Psychiatry application guidance

[dph827]

I am a US IMG who graduated in 2013. This is my second year applying for the match. I am solely interested in psychiatry however, I don't think I have enough on my resume to reflect my commitment to the field. I need help in crafting out what exactly I need to do in this regard. Is there one thing over the other that is more important? Research over volunteer work? Observerships? I have been struggling to find a research mentor that can get me started, over a hundred emails later and still nothing. Going to keep trying though. In the process I am studying for Step 3. My step 1 score was 221 (2nd attempt), step 2 225, cs pass. I think what is hurting my app more than anything is that second attempt. Hoping to overshoot step 3 over 230.

Any suggestions or inputs are welcome. Anyone who has matched into psych or has some insight on what I can do to show programs I am really interested.

Thank you!

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[OldPsychDoc]

1) What kinds of programs are you applying to? Are you really an MD/PhD? I'm thinking that clinical- and community-oriented programs that would ordinarily be very happy to see someone with your board scores are thinking "Oh, that person really wants something more academic", and university programs might be less than ecstatic about your IMG status.
2) I don't think that that attempt on step 1 is a big deal with the decent step 2s. Good step 3 will help quite a bit, I'd think.
3) What do your letters look like? Are they research oriented? Are they bland and non-specific? Are they a couple of years stale? You need a couple of letters that say "Dr. dph is going to be a wonderful psychiatrist." What experiences will get you that? Usually something with hands-on clinical experience is best. Observerships are next to worthless--you can't really be directly involved in patient care.
4) I think you need a connection. Someone who really sees you as eager to be a psychiatrist and can advocate for you, maybe influence a couple of programs to look at your application. I can't reiterate enough how very many applications just like yours I am seeing: decent, not spectacular boards, "standard" clinical experience, unremarkable personal statement and life/work experience...what is going to elevate you above the other 400 apps just like yours and make me want to interview you? Here, it's usually some regional or personal connection, or maybe the person who tailors their personal statement to our program's actual distinctives and can convince me that they really want us: that out of all the psych joints, in all the towns, in all the world--that you are going to walk into mine.

Oh and one more plug for proofreading your danged emails before you send: got one the other day where the name of our program was combined with part of the name of another program, in another region of the country. It would be like getting a letter from a high school football player asking for a tryout with the New England Giants or the Green Bay Bears. If you're cutting and pasting, for goodness sakes, TAKE YOUR TIME AND GET IT RIGHT. (And no, the fonts didn't match, either...)

 

[dph827]

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[dph827]

Thanks for breaking it down, that helped a lot!

I applied broadly, to both community and university affiliated programs. I am an MD only, that was an oversight when creating the SD account. I am enrolled, however, in MBA program.
- My letters are decent but not research oriented. The ones I do have go in great depth with the specifics. Couple of years stale? Two of them. yes. The rest of them are from within the year, from observerships I have completed.
-I had some potentially good news come in yesterday. Out of the hundreds of emails I sent out requesting for research mentors, I heard back from one of them asking to meet with me next week. He is a fellowship and clinical research director at one of the prominent university psych programs in the area. At this point, I don't know what exactly would the meeting entail. He requested my CV and told me he may have something for me. I'm hoping this would be the connection you mentioned, as well as spruce up my resume.

-This brings me to another question I have. I am planning on sending out emails to programs I have not heard from. At this point, would it be premature to include this possible research gig in my email or should I wait for the meeting to find out what exactly I will be doing? I just don't want to wait till the end of the week to start sending out the emails. Let's say I go forward with this, how much of an edge does this give me in the eyes of the people reviewing my application? I ask you this because you said you are reviewing applications.[/QUOTE]

 

[whodunit030]

1) What kinds of programs are you applying to? Are you really an MD/PhD? I'm thinking that clinical- and community-oriented programs that would ordinarily be very happy to see someone with your board scores are thinking "Oh, that person really wants something more academic", and university programs might be less than ecstatic about your IMG status.
2) I don't think that that attempt on step 1 is a big deal with the decent step 2s. Good step 3 will help quite a bit, I'd think.
3) What do your letters look like? Are they research oriented? Are they bland and non-specific? Are they a couple of years stale? You need a couple of letters that say "Dr. dph is going to be a wonderful psychiatrist." What experiences will get you that? Usually something with hands-on clinical experience is best. Observerships are next to worthless--you can't really be directly involved in patient care.
4) I think you need a connection. Someone who really sees you as eager to be a psychiatrist and can advocate for you, maybe influence a couple of programs to look at your application. I can't reiterate enough how very many applications just like yours I am seeing: decent, not spectacular boards, "standard" clinical experience, unremarkable personal statement and life/work experience...what is going to elevate you above the other 400 apps just like yours and make me want to interview you? Here, it's usually some regional or personal connection, or maybe the person who tailors their personal statement to our program's actual distinctives and can convince me that they really want us: that out of all the psych joints, in all the towns, in all the world--that you are going to walk into mine.

Oh and one more plug for proofreading your danged emails before you send: got one the other day where the name of our program was combined with part of the name of another program, in another region of the country. It would be like getting a letter from a high school football player asking for a tryout with the New England Giants or the Green Bay Bears. If you're cutting and pasting, for goodness sakes, TAKE YOUR TIME AND GET IT RIGHT. (And no, the fonts didn't match, either...)

Aside from the things you mentioned, if you saw that someone chose a psychiatry rotation for their one 3rd year elective, would you feel this shows true interest in psychiatry? Or is that irrelevant?

 

[OldPsychDoc]

...
-This brings me to another question I have. I am planning on sending out emails to programs I have not heard from. At this point, would it be premature to include this possible research gig in my email or should I wait for the meeting to find out what exactly I will be doing? I just don't want to wait till the end of the week to start sending out the emails. Let's say I go forward with this, how much of an edge does this give me in the eyes of the people reviewing my application? I ask you this because you said you are reviewing applications.

At this stage it's prob not going to matter whether it's actual defined research or potential research, so just include mention of it in your email if you're set on getting them out. Either way it's not likely to pull you up out of a waiting list--but if it gets compared side-by-side, say with someone else's email the same day who doesn't have any research, it might push you a little ahead of them.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Aside from the things you mentioned, if you saw that someone chose a psychiatry rotation for their one 3rd year elective, would you feel this shows true interest in psychiatry? Or is that irrelevant?

I would take it as such--but don't assume that we know that it's an elective. I'm not going to pour over a transcript for a long time trying to sort out a required clerkship from an elective. It will help you the most if you can refer to it as elective in your PS, and especially if you can get an LOR from it that reinforces your strong aptitude for psychiatry.

 

[whodunit030]

I would take it as such--but don't assume that we know that it's an elective. I'm not going to pour over a transcript for a long time trying to sort out a required clerkship from an elective. It will help you the most if you can refer to it as elective in your PS, and especially if you can get an LOR from it that reinforces your strong aptitude for psychiatry.

That makes a lot of sense thanks.