No Home Derm Program

[Feed Me]

I will be starting school in August at a school with no home program for Derm. How huge of a disadvantage is this and how small are the chances of matching? Obviously, a lot of things have to go the way I want, and it will take a great deal of hard work getting competitive scores, but what else will I have to do to increase my chances.

I'm guessing Derm-specific research will be tough to come by so how do I go about doing that besides for a month or two on away rotations (which will be tough to accomplish anything of real substance)? Also, do LORs have to be all from people in this field or is it possible for a mentor in a different specialty who knows the applicant well to write a letter? What other factors will play a role and what advice do you have for me? (I know about doing well on Step 1 and clinical grades, I'm talking about things I have to do because there's no Derm program at my school)

Thanks for all the replies in advance.

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[PMPLPPR]

it's a disadvantage but there are many programs that don't look out for their own medical students or help them. look into the basic science labs at your school. just because there's no derm program doesn't mean there's no derm research.

overall though, your focus should be on the first two years and doing well on step 1. look into doing a summer research project or something but do well on Step 1 then reassess your desire to go into derm once you are on your clinical rotations