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Hello,
I have been able to get a lot of decent experience in the specialties that interested me during preclinical and I've landed firmly on gen surg. Particularly I had the opportunity to shadow in trauma, EGS, and CTS and loved all of it. I have concerns and questions on what it takes to match general surgery. Here is where I stand as a student at a mid/low tier MD school:
- Grades: 3rd quartile ending preclinical, no failures, finishing M2 year right now
- Research: 3 items; 1 middle author basic science manuscript from undergrad (not surgery related), 1 middle author trauma surgery case report, 1 CTS middle author surgical education/simulation development paper
- ECs: Volunteering at the school's free clinic, interview day volunteering, pre-med interest group mentor, selected to serve as a TA in the M1 anatomy course for this fall
- Possible red flag (?): speeding ticket prior to med school that unfortunately counts as a misdemeanor in my state. So I will have to check yes for misdemeanors on ERAS. I got in to med school with that but frankly highly concerned about programs auto screening for misdemeanors. Not reckless driving or anything, strictly speeding.
1) Will being 3rd quartile make matching at community or hybrid programs difficult? My home program faculty want to see 2nd quartile for their academic program.
2) M1 year spring semester I scored quite low due to adjusting poorly to truly new classes. M1 fall was pretty much all review from undergrad anatomy and biochem so I was in for an exceptionally rude awakening when the truly new material came. In M2 year I scored above average for almost everything, but with how bad M1 spring went I'm still 3rd quartile. Will there be a place to discuss this, and would this be considered? My school deans letter does not indicate trends, only a final rank. Grades are reported as P/F for preclinical. I hope to continue my momentum during M3 year and break in to 2nd quartile.
3) How much more research do I need going forward? I think I could realistically add another case report and perhaps a small chart review study, but anything more going in to third year would make me concerned about not having the time to continue scoring well/repairing my rank.
4) How many aways should I expect to do, and should I play it safe by doing all aways at community programs, doing a mix of community and academic, or all academic? I am not really picky and want to maximize my chances of matching. I'd be grateful to match almost anywhere.
Any extra advice apart from these questions on what I should be doing is of course greatly appreciated.
I have been able to get a lot of decent experience in the specialties that interested me during preclinical and I've landed firmly on gen surg. Particularly I had the opportunity to shadow in trauma, EGS, and CTS and loved all of it. I have concerns and questions on what it takes to match general surgery. Here is where I stand as a student at a mid/low tier MD school:
- Grades: 3rd quartile ending preclinical, no failures, finishing M2 year right now
- Research: 3 items; 1 middle author basic science manuscript from undergrad (not surgery related), 1 middle author trauma surgery case report, 1 CTS middle author surgical education/simulation development paper
- ECs: Volunteering at the school's free clinic, interview day volunteering, pre-med interest group mentor, selected to serve as a TA in the M1 anatomy course for this fall
- Possible red flag (?): speeding ticket prior to med school that unfortunately counts as a misdemeanor in my state. So I will have to check yes for misdemeanors on ERAS. I got in to med school with that but frankly highly concerned about programs auto screening for misdemeanors. Not reckless driving or anything, strictly speeding.
1) Will being 3rd quartile make matching at community or hybrid programs difficult? My home program faculty want to see 2nd quartile for their academic program.
2) M1 year spring semester I scored quite low due to adjusting poorly to truly new classes. M1 fall was pretty much all review from undergrad anatomy and biochem so I was in for an exceptionally rude awakening when the truly new material came. In M2 year I scored above average for almost everything, but with how bad M1 spring went I'm still 3rd quartile. Will there be a place to discuss this, and would this be considered? My school deans letter does not indicate trends, only a final rank. Grades are reported as P/F for preclinical. I hope to continue my momentum during M3 year and break in to 2nd quartile.
3) How much more research do I need going forward? I think I could realistically add another case report and perhaps a small chart review study, but anything more going in to third year would make me concerned about not having the time to continue scoring well/repairing my rank.
4) How many aways should I expect to do, and should I play it safe by doing all aways at community programs, doing a mix of community and academic, or all academic? I am not really picky and want to maximize my chances of matching. I'd be grateful to match almost anywhere.
Any extra advice apart from these questions on what I should be doing is of course greatly appreciated.
