Step 1 scores for urology?

[bronx43]

Hey guys, sorry to be "one of those" med 1s, but I was wondering what the average matching score for urology is? It's not part of the NRMP matching system, so the data in that doesn't include urology. Also, how important is research in urology for matching? Thanks alot.

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[edik]

Hey guys, sorry to be "one of those" med 1s, but I was wondering what the average matching score for urology is? It's not part of the NRMP matching system, so the data in that doesn't include urology. Also, how important is research in urology for matching? Thanks alot.

Hey,
research is very important. Doesn't mean you have to have 8 publications in Journal of Urology though. Start a couple of projects, hopefully submit an abstract or two to some AUA or some conference. Just demonstrate that you are interested in academic medicine.
GU tends to look at Step 1 pretty heavily. I think around 240+ you'd be golden. It's not a requirement though.
Good luck.

 

[tugbug]

Asked a similar question myself not too long ago of the PD at our school. Directed me to the resource below. I copied/pasted what it says about board scores, and it seems pretty accurate to me.

FWIW, our school gives us average board scores for our own graduates accepted into different residencies, and the 10 yr average for Urol was 229. Check with your school.


http://www.urologymatch.com/index.htm

Board Scores

Board scores are extremely important. They provide the most objective comparison of applicants and play a significant role in the selection of candidates for interviews. You will find that once you have made it to the interview round, these scores begin to carry significantly less weight. Here is a rough breakdown of scores:

< 215 - seek advice on whether you have a reasonable chance at matching; people do match with these scores, but only with a very solid application.
215-230 - your score may hurt you in the eyes of many programs, but many people match every year with these scores.
230-240 - these are solid scores and you should certainly do fine. If you are aiming for top-tier programs, however, this is hopefully not the strongest part of your application.
240-250 - you are in great shape.
>250 - your board score is outstanding and will stand out.

 

[bronx43]

Thanks for the information, guys. Did you guys all do research during M1 or did you just pick up some projects during M3 or M4? Thanks.

 

[edik]

Thanks for the information, guys. Did you guys all do research during M1 or did you just pick up some projects during M3 or M4? Thanks.

I started one late in the 3rd year, and also got into research while at an away rotation. There is an elective at Cornell with Dr. Tewari (robotic) which will allow you to do this. Like I said, you don't have to finish by the time you apply. But obviously, the sooner - the better. I think it's understood that most people get into GU later in med school...
Good luck.

 

[StickMe]

I began picking up research projects in January of 3rd year. I ended up with 4 things but wish I had started earlier to get even more.

 

[MDInvestor]

Could you elaborate on what research one can do as a 3rd year? One of you mentioned submitting an abstract. What does that entail? Just a proposal or a full research project including poster/presentation?

I did some research in visual sciences in college and made a poster. However, our research kept hitting roadblocks so we never got to the publishing / submission stage.

Could you explain how you pick up several projects during your 3rd year?

 

[StickMe]

In January of my 3rd year, I emailed one of the attendings as well as a chief resident, both who I knew did a lot of research. They set me up with the projects. These were all retrospective trials that needed databases created, and I got to do the gruntwork of entering in all the data.

 

[DrDre311]

Could you elaborate on what research one can do as a 3rd year? One of you mentioned submitting an abstract. What does that entail? Just a proposal or a full research project including poster/presentation?

I did some research in visual sciences in college and made a poster. However, our research kept hitting roadblocks so we never got to the publishing / submission stage.

Could you explain how you pick up several projects during your 3rd year?

The best way to get in on good research projects is to set up a meeting with your PD. Bring your CV, talk about why you're interested in urology, and then ask about how to make yourself a good applicant. When the subject of research comes up, simply ask if the PD or any faculty/residents have research projects that could use a little medical student elbow grease. I did plastics instead of urology, but I got my research projects in this fashion and also established a good relationship with my PD, which led to an excellent LOR. Unless you're asked to do sophisticated basic science stuff you won't need specialized lab skills. I think most med students with research do grunt work type stuff like chart reviews, writing the IRB proposal, literature searches, etc. that eventually contribute to a publication. Just make sure you know your research backwards and forwards for interviews.

As an aside to your WAMC question, one of my good friends matched at his #1 (excellent, well-known program) of 15 or so choices with a Step I of low 230's, AOA, only research was from college and I think he wrote an IRB proposal for a project that never materialized in med school. If you want to beef up your app with research then a urology project would be best but research in other fields is still good. One of my projects was in transplant surgery, not yet published, and I was asked about it at least as much as my plastics paper during interviews.

 

[oldgold]

Hi! Anyone out there applying for this upcoming year or for those of you who have already been down this stream. I'm a 3rd year. I have pretty good gpa and ok step 1. I have been back and forth over the past couple years on urology and recently finished my surgery rotation. During that time I had a chance to get in on some uro stuff in the OR and that sealed the deal for me. While I have a ton of research, none of it is in urology. My gpa is decent and step 1 is OK. I'm looking to boost my app with step 2 and some research in urology. First of many questions. Does a great step 2 score make a difference? What about research? Any other suggestions to boost my chances?

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Hi! Anyone out there applying for this upcoming year or for those of you who have already been down this stream. I'm a 3rd year. I have pretty good gpa and ok step 1. I have been back and forth over the past couple years on urology and recently finished my surgery rotation. During that time I had a chance to get in on some uro stuff in the OR and that sealed the deal for me. While I have a ton of research, none of it is in urology. My gpa is decent and step 1 is OK. I'm looking to boost my app with step 2 and some research in urology. First of many questions. Does a great step 2 score make a difference? What about research? Any other suggestions to boost my chances?

You were vague about your step 1 score but, IN GENERAL (with high variability among programs,) > 250 = Excellent, > 240 = Average for Urology, > 230 = A little low, but you are still in the ballpark if the rest of your app is good. A great step 2 score can definitely overcome a low step 1 score, but consider carefully (READ: Talk to your urology faculty advisor) whether you want to take step 2 early if you have a score > 230.

Urology is a small field, so who you know matters almost as much as what you know. I think that LORs are really, really important to match well in urology. If you have a strong home department, you are well on your way. Get to know your chair as best you can so that he/she can write you a great LOR. Most people do at least 1 away rotation. My advice is to do it at a program with a big name in urology, then try to get some time with that "big name" person and get a letter. However, even if you can't get a letter from a big name, even a good letter from a lesser known urologist can really help you because urology is so small (I did this, and I can't tell you how many times a lot of the younger faculty that interviewed me were like, "I see you got a letter from xxxx. I knew him from yyyy -- how's he doing these days.")

Having a record of successful research projects (even if they are not in urology) will definitely help your application, but you should try to get involved with some urology research so that you have something to talk about at interviews. If your other research is generally interesting (be honest and objective with yourself) that's great and you can talk about that too.

Bottom line: Urology is still competitive (77% match rate among US seniors this year,) and all the usual stuff counts. The more positive things you can bring to the table the better you will do. Best of luck to you!

 

[armybound]

Sol's post is practically verbatim what my associate PD told me. Great info there.

 

[blazers]

How competitive would urology be for a us img student who studies medicine at a prestigious med school in Ireland? Assuming step 1 score is a 230, publication, and father being a urologist and heavy researcher in urology.

 

[DoctwoB]

How competitive would urology be for a us img student who studies medicine at a prestigious med school in Ireland? Assuming step 1 score is a 230, publication, and father being a urologist and heavy researcher in urology.

I hate to be a downer, but your odds probably aren't great. I'm sure your medical school provides a good education, but most PDs in the US will probably not have heard of your school or have any experience with its graduates. Your step1 score is average to slightly below average for urology, and unless your father is a famous researcher who PDs have heard of that connection won't help you too much. Having a single publication certainly helps, but isn't enough to make you stand out, as many US grads will have the same or more.

There's nothing wrong with your application, but the bar for US graduates to match into urology is already high. The bar for foreign graduates is much higher.

 

[armybound]

Maybe you could do an away rotation and try to show them how good you are.

 

[blazers]

I hate to be a downer, but your odds probably aren't great. I'm sure your medical school provides a good education, but most PDs in the US will probably not have heard of your school or have any experience with its graduates. Your step1 score is average to slightly below average for urology, and unless your father is a famous researcher who PDs have heard of that connection won't help you too much. Having a single publication certainly helps, but isn't enough to make you stand out, as many US grads will have the same or more.

There's nothing wrong with your application, but the bar for US graduates to match into urology is already high. The bar for foreign graduates is much higher.

thank you. would PDs have heard of Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as the medical school? I figured RCSI is a much better option than the Caribbean. And father is not a worldknown researcher or anything. He is just a practicing urologist who in my home town in the US is also known among the other practicing urologists in town and my hometown does have a urology residency program. Not very well known program or anything, but all their residents are american medical graduates (except 1, who was a urologist at his home country before moving to the US).