Not smart enough for ROAD

[NearnstPotentia]

Okay. Some background first, I entered medical school with ROAD(E) aspirations. I have now realized I am probably not smart enough. Admittedly I am disappointed that I am having to switch from excellence mode to survival mode. I'm not going to dwell on it since there's nothing I can do. People here are just that much smarter than me.

I attend a P/F school. In an effort to optimize my match (if I'm bound for IM I would still like to get in somewhere nice in terms of quality of the program or location etc) should I just give up trying to compete with grades/internal rank. I can't win in this arena. It isn't structured enough. The difference between the top students and the middle ones is who can learn the most minutiae. I am burning out trying to keep up with them in this regard. In fact, I nearly failed an exam recently because I spent too much time on minutiae and ended up running out of time to cover the rest of the material.

I think my time would be better spent just surviving my preclinical courses but then hammering out Step1 material really early and board relevant material to maximize my board scores. I have no problem reading kaplan, FA, GT, etc since they are so structured.

If this is ill-advised please let me know soon.

Thank you

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[Siverhideo1985]

Okay. Some background first, I entered medical school with ROAD(E) aspirations. I have now realized I am probably not smart enough. Admittedly I am disappointed that I am having to switch from excellence mode to survival mode. I'm not going to dwell on it since there's nothing I can do. People here are just that much smarter than me.

I attend a P/F school. In an effort to optimize my match (if I'm bound for IM I would still like to get in somewhere nice in terms of quality of the program or location etc) should I just give up trying to compete with grades/internal rank. I can't win in this arena. It isn't structured enough. The difference between the top students and the middle ones is who can learn the most minutiae. I am burning out trying to keep up with them in this regard. In fact, I nearly failed an exam recently because I spent too much time on minutiae and ended up running out of time to cover the rest of the material.

I think my time would be better spent just surviving my preclinical courses but then hammering out Step1 material really early and board relevant material to maximize my board scores. I have no problem reading kaplan, FA, GT, etc since they are so structured.

If this is ill-advised please let me know soon.

Thank you

First two years of med school don't contribute much to your residency application. If you rock Step 1 and you do well in your clinical years there is nothing that will keep you out of ROAD residencies.

Survive for now and then rock it on Step 1 and after.

Good Luck!! Never let anyone tell you you're not smart enough, even yourself.

 

[Dral]

Don't give up so early. You shouldn't compare yourself to others...some of these people have photographic memories for real. Just do what you do best and figure out the way you study best.

I went to a huge undergrad university and was always top in grades...in med school I accepted early that I was no longer a rockstar. However, I buckled down, figured out how I best learned material, worked my butt off learning things to do well on step 1 and am in a ROAD residency (didn't decide on it until 3rd year).

The biggest disservice you can do to yourself is to 'give up' early. Keep truckin'.

 

[carml]

Many of the concepts you learn in your 1st two years become foundational for the Step 1. Try not to go in with a survive-didactic-years-and-then-study-to-rock-the-board type of an attitude.

On the other hand, if your course work lacks structure and focuses on low-yield esoteric minutia rather than more big picture concepts, that's a tough spot to be in

 

[shadowfox87]

Okay. Some background first, I entered medical school with ROAD(E) aspirations. I have now realized I am probably not smart enough. Admittedly I am disappointed that I am having to switch from excellence mode to survival mode. I'm not going to dwell on it since there's nothing I can do. People here are just that much smarter than me.

I attend a P/F school. In an effort to optimize my match (if I'm bound for IM I would still like to get in somewhere nice in terms of quality of the program or location etc) should I just give up trying to compete with grades/internal rank. I can't win in this arena. It isn't structured enough. The difference between the top students and the middle ones is who can learn the most minutiae. I am burning out trying to keep up with them in this regard. In fact, I nearly failed an exam recently because I spent too much time on minutiae and ended up running out of time to cover the rest of the material.

I think my time would be better spent just surviving my preclinical courses but then hammering out Step1 material really early and board relevant material to maximize my board scores. I have no problem reading kaplan, FA, GT, etc since they are so structured.

If this is ill-advised please let me know soon.

Thank you

Kill the boards, then laugh at everyone who spend time learning minutae while you spent time learning concepts that you could remember even after it's all over. They are not smarter than you, everyone's got the same potential. Only difference is in how and what people study. I know people who can't explain anything, but they can rewrite their notes word for word. If you want to be that kind of person, be my guest, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my style of thinking.

 

[Brachyury]

Okay. Some background first, I entered medical school with ROAD(E) aspirations. I have now realized I am probably not smart enough. Admittedly I am disappointed that I am having to switch from excellence mode to survival mode. I'm not going to dwell on it since there's nothing I can do. People here are just that much smarter than me.

I attend a P/F school. In an effort to optimize my match (if I'm bound for IM I would still like to get in somewhere nice in terms of quality of the program or location etc) should I just give up trying to compete with grades/internal rank. I can't win in this arena. It isn't structured enough. The difference between the top students and the middle ones is who can learn the most minutiae. I am burning out trying to keep up with them in this regard. In fact, I nearly failed an exam recently because I spent too much time on minutiae and ended up running out of time to cover the rest of the material.

I think my time would be better spent just surviving my preclinical courses but then hammering out Step1 material really early and board relevant material to maximize my board scores. I have no problem reading kaplan, FA, GT, etc since they are so structured.

If this is ill-advised please let me know soon.

Thank you

It's ROAD, not ROADE. Why? If you have a pulse, then you have a really good chance of matching EM. In 2011, the mean Step I score of matched allo applicants was 223; Step I of unmatched allo applicants was 207. In comparison, the mean Step I score for allo applicants in IM was 226; the unmatched allo score was 210.

Anesthesiology also isn't that difficult to get: the mean step I of allo applicants was 226; the mean step I of allos who didn't match was 203.

 

[Dral]

It's ROAD, not ROADE. Why? If you have a pulse, then you have a really good chance of matching EM. In 2011, the mean Step I score of matched allo applicants was 223; Step I of unmatched allo applicants was 207. In comparison, the mean Step I score for allo applicants in IM was 226; the unmatched allo score was 210.

Anesthesiology also isn't that difficult to get: the mean step I of allo applicants was 226; the mean step I of allos who didn't match was 203.

Maybe they meant the E to mean ENT.

 

[TheMan21]

Anesthesiology also isn't that difficult to get: the mean step I of allo applicants was 226; the mean step I of allos who didn't match was 203.

What was the mean of applicants who were actually accepted?

 

[Brachyury]

What was the mean of applicants who were actually accepted?

Sorry, I meant 226 was the score of accepted allopathic applicants (the same as IM)

 

[TheMan21]

Sorry, I meant 226 was the score of accepted allopathic applicants (the same as IM)

That's way lower than I expected. Has the average gone down in recent years due to the CRNA invasion?

 

[Brachyury]

That's way lower than I expected. Has the average gone down in recent years due to the CRNA invasion?

A decade ago, top gas programs had difficulty filling. Anesthesiology has never been as competitive as rads or derm, but the CRNA drama may have made things worse

 

[Dral]

A decade ago, top gas programs had difficulty filling. Anesthesiology has never been as competitive as rads or derm, but the CRNA drama may have made things worse

Despite that everyone and his/her grandmother on the prelim/ty interview trail last year seemed to be going rads, I think it's getting a little less competitive too. I won't go into why I think that is.

Anyway, for similar reasons, I do think the CRNA thing does contribute to gas competitiveness.

 

[TheMan21]

A decade ago, top gas programs had difficulty filling. Anesthesiology has never been as competitive as rads or derm, but the CRNA drama may have made things worse

Can you tell me where I can get more stats for other specialties?

 

[NearnstPotentia]

I'm not looking for an excuse to be lazy. My plan is to now begin annotating FA, doing GT, and really focusing on the board relevant aspects of my coursework (meanwhile I will "survive" my preclinical courses). This seems to be what the initial posters suggest. To me this seems much more doable than forcing myself to learn obscure factoids just because a PHD thinks I need to know something about his research.


Thank you

 

[Dral]

As a Phd, respect what they have to teach you, but sounds like you have your plan. I like it.

It gets difficult to annotate FA and whatnot. We all said we would do it, but it kinda gets thrown by the wayside because you do still have to get through your courses and you run out of time. It's ok though. Just take the time to buckle down and rock Step 1 while you integrate the stuff you learn in class.

If you want to start on it...don't limit yourself to just these but the trifecta of Step1 studying is:

USMLE world
Goljan
FA

In that order.

 

[Jack is Back]

It's ROAD, not ROADE. Why? If you have a pulse, then you have a really good chance of matching EM. In 2011, the mean Step I score of matched allo applicants was 223; Step I of unmatched allo applicants was 207. In comparison, the mean Step I score for allo applicants in IM was 226; the unmatched allo score was 210.

Anesthesiology also isn't that difficult to get: the mean step I of allo applicants was 226; the mean step I of allos who didn't match was 203.

EM was more competitive than anesthesia last year. If you read the rads forum, you will find it has taken some hits recently. Radiology isn't what it used to be.

 

[Jack is Back]

That's way lower than I expected. Has the average gone down in recent years due to the CRNA invasion?

it is definitely less competitive, just pull up the nrmp data.

 

[JimmyChitwood]

Can you tell me where I can get more stats for other specialties?

2011 nrmp "charting the outcomes"...it's on their website. Just google nrmp.

 

[Astarael]

I'm not looking for an excuse to be lazy. My plan is to now begin annotating FA, doing GT, and really focusing on the board relevant aspects of my coursework (meanwhile I will "survive" my preclinical courses). This seems to be what the initial posters suggest. To me this seems much more doable than forcing myself to learn obscure factoids just because a PHD thinks I need to know something about his research.


Thank you

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you're a first year, based on the way you worded your posts. If that's true, studying for Step I right now will be basically worthless-you'll forget pretty much everything by the time you get to the test.

 

[Diesel Mind]

it is definitely less competitive, just pull up the nrmp data.

1. Anesthesia's average numbers have been steadily going up every year. Just pull up the nrmp data.

2. Also, it's not the ROAD to competitiveness. It has to do with a lot more than just how high your step scores are. Some (not very many) like to throw the E on the end since emergency medicine has a strong appeal to some people due to the shift work.

 

[ucsfstudents]

Focus on doing well on step 1. That is one area that is not subjective. Remember though, don't just pursue ROADs for the sake of it. Choose a career that you find yourself happy in and pursue that will as much zeal and ambition that it takes to get in. But don't burn yourself out in the process.

 

[NearnstPotentia]

Focus on doing well on step 1. That is one area that is not subjective. Remember though, don't just pursue ROADs for the sake of it. Choose a career that you find yourself happy in and pursue that will as much zeal and ambition that it takes to get in. But don't burn yourself out in the process.

Thank you for the advice. I do not feel particularly drawn to any field at this time. For now I AM pursuing ROAD for the sake of having the option to match down the line. In other words, I liken pursuing road to being competitive/excelling in medical school. Who doesn't want to excel in medical school. Certainly, if I decide to go into something else when 3rd year comes around I will carefully consider my options at that time.

 

[Jack is Back]

1. Anesthesia's average numbers have been steadily going up every year. Just pull up the nrmp data.

2. Also, it's not the ROAD to competitiveness. It has to do with a lot more than just how high your step scores are. Some (not very many) like to throw the E on the end since emergency medicine has a strong appeal to some people due to the shift work.

Agreed.

I was talking about match percentages and things like that, which due to self selection isn't always straight forward. BUT Anesthesia is certainly a moderately competitive field. US seniors have an excellent opportunity to match with a score around the mean. Mean USMLE doesn't tell the whole story but I think if you went from highest Step 1's to lowest, that is an excellent trend of how competitive a specialty is. That and maybe AOA %.

 

[Jack is Back]

Thank you for the advice. I do not feel particularly drawn to any field at this time. For now I AM pursuing ROAD for the sake of having the option to match down the line. In other words, I liken pursuing road to being competitive/excelling in medical school. Who doesn't want to excel in medical school. Certainly, if I decide to go into something else when 3rd year comes around I will carefully consider my options at that time.

Just do your best in the first 2 years / step 1.

I don't think you can have a better plan that that.

 

[lildave2586]

Maybe they meant the E to mean ENT.

I like the way you think. Otolaryngologists...the happiest doctors in medicine.

 

[plauto]

Yes, I believe it is E for ENT. EM is quite easy to get into, whereas ENT is up there with derm, and tougher than rad and ophtho.

 

[dienekes88]

Okay. Some background first, I entered medical school with ROAD(E) aspirations. I have now realized I am probably not smart enough. Admittedly I am disappointed that I am having to switch from excellence mode to survival mode. I'm not going to dwell on it since there's nothing I can do. People here are just that much smarter than me.

I attend a P/F school. In an effort to optimize my match (if I'm bound for IM I would still like to get in somewhere nice in terms of quality of the program or location etc) should I just give up trying to compete with grades/internal rank. I can't win in this arena. It isn't structured enough. The difference between the top students and the middle ones is who can learn the most minutiae. I am burning out trying to keep up with them in this regard. In fact, I nearly failed an exam recently because I spent too much time on minutiae and ended up running out of time to cover the rest of the material.

I think my time would be better spent just surviving my preclinical courses but then hammering out Step1 material really early and board relevant material to maximize my board scores. I have no problem reading kaplan, FA, GT, etc since they are so structured.

If this is ill-advised please let me know soon.

Thank you

Don't give up. Be regimented and efficient. Wake up early, try to avoid wasting time, and get to work.

I'm probably in the bottom half of my class in terms of intelligence. However, I work like a maniac, and that completely makes up for it.

There are 168 hours in the week...

 

[NearnstPotentia]

Don't give up. Be regimented and efficient. Wake up early, try to avoid wasting time, and get to work.

I'm probably in the bottom half of my class in terms of intelligence. However, I work like a maniac, and that completely makes up for it.

There are 168 hours in the week...

Thank you for the encouragement.

On another note. Who thinks the R in ROAD should be replaced with RadOnc?

Of all the fields that supposedly have nice lifestyles, RadOnc is really the only one I think I would enjoy regardless of lifestyle/money considerations.

 

[2012mdc]

Yes, I believe it is E for ENT. EM is quite easy to get into, whereas ENT is up there with derm, and tougher than rad and ophtho.

No, folks try to use it for EM because it is a shift work field. The ROAD acronym has been for fields generally offering the best combination of salary and lifestyle. It hasn't been about which ones are the most competitive hence the inclusion of anes and rads and the exclusion of plastics, ortho, urology, ent, etc.

ENT has its own classic acronym of Early Nights and Tennis and doesn't need to be thrown in with the ROAD

 

[muhali3]

Don't give up. Be regimented and efficient. Wake up early, try to avoid wasting time, and get to work.

I'm probably in the bottom half of my class in terms of intelligence. However, I work like a maniac, and that completely makes up for it.

There are 168 hours in the week...

didn't you get a 39 on the mcat?

 

[Dral]

Thank you for the advice. I do not feel particularly drawn to any field at this time. For now I AM pursuing ROAD for the sake of having the option to match down the line. In other words, I liken pursuing road to being competitive/excelling in medical school. Who doesn't want to excel in medical school. Certainly, if I decide to go into something else when 3rd year comes around I will carefully consider my options at that time.

Best plan. I worked hard for Step 1 and didn't decide until end of third year....and it was a ROAD specialty...glad I worked that hard on Step 1.

 

[plauto]

No, folks try to use it for EM because it is a shift work field. The ROAD acronym has been for fields generally offering the best combination of salary and lifestyle. It hasn't been about which ones are the most competitive hence the inclusion of anes and rads and the exclusion of plastics, ortho, urology, ent, etc.

ENT has its own classic acronym of Early Nights and Tennis and doesn't need to be thrown in with the ROAD

True...even though h&n ent guys can only dream of early nights...

 

[lildave2586]

True...even though h&n ent guys can only dream of early nights...

H&N guys don't have it that bad. The residents do all the rounding work anyway.