third year grades in ob/gyn/surgery for the non-surgically-inclined

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KidAtHeart

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how important is it to honor or high pass ob/gyn or surgery if you are certain you don't want to do either of those fields? i am thinking either peds, med, or med/peds... will it hurt me if i just get a pass in the surgical stuff?
 
I'm a 3rd year myself, so take my opinion for what you will. However as far as I know, as long as everything else is in order (boards, LOR's, etc, etc, etc), and you're not gunning for derm, ophtho, whatever, you'll be fine. However it depends on what you want to go into. If you want to go into EM, surgery and OB are a little more important. If you want to go into IM or FP, it probably doesn't matter much at all.
 
I'm a 3rd year myself, so take my opinion for what you will. However as far as I know, as long as everything else is in order (boards, LOR's, etc, etc, etc), and you're not gunning for derm, ophtho, whatever, you'll be fine. However it depends on what you want to go into. If you want to go into EM, surgery and OB are a little more important. If you want to go into IM or FP, it probably doesn't matter much at all.

Even if you are gunning for derm, ophtho, etc..., one high pass isn't going to kill you.

Heck, one grade below high pass isn't going to ruin things (eh...maybe in surgery, probably not ob/gyn though)

All in all, do well on the boards, try as hard as possible during 3rd year, try not to tick off anyone, pick up some good LOR's, and then honor your 4th year electives in whatever you're interested in and you should be in decent shape
 
I don't think that it will hurt you don't honor ob/gyn or surgery, but it could only help if you do well with one caveat: not at the expense of whatever clerkship you are interested in (IM, peds, FP, etc...). Just focus on honoring the clerkship of interest and related fields.
 
I don't think that it will hurt you don't honor ob/gyn or surgery, but it could only help if you do well with one caveat: not at the expense of whatever clerkship you are interested in (IM, peds, FP, etc...). Just focus on honoring the clerkship of interest and related fields.

That being said, honoring IM is always something to push for.

I could see walking into an interview and explaining less than stellar grades in ob/gyn or psych. Walking into an interview with less than stellar grades in medicine probably isn't the most empowering feeling in the world.

(Probably rings true for most specialties: surgery/derm/ophtho/etc...)
 
how important is it to honor or high pass ob/gyn or surgery if you are certain you don't want to do either of those fields? i am thinking either peds, med, or med/peds... will it hurt me if i just get a pass in the surgical stuff?

I honestly do not know the answer to your question...i.e. how much will a pass hurt you. I'm just posting to tell you that you don't necessarily have to resign yourself to a pass. I'm like you, not surgical at all (going into psych, path, or rad onc) and I took OB/Gyn first. I got good evals because I worked HARD at the non-surgical components, like notes, presentations, write-ups, etc. I also made a good faith effort to do the procedures with lots of help and guidance from the residents. A few people were annoyed that I didn't 'fit in' with the OB corporate culture (i'm reserved rather than aggressive) but if you're super nice and super hard-working it's hard for them to say much bad. So taking that approach + doing well on the shelf = High Pass (which I never would have thought possible). So while maybe you can't honor a surgery or OB rotation unless you truly do have the surgical personality, an HP isn't out of the question. Good luck!
 
So, exactly how hard is it to Honors in all of these different rotations? whats the secret?
 
So, exactly how hard is it to Honors in all of these different rotations? whats the secret?

One of the problems with third year - no one really seems to know. It's partly based on luck (i.e. do you get the reasonable attending, or the crazy psychotic one who refuses to give you Honors because you don't know as much as his chief resident?)
 
Honors= 1/3 work, 1/3 luck, and 1/3 butt kissing.

Also, some schools honor like 90% of the class. Mine will only do it with 10%.
 
I spoke with a Surgery residency director ( I want to go into Surgery) and he said all they really care about you do VERY well in are Surgery and Medicine.. the others don't matter as much.. is this true?
 
I spoke with a Surgery residency director ( I want to go into Surgery) and he said all they really care about you do VERY well in are Surgery and Medicine.. the others don't matter as much.. is this true?


Not that I know anything about anything.....

but your question strikes me as silly...it would seem to me that of course surgery and medicine would be the most important to do VERY well in...however, if you have two applicants who did VERY well in both surgery and medicine, and one of them did VERY well in everything else as well and one did average in everything else, why would a program director ever choose the one who did well in fewer things?

I guess the point is no matter what you're going into, don't completely blow somethng off as unimportant...
 
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