3rd Year New to Ophtho

[visco]

Hey guys,

I've read several forums about applying to ophthalmology and it seems like so many of you have some great advice to offer. As everyone's situation is unique, I thought I'd post mine to see if you can help me out.

I'm a 3rd year Osteopathic student who just recently became interested in ophtho during a surgery subspecialty rotation. Previously I thought I wanted to do EM but have been having second thoughts for a while. To highlight some of my credentials:
Pre-clinical: All A's except 1 or 2 classes, top 10%
Boards: Step1 260+, COMLEX 830's
Extracurriculars: Mostly EM related with a few leadership positions, a few EM conferences, academic tutor, some teaching experience, some volunteering
Research: None (got married between years 1 and 2; few opportunities at my institution)
Clinical: Honors in IM, hopefully honors in surgery, others TBD

As a DO student with no research experience I know I have my work cut out for me despite my good academic record and board scores. I've found a few opportunities in my area that I'm looking into. First, I'm planning on shadowing a guy I know who just finished his ophtho residency and moved to the area. I also know of a free cataract clinic that some students at my school have volunteered at in the past that I can potentially get involved with. Lastly, I've looked into research and there a few potential opportunities in the area, though it seems to be mostly basic science research and not clinical.

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the opportunities I mentioned above and general advice on how I can make the best use of the time I have left to strengthen my application and become a part of this incredible field!

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[kiwi-doc]

No need to dwell on the difficulty; it seems you have a good sense of that. To be completely honest, I'm not sure that shadowing will boost your application in any significant way. I think the best thing you could do other than somehow finding a connection to a big shot in the field is completing some sort of research. Depending on your timeline, basic science is not the best avenue to go down in terms of research yield. I would suggest finding something clinical unless you have a year or more to complete a significant basic science endeavor. Ophtho is a small field and, especially in your case, having someone to vouch for you is probably the most valuable currency outside of a good board score/grades and institutional reputation. As always, take my advice with a grain of salt as it is based solely on my experience and not on anything outside of anecdote. Good luck.

 

[visco]

No need to dwell on the difficulty; it seems you have a good sense of that. To be completely honest, I'm not sure that shadowing will boost your application in any significant way. I think the best thing you could do other than somehow finding a connection to a big shot in the field is completing some sort of research. Depending on your timeline, basic science is not the best avenue to go down in terms of research yield. I would suggest finding something clinical unless you have a year or more to complete a significant basic science endeavor. Ophtho is a small field and, especially in your case, having someone to vouch for you is probably the most valuable currency outside of a good board score/grades and institutional reputation. As always, take my advice with a grain of salt as it is based solely on my experience and not on anything outside of anecdote. Good luck.

Thanks @kiwi-doc, I appreciate your input. I have a month-long elective this spring. Since my home institution doesn't have an ophtho program and I haven't had any luck finding clinical research in my area (though I'll keep trying), would you recommend trying to do a research elective at another institution? Or would my time be better spent doing an ophtho rotation and making contacts that way?

 

[itchypants73]

I think doing away electives would be a good idea. It will be important to get a letter of recommendation from somebody well connected. It may help you to do an elective at a big-name place for that reason. You could also consider doing an elective at a smaller program as a "trial interview," but that can be risky for the same reason. I'd also look into the ophthalmology research year programs as a back-up option if the match is disappointing.

 

[visco]

I think doing away electives would be a good idea. It will be important to get a letter of recommendation from somebody well connected. It may help you to do an elective at a big-name place for that reason. You could also consider doing an elective at a smaller program as a "trial interview," but that can be risky for the same reason. I'd also look into the ophthalmology research year programs as a back-up option if the match is disappointing.

Thanks for the advice. I'm looking into some research options for this year and have already started working on a case report since I created this thread. I'd rather not take an additional year off from my training to do research, especially since I don't see myself practicing in a big academic setting after residency. Are there programs out there that are known for turning out solid community ophthalmologists that perhaps don't place as big of an emphasis on research?