Kindly let me know what my chances are of matching

[iaaforever]

Deleted post. Do not reply now. Thanks for the help.

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[johhnybgood]

chances of matching into GS are low. Step 1 score is not that impressive, but not a hindrance. Your real issue is that you failed CS. That is a red flag and will screen you out on many applications. No one cares about your mensa score, it's senseless bragging. On the topic of bragging, I didn't miss a spelling word the whole year of 3rd grade. Boom.

You do have impressive research and extracurricular activities. Bonus. Like every single thread on this topic, apply broadly. Apply to GS, IM, FM and see where you get interviews. It's a dynamic process with only certain things that you can control. Do well on Step 2. The chips will fall where they may.

 

[dhavalp]

chances of matching into GS are low. Step 1 score is not that impressive, but not a hindrance. Your real issue is that you failed CS. That is a red flag and will screen you out on many applications. No one cares about your mensa score, it's senseless bragging. On the topic of bragging, I didn't miss a spelling word the whole year of 3rd grade. Boom.

You do have impressive research and extracurricular activities. Bonus. Like every single thread on this topic, apply broadly. Apply to GS, IM, FM and see where you get interviews. It's a dynamic process with only certain things that you can control. Do well on Step 2. The chips will fall where they may.

I believe a 223 on Step 1 as an IMG is definitely a hinderance to matching GS.

 

[DocBlin]

Apply to ALL the GS prelim openings available. If you get interviews take ALL of them. Than list ALL in match and if lucky become a "scut monkey" for a prelim.year. Hopefully you will impress and get a chance to become a cat. surgery resident. It is possible but very hard to do. As for Plastic surgery there you would need some luck.

 

[iaaforever]

Thanks guys for your detailed feedback. Appreciate it.

1) I have an answer ready for my Step 1 score. Basically I had mistimed 2 blocks and hence missed out on around 20 questions in total. I think if I had gotten those i wouldv had at least 240+. And this can happen with anyone, no matter how well you prepare. Do you guys think this is a good enough answer for the PDs?

2) As for the Mensa thing, I think it should make the PDs curious and want to at least call me for an interview to ask me abt my low step 1 score. Provided the computer doesnt screen me out that it! Iv heard they set the bar to 230 in a lot of programs.

3) I have my CK very soon. Will try to get a greater score of course. Hopefully a better CK score will offset my Step 1. Thats what Im hoping for. As for my failed CS attempt, I have an answer for that too, let me know what you think abt it. I was doing an elective rotation in the US at a very busy service (Transplant Surgery) and this was my first ever rotation in the US. So I found myself too busy to study for the CS properly. Instead I spent too much time acquiring the relevant transplant surgery knowledge base and left myself with too little days to study for the CS. As a result, I failed in only the ICE component which relates with the knowledge base of the exam, ie data gathering and patient note. I passed in the CIS and SEP components which relate with communication and language proficiency. In fact I scored quite highly in them and marginally failed the ICE component. You guys think this is a good enough answer for the PDs?

 

[johhnybgood]

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[johhnybgood]

Thanks guys for your detailed feedback. Appreciate it.

1) I have an answer ready for my Step 1 score. Basically I had mistimed 2 blocks and hence missed out on around 20 questions in total. I think if I had gotten those i wouldv had at least 240+. And this can happen with anyone, no matter how well you prepare. Do you guys think this is a good enough answer for the PDs?


2) As for the Mensa thing, I think it should make the PDs curious and want to at least call me for an interview to ask me abt my low step 1 score. Provided the computer doesnt screen me out that it! Iv heard they set the bar to 230 in a lot of programs.




3) I have my CK very soon. Will try to get a greater score of course. Hopefully a better CK score will offset my Step 1. Thats what Im hoping for. As for my failed CS attempt, I have an answer for that too, let me know what you think abt it. I was doing an elective rotation in the US at a very busy service (Transplant Surgery) and this was my first ever rotation in the US. So I found myself too busy to study for the CS properly. Instead I spent too much time acquiring the relevant transplant surgery knowledge base and left myself with too little days to study for the CS. As a result, I failed in only the ICE component which relates with the knowledge base of the exam, ie data gathering and patient note. I passed in the CIS and SEP components which relate with communication and language proficiency. In fact I scored quite highly in them and marginally failed the ICE component. You guys think this is a good enough answer for the PDs?

1. No- No one wants to hear excuses. And no one is going to ask you why you didn't get a 240+, they'll just screen you out before the door.

2. No. It won't. They have hundreds or thousands of candidates all with amazing resumes and scores to choose from. They could really care less that you were in Mensa. They'll be more interested in your research/extracurricular activities.

3. CS is the easiest exam of the three needed to apply. Failing this to a certain degree is not excusable. All medical students are busy. All have lots of things on their plates. Being too busy is not an excuse. You failed to plan/prepare.

Score well on CK, it's the one thing you can control at this point. Apply broadly. Interview well.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Unfortunately (for you), I agree with much of the above.

Your explanations for poor performance on Step 1 and CS are excuses. No one is going to want to hear them, and any program that uses a cutoff for interviews (on step 1) will never even see it.

So:

1. You should assume that you are NEVER going to get a Plastic Surgery spot. Is it possible? Of course, anything's possible. And if you happen to work with just the right people and really impress them and get really lucky, it might happen. You might also win the lottery. But I wouldn't count on either, so I would plan your life as if you're not getting a plastics spot.

2. So, then the question is whether you still want a GS spot. If you only want GS to get into plastics, you need to rethink things now. Reread point #1.

3. Assuming you still want a GS spot, I agree the chances of you getting a categorical spot are not good. Of course you should apply and see what happens, but you also will be applying broadly to prelim programs. It does sound like you'll have nice letters, and that may help.

4. You'll get some sense of how things will go based upon your invites. If you get >20 invites for categorical spots, then you're very likely to match somewhere. If you get <5, then unlikely. This will help you decide how many prelim interviews to go on.

5. If you match prelim (which I think is the most likely outcome here), then you now have to prove yourself all over again. There is no guarantee that you'll ever get a categorical spot. Most prelim surgery interns never get a categorical spot. You could spend 1 or 2 years doing prelim work, only to end up at a dead end -- and then consider starting all over again in some other field.

So, think long and hard about what you want, and how much you're willing to invest in it.

 

[Doctor Bob]

Have 2 publications (with my name in contributors sections)

As an aside, this may not count as a publication. These sound like research experiences. Either you are a named author on the study (i.e. I can search you in PubMed) in which case it is a publication, or you are not a named author in which case it is a research experience. I see a lot of applications where people put down they are published, and then when I go and try to pull the paper before the interview it turns out they're a contributor, or listed as an acknowledgement.

Am BLS and ACLS certified (by American Heart Association)

This means nothing.

Member of Mensa Organization (due to IQ of 172)

This is something that may provide something for you to talk about at an interview. But it will not get you the interview in the first place.

 

[iaaforever]

I mentioned before that I do not plan on applying to Plastic Surgery. I had before giving the steps but after getting the step results I decided not to apply to Plastics for now. I'll apply to General Surgery, mostly prelim of course but some categorical too. As a backup Im applying in IM and FM. Btw, the point made about most prelims not progressing to categorical positions alarmed me. Is that really true? I thought it depends on your performance as a prelim resident right? If you dont make major blunders during the prelim year and perform reasonably well you should get the categorical spot no?

 

[Doctor Bob]

If you dont make major blunders during the prelim year and perform reasonably well you should get the categorical spot no?

No.
Prelim years are just one year slots. There aren't 2nd year gensurg slots waiting for all of those people assuming they do well. Once you finish the prelim year you are free to apply for a categorical spot but you're competing again with everyone else for the 1st year categorical spot.

 

[Law2Doc]

I mentioned before that I do not plan on applying to Plastic Surgery. I had before giving the steps but after getting the step results I decided not to apply to Plastics for now. I'll apply to General Surgery, mostly prelim of course but some categorical too. As a backup Im applying in IM and FM. Btw, the point made about most prelims not progressing to categorical positions alarmed me. Is that really true? I thought it depends on your performance as a prelim resident right? If you dont make major blunders during the prelim year and perform reasonably well you should get the categorical spot no?

Agree with the prior poster. Most places enlist prelims to be workhorses for a year and discarded. Categorical residents are slated to fill all the second year spots.The folks who already have advanced spots waiting for them (designated prelims) are preferred as prelims because they aren't going to be looking for time off to interview and match. the rest usually are on dead end paths, and have to apply de novo for a spot in the next years match. Sometimes if they are super stars the same program will take them as a categorical, often making them start again from intern year. Other times there is an unforeseen second year opening (eg a categorical gets pregnant, transfers, gets sick) and a prelim gets to stay on. Both of these however are not all that common.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I mentioned before that I do not plan on applying to Plastic Surgery. I had before giving the steps but after getting the step results I decided not to apply to Plastics for now

APD's point was that you should basically assume you will NEVER be a plastic surgeon. Meaning if even if you land a categorical general surgery slot, you will still be facing an extremely uphill battle to match into a plastics fellowship following GS residency. His question was - do you want to pursue general surgery knowing that the plastics door is likely forever closed. Will you be happy being a general surgeon?

I thought it depends on your performance as a prelim resident right? If you dont make major blunders during the prelim year and perform reasonably well you should get the categorical spot no?

No. Not at all. No.

Vast majority of prelims are just that. One year positions with no advancement.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

If the OP gets through a general surgery residency, they would be eligible to try for a plastic surgery spot. Their medical school is not going to be much of a factor (including step scores). Their performance in their residency will be the major factor. Sure, the specific program you are at will be considered, but it can still happen. So, basically, I'm not sure that he can consider himself to NEVER be a plastic surgeon if he gets into general surgery.

 

[Law2Doc]

If the OP gets through a general surgery residency, they would be eligible to try for a plastic surgery spot. Their medical school is not going to be much of a factor (including step scores). Their performance in their residency will be the major factor. Sure, the specific program you are at will be considered, but it can still happen. So, basically, I'm not sure that he can consider himself to NEVER be a plastic surgeon if he gets into general surgery.

Fellowships still ask for pre residency stuff and USMLE during the application, and how much they weigh that stuff is variable. I think the prior posters point is that, although not impossible, there's a very good chance the OP won't end up in plastic surgery, and given that, is it still worth it to the OP to try to wrestle their way into GS ( as opposed to FM or another path of lesser resistance) by playing the "prelim year and reapply" game.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

I agree that his chances are certainly harder than a US grad. As for fellowships, when I went through getting a thoracic fellowship, they didn't really ask for any preresidency stuff. They wanted to see ABSITE and LOR as well as my CV. I think general surgery categorical spots will be near impossible for the OP to get, but the prelim route can work, especially if they can impress the program, but no guarantees...

 

[Law2Doc]

I agree that his chances are certainly harder than a US grad. As for fellowships, when I went through getting a thoracic fellowship, they didn't really ask for any preresidency stuff. They wanted to see ABSITE and LOR as well as my CV. I think general surgery categorical spots will be near impossible for the OP to get, but the prelim route can work, especially if they can impress the program, but no guarantees...

You need to impress the program pretty significantly, and early on, plus they have to be amenable to your credentials. For an IMG this can be very rare but perhaps not impossible, just very bad odds. And then you'd have to often redo your intern year as a categorical. And that's just to get into GS. You would face a different set of hurdles at the fellowship application stage. In the mean time the OP perhaps could have gotten a lot further in a specialty path of less resistance, like FM. And be giving Botox injections and laser skin treatments and other nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

I agree. His biggest hurdle is categorical general surgery positions. The rest of it are smaller, but very real hurdles. With the step fail, I do think overall his best chance is IM/FM for a categorical residency spot.