do Derm research is the summer vacation between your 1st and 2nd year of med school (6-12 weeks vacation depending on the med school you attend).
3. Ideally, you should be AOA (equivalent to "Phi Beta Kappa" Honors during college). At the VERY LEAST, you should be in the Top 15-20% of your class.
Grades do matter! You do not have to "Honor" every class, but you should obtain as many "Honor" grades as possible, especially during your 3rd year clerkships and Derm rotations.
4. Try to obtain USMLE board scores greater than 235. The higher, the better. FIRST AID for the boards is an outstanding study guide.
5. Studying habits is all up to you and your abilities. A few people at my med school were absolute geniouses and studied very little. But I had to work my butt off and study as many hours as possible. In the end, it does not matter how many hours you put in, but the end result. Did you "Honor" the course or not?
Take care and Good Luck 
