Too late to switch?

somedude98317 · Nov 21, 2006

Hey folks!

I never thought I would be in this situation but I am...I'm currently applying for residencies in Emergency Medicine and have secured a fair amount of interviews....

BUT after having completed my 2nd EM rotation at the institution i was going to rank #1, I realized that I don't think I could do this forever and I simply dreaded having to go into the ER every day...this feeling had nothing to do with the ER rotation it was awesome in fact...its just that all the preconceived notions I had about ER before I started med school were simply that...preconceived notions....

the rotation I enjoyed most during med school was Surgery...a field i NEVER considered prior to completing the rotation....

Now all the dates have passed for ERAS and I feel I've screwed mysef forever....I have pretty strong numbers...but my entire applicatioin was groomed for ER....

Do I just try and scramble into a spot? Do I do a transitional year and reapply for Surgery next year?

I started med school late and am one of the older applicants that is why i decided to stick with ER because I wouldn't become an attending in Surgery until I'd be close to 40....but now....i don't know...

anyone else in a similar boat?

any advise would be appreciated....

-somedude

dynx · Nov 22, 2006

somedude98317 said:
Hey folks!

I never thought I would be in this situation but I am...I'm currently applying for residencies in Emergency Medicine and have secured a fair amount of interviews....

BUT after having completed my 2nd EM rotation at the institution i was going to rank #1, I realized that I don't think I could do this forever and I simply dreaded having to go into the ER every day...this feeling had nothing to do with the ER rotation it was awesome in fact...its just that all the preconceived notions I had about ER before I started med school were simply that...preconceived notions....

the rotation I enjoyed most during med school was Surgery...a field i NEVER considered prior to completing the rotation....

Now all the dates have passed for ERAS and I feel I've screwed mysef forever....I have pretty strong numbers...but my entire applicatioin was groomed for ER....

Do I just try and scramble into a spot? Do I do a transitional year and reapply for Surgery next year?

I started med school late and am one of the older applicants that is why i decided to stick with ER because I wouldn't become an attending in Surgery until I'd be close to 40....but now....i don't know...

anyone else in a similar boat?

any advise would be appreciated....

-somedude

I've never been in this situation myself. But I think that what I would do if I were you is take an EM spot at a program you like. Apply for a surgery spot next year. Its only one year and applying next year to potentialy get a spot at a program you like is better than scrambling into a program where you may be less happy for 5+ years. Also, you may find that you like EM more than you thought, and you'll gain some good experience. It will suck however to have to go through intern year twice.

Good luck man, that situation sucks.

dry dre · Nov 23, 2006

somedude98317 said:
Hey folks!

I never thought I would be in this situation but I am...I'm currently applying for residencies in Emergency Medicine and have secured a fair amount of interviews...

Two options:

1) Just take one of the many prelim surgery spots that are always open...you'll be able to find a PGY-2 spot somewhere (or maybe even in the same institution) when you've completed your first year.

2) Consider contacting programs directly that you are interested in and ask them to consider your situation/application. If you have a strong numbers and letters, you may be considered. You don't have anything to lose, so how could it hurt? Were I to be a PD, I might be interested in reviewing materials from a very strong candidate who otherwise realized late in the game what they wanted to do. The reality is that it is difficult to figure out over the course of your third year what you want to do for the rest of your life...there are people out there who understand this. You just have to find them!

somedude98317 · Nov 23, 2006

Right on Dr Dre!

Thats sound advise...thanks a lot...i think i 'm gonna opt for option 2...the thought of doing a prelim surgery with the thought of possibly doing it all over again makes me nauseated....

thanks again!

Too late to switch?

somedude98317

Full Member

dynx

Yankee Imperialist

dry dre

All hat, no cattle

somedude98317

Full Member

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