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Advice for an incoming MS1 interested in Ophthamology?
- Thread starter Toasty1
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Gunners gonna gun
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nothing wrong with getting started early, but don't kill yourself over it or create anxiety. i think you have a good understanding of all the key components of an application, for M1 and M2 = step 1 and grades are most important. join the ophtho club, start on some research (this doesn't have to be day 1, a lot of people will start summer between M1 and M2). going to your dept of ophtho and saying you are interested, and going to grand rounds occasionally, etc - these all great things, and it is smart to start building the relationships early. but showing your face a few times over the year is already great, this doesn't need to become your hobby.
i think every single thing you mentioned is great, and right on target, just make sure these are all secondary to step 1 and your grades and not your primary focus, these are things for when you have extra time vs. things that should create anxiety because you can't make it, or things you do instead of focusing on school (which is your priority and most important for your app, if you can get good grades and a good step 1 and work on some research during the summer, i would sacrifice all of the rest for that -- because that is most valued by schools and you will have a chance to get to know the dept, go to grand rounds, etc, as an M3 and M4)
i think every single thing you mentioned is great, and right on target, just make sure these are all secondary to step 1 and your grades and not your primary focus, these are things for when you have extra time vs. things that should create anxiety because you can't make it, or things you do instead of focusing on school (which is your priority and most important for your app, if you can get good grades and a good step 1 and work on some research during the summer, i would sacrifice all of the rest for that -- because that is most valued by schools and you will have a chance to get to know the dept, go to grand rounds, etc, as an M3 and M4)
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My advice, honestly?
RELAX.
Enjoy your first year, because it'll be the chillest by far. And seriously, I can't count the number of people I know who were ultra-mega-gunners as M1s, who were dead set on matching neurosurg or ortho or plastics or ophtho. Then they hit M3 and discover they totally love something completely different. Then it's kinda awkward because they suddenly have to explain why they're doing X instead of Y, and let a bunch of people down, etc etc.
In a way, I was the same; I thought maybe I'd do cardiology or something, and I shadowed. Didn't bust my ass to really gun it up, but in retrospect I'm really glad I didn't -- because I realized in the first rotation of third year that I hated, hated, hated inpatient work. I also hated the unholy trinities of HTN/AMI/CHF and HTN/diabetes/hyperlipidemia, which you basically can't get away from if you do any sort of adult inpatient medicine. Fortunately, halfway through the year I discovered ophtho -- basically by whim and by luck -- and found my true home. I was a bit nervous about getting my ass in gear and applying for ophtho in essentially 6 months, but in the end it worked out fine. Well, I hope it did -- I'll let you know next week 😉
But I guess my point is: ultimately, shadowing and research and showing up to grand rounds won't really tell you whether or not you REALLY like the specialty. Nothing will tell you that except doing it. And if you commit too early to something and then discover you hate it, you'll have to backtrack.
At the same time, face time with the attendings might possibly help you make a good impression? But more likely they'll just see you as a tagalong until you actually rotate with them and show them your chops. True, in the end, maybe a letter that says "X has been shadowing me since M1 and is the best damn student I've ever seen!" will sound a bit stronger than "X is the best damn student I've ever seen!" -- but imho, it's only stronger by a LITTLE. And you're weighing that small gain against the risk of having to disappoint people if/when you change your mind.
All that said, the best thing you can do for yourself in terms of future career is to ace Step 1. That doesn't mean start studying now. Depending on how you learn, that might not even mean studying throughout 2nd year. But it does mean setting aside whatever time you think you need to do well. You don't need a 260 -- but 240 really is kind of the magic number where every specialty is open to you, and you don't have to compensate for a "low" score. Once you have that in the bag, the future really starts looking wide open.
RELAX.
Enjoy your first year, because it'll be the chillest by far. And seriously, I can't count the number of people I know who were ultra-mega-gunners as M1s, who were dead set on matching neurosurg or ortho or plastics or ophtho. Then they hit M3 and discover they totally love something completely different. Then it's kinda awkward because they suddenly have to explain why they're doing X instead of Y, and let a bunch of people down, etc etc.
In a way, I was the same; I thought maybe I'd do cardiology or something, and I shadowed. Didn't bust my ass to really gun it up, but in retrospect I'm really glad I didn't -- because I realized in the first rotation of third year that I hated, hated, hated inpatient work. I also hated the unholy trinities of HTN/AMI/CHF and HTN/diabetes/hyperlipidemia, which you basically can't get away from if you do any sort of adult inpatient medicine. Fortunately, halfway through the year I discovered ophtho -- basically by whim and by luck -- and found my true home. I was a bit nervous about getting my ass in gear and applying for ophtho in essentially 6 months, but in the end it worked out fine. Well, I hope it did -- I'll let you know next week 😉
But I guess my point is: ultimately, shadowing and research and showing up to grand rounds won't really tell you whether or not you REALLY like the specialty. Nothing will tell you that except doing it. And if you commit too early to something and then discover you hate it, you'll have to backtrack.
At the same time, face time with the attendings might possibly help you make a good impression? But more likely they'll just see you as a tagalong until you actually rotate with them and show them your chops. True, in the end, maybe a letter that says "X has been shadowing me since M1 and is the best damn student I've ever seen!" will sound a bit stronger than "X is the best damn student I've ever seen!" -- but imho, it's only stronger by a LITTLE. And you're weighing that small gain against the risk of having to disappoint people if/when you change your mind.
All that said, the best thing you can do for yourself in terms of future career is to ace Step 1. That doesn't mean start studying now. Depending on how you learn, that might not even mean studying throughout 2nd year. But it does mean setting aside whatever time you think you need to do well. You don't need a 260 -- but 240 really is kind of the magic number where every specialty is open to you, and you don't have to compensate for a "low" score. Once you have that in the bag, the future really starts looking wide open.
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What makes you interested in ophthalmology?
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I don't mean to be mean, but that's a pretty "pre-med" answer -- all ideals and buzzwords. I think it's fine to be idealistic, but at the end of the day you need to find something that will be interesting, realistic, and doable for you for 30-40 years. Ideals will get you through maybe 6 months xD
If I went by ideals, I would've maybe gone into gyn onc. My mom had a brush with uterine cancer, and I like the idea of helping other women through that terrifying time etc etc. But frankly: I hated my gyn onc rotation. It was hands down the worst. Too malignant, too cutthroat, too bitchy, too take-no-prisoners, and just way way way too much standing on my feet for hours on end. It would've been nice to say "I help women survive cancer," but the day-to-day of obgyn would've just killed me with unhappiness.
I don't wanna go into huge detail about why I went into ophtho, but here's a couple of the reasons:
- Ability to diagnose a LOT of disorders in-clinic, often just by looking at the patient or running quick diagnostic tests on equipment you have down the hall. For many, many diseases, you don't have to wait for a billion tests to know what it is and start treating it. I have no patience for downtime (which is why I hated inpatient).
- Ability to treat a lot of disorders quickly and definitively. As in all medicine, there are chronic illnesses in ophtho, but there's also a lot you can actually "fix". That's super-important to me; fixing problems for people was the whole reason I went into medicine.
- Mix of surgery and outpatient clinic. Surgeries were short and sweet. Clinics are fast-paced and productive. I had to really go through 3rd year to figure out I liked these things.
Obviously, you don't need to have the same reasons as me, but imho those are the kinds of reasons you should be thinking about. The practical ones, the personal ones, the day-to-day ones, and the ones that will get you out of bed in the morning. And if you don't have those yet, I really would caution you against boxing yourself into one specialty too early.
If I went by ideals, I would've maybe gone into gyn onc. My mom had a brush with uterine cancer, and I like the idea of helping other women through that terrifying time etc etc. But frankly: I hated my gyn onc rotation. It was hands down the worst. Too malignant, too cutthroat, too bitchy, too take-no-prisoners, and just way way way too much standing on my feet for hours on end. It would've been nice to say "I help women survive cancer," but the day-to-day of obgyn would've just killed me with unhappiness.
I don't wanna go into huge detail about why I went into ophtho, but here's a couple of the reasons:
- Ability to diagnose a LOT of disorders in-clinic, often just by looking at the patient or running quick diagnostic tests on equipment you have down the hall. For many, many diseases, you don't have to wait for a billion tests to know what it is and start treating it. I have no patience for downtime (which is why I hated inpatient).
- Ability to treat a lot of disorders quickly and definitively. As in all medicine, there are chronic illnesses in ophtho, but there's also a lot you can actually "fix". That's super-important to me; fixing problems for people was the whole reason I went into medicine.
- Mix of surgery and outpatient clinic. Surgeries were short and sweet. Clinics are fast-paced and productive. I had to really go through 3rd year to figure out I liked these things.
Obviously, you don't need to have the same reasons as me, but imho those are the kinds of reasons you should be thinking about. The practical ones, the personal ones, the day-to-day ones, and the ones that will get you out of bed in the morning. And if you don't have those yet, I really would caution you against boxing yourself into one specialty too early.
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It's better to prepare for a competitive specialty as an M1 and M2. If you end up not liking it, you can apply for a less competitive specialty, but the other way doesn't work.
I'd do two things:
1) Look in to what fields interest you - one, by seeing whether the daily bread and butter activities will be bearable, and two, by seeing whether you would be passionate about making strong contribution to that field. You can't just wait until third year to magically find out whether you will find a specialty you like. Even 2 months before submitting ERAS, there is a level of uncertainty, and it will always be a leap of faith. The only time you will know for sure is never, not even after becoming an attending, because you will not have had the opportunity to experience all the other fields. Constantly reflect, but it is okay to pick a specialty you like now, even as an M1. I'd be diligent about reading up on what other attendings/ residents have to say about each field, via SDN for example. What you know about yourself and the field theoretically is just as important as the limited experience you get as a medical student shadowing or helping the few residents/ attendings.
2) Build your CV. There are tons of resources on here. Just look at what M2's and M3's are doing for ophtho. At the end of the day, there are only few spots for grabs. Ophtho will only get more competitive. Aside from excelling clinically, start to think about connections (LOR) and research. Never too early to make plans. And ophtho is a small world, so connections really matter. Not to say that you need to start as an M1, but don't expect to get a great LOR from a big wig by waiting until your ophtho elective as a M4. It can work out, but I wouldn't wait until the last minute if I had a do over.
This advice is for any field you choose. Make sure you like it, do well clinically, get good letters, and get some pubs.
I'd do two things:
1) Look in to what fields interest you - one, by seeing whether the daily bread and butter activities will be bearable, and two, by seeing whether you would be passionate about making strong contribution to that field. You can't just wait until third year to magically find out whether you will find a specialty you like. Even 2 months before submitting ERAS, there is a level of uncertainty, and it will always be a leap of faith. The only time you will know for sure is never, not even after becoming an attending, because you will not have had the opportunity to experience all the other fields. Constantly reflect, but it is okay to pick a specialty you like now, even as an M1. I'd be diligent about reading up on what other attendings/ residents have to say about each field, via SDN for example. What you know about yourself and the field theoretically is just as important as the limited experience you get as a medical student shadowing or helping the few residents/ attendings.
2) Build your CV. There are tons of resources on here. Just look at what M2's and M3's are doing for ophtho. At the end of the day, there are only few spots for grabs. Ophtho will only get more competitive. Aside from excelling clinically, start to think about connections (LOR) and research. Never too early to make plans. And ophtho is a small world, so connections really matter. Not to say that you need to start as an M1, but don't expect to get a great LOR from a big wig by waiting until your ophtho elective as a M4. It can work out, but I wouldn't wait until the last minute if I had a do over.
This advice is for any field you choose. Make sure you like it, do well clinically, get good letters, and get some pubs.
I dont know if its been said, but make sure the medical school you are matriculating to has an ophthalmology department and a residency program, because that will certainly help.. otherwise you are truly putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Also, if given the option between medical schools, pick the one with a large well known department (doesnt necessarily have to be a big name medical school) such as Jeffereson medical school and wills, miami and bascom palmer etc
Also, if given the option between medical schools, pick the one with a large well known department (doesnt necessarily have to be a big name medical school) such as Jeffereson medical school and wills, miami and bascom palmer etc
Bad advice. Go to the best med school you can get into, though of course factor in financial aid, etc. Don't pick an inferior school based on the quality of the ophtho department, when you have no idea if you will actually like ophtho. The name brand of your school will carry more weight than the connections of your letter writers. Plus, most top med schools have top ophtho departments (though not all), so you get the best of both worlds.
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Couldn't agree with this more. The name branding of the school and its rank can get you very far in the match.
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Introduce yourself to the department in M1 year. Don't try to do a whole lot of stuff, but if you can get involved in a small project or two go ahead and do it, go to some grand rounds. Research in anything shows you're trying even if you switch to something else. And honestly M1 year is relaxed so you'll have time.
Keep an open mind about other specialties: derm, rad-onc, anesthesia, radiology. Maybe you'll even decide you hate your life and want be a hospitalist or general surgeon! But don't get set on one thing too early.
The most important thing in M1 and M2 is to do well. Get good grades. Do well on Step1. So don't get caught up doing a whole bunch of research.
Lots of people are telling you to 'chill out' and then telling you they scrambled for 6 months after finding Ophthalmology late. I scrambled to beef my CV too, and it isn't fun. Save yourself a little scrambling by doing a little bit now, but don't go overboard.
Keep an open mind about other specialties: derm, rad-onc, anesthesia, radiology. Maybe you'll even decide you hate your life and want be a hospitalist or general surgeon! But don't get set on one thing too early.
The most important thing in M1 and M2 is to do well. Get good grades. Do well on Step1. So don't get caught up doing a whole bunch of research.
Lots of people are telling you to 'chill out' and then telling you they scrambled for 6 months after finding Ophthalmology late. I scrambled to beef my CV too, and it isn't fun. Save yourself a little scrambling by doing a little bit now, but don't go overboard.
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Definitely agree with beefing up your CV overall -- do research, do volunteer work, do leadership, ace the Step 1. But I still say avoid targeting one specialty too early. No one ever really knows what they like for sure until 3rd year, or sometimes even later. It's a lot easier to tell the story of why you prepared yourself to excel in all specialties and then honed in on one in 3rd year vs. the story of why you spent 2.5 years prepping for specialty A only to switch into specialty B.
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My personal experience/ insight are different from elementals. But it's important to just get insights from different people, and find what works for you and leave behind what doesn't.
While one shouldn't be firm with the decision he/she makes as m1, he/she should pick a competitive specialty as a 1st year to pursue research and build network, rather than to prepare to excel in "all specialties." Personally, I don't think there's a way to prepare in order to excel in all specialties.
If you prepare for ophtho from year 1, and you end up applying to ophtho, the benefit is obviously exponentially great. These competitive fields give much more consideration to research and letters from their own fields. This is why taking a year off can actually be really beneficial in some cases.
I don't think there's much difference whether you prepared for oncology (to prepare for all specialties) vs. if you prepared for ENT, as long as the quality of the product you got are great from each field. At the end of the day, ophtho people will care for the research/ letters from ophtho. I don't think explaining about why you switched from specialty A to B is a big deal. It's given that you accumulate more knowledge about each field as you have more time to think about the process in medicine, and it's entirely normal for med students to switch from specialty A to B.
If you feel strongly about ophtho as m1, just prepare for ophtho, rather than prepare for all specialties. If you are not sure about any field, then think strongly about which competitive fields you like in terms of daily activities and career ambition. Then pick one and prepare for it. If you end up liking internal medicine, anesthesiology, or radiology, you can make the adjustment easily as m3. But if you want to switch to derm, plastics, ophtho, or ortho as m3, it will be much more difficult, even if you had done 2 years of research in oncology.
While one shouldn't be firm with the decision he/she makes as m1, he/she should pick a competitive specialty as a 1st year to pursue research and build network, rather than to prepare to excel in "all specialties." Personally, I don't think there's a way to prepare in order to excel in all specialties.
If you prepare for ophtho from year 1, and you end up applying to ophtho, the benefit is obviously exponentially great. These competitive fields give much more consideration to research and letters from their own fields. This is why taking a year off can actually be really beneficial in some cases.
I don't think there's much difference whether you prepared for oncology (to prepare for all specialties) vs. if you prepared for ENT, as long as the quality of the product you got are great from each field. At the end of the day, ophtho people will care for the research/ letters from ophtho. I don't think explaining about why you switched from specialty A to B is a big deal. It's given that you accumulate more knowledge about each field as you have more time to think about the process in medicine, and it's entirely normal for med students to switch from specialty A to B.
If you feel strongly about ophtho as m1, just prepare for ophtho, rather than prepare for all specialties. If you are not sure about any field, then think strongly about which competitive fields you like in terms of daily activities and career ambition. Then pick one and prepare for it. If you end up liking internal medicine, anesthesiology, or radiology, you can make the adjustment easily as m3. But if you want to switch to derm, plastics, ophtho, or ortho as m3, it will be much more difficult, even if you had done 2 years of research in oncology.
Ophthalmology: Okay, first post on sdn, I'm sure someone will ruin it. I am a MS2 and I know I should be worrying about step (believe me, i'm doing plenty of that), but it sure helps me get up in the morning and study if I have an idea of what kind of doc I want to be (even if it will likely change later). So humor me please, and can someone who knows about ophthalmology please comment. When I go to ERS residency list, under MD section, no ophtho? when I search for average step scores, I usually find a pdf "the match" with a lot of data... well all of them don't have ophtho in them? Why is ophtho seemingly off the map? I have been looking all over sdn and googling ophtho and I am having a hard time finding out how competitive this specialty is. Where is this info kept lol
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