Advice on general surgery

[The wise one]

Greetings,

I was looking for advice as far as the number of programs i should be applying to. The rest of my application is competitve; 1 published paper, 1 in the work; several conference papers/ presentation. Leadership, volunteering, work experience prior medical school, etc.. Here is the problem: Step 1 - 236 and Step 2 - 226. HP surgery and Honored IM. Great feedback thourought third year and middle quartile.

I am from TX. Where should i be applying?

Thank You,

Edit: I am not fond of my home program.

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[LucidSplash]

What do you want for your future? Career goals?

 

[The wise one]

What do you want for your future? Career goals?

Trauma/ CT and research. My first pub is on cardio; the one I am currently working on is on rib fracture (IRB approved; we will submit for pub by October)

 

[LucidSplash]

Trauma/ CT and research. My first pub is on cardio; the one I am currently working on is on rib fracture (IRB approved; we will submit for pub by October)

So, you want to be an academic surgeon? Then would apply to academic general surgery residencies which have research. Your stats should be fine.

 

[The wise one]

Quick update - had 13 interviews and my top 5 were CT heavy. I matched!

Questions - What are the best book for general surgery/ ABSITE. FYI, I am not planning on studying before residency. Medical school was hell. I need to rest/

 

[SurgDoc95]

Quick update - had 13 interviews and my top 5 were CT heavy. I matched!

Questions - What are the best book for general surgery/ ABSITE. FYI, I am not planning on studying before residency. Medical school was hell. I need to rest/

Behind the knife book + podcasts (multiple times on each one) and doing TrueLearn 1.5 times got me 80th + percentile on intern ABSITE this year. So would say do that haha but I like Schwartz for a textbook. Not a big Sabistons fan personally

 

[dienekes88]

Quick update - had 13 interviews and my top 5 were CT heavy. I matched!

Questions - What are the best book for general surgery/ ABSITE. FYI, I am not planning on studying before residency. Medical school was hell. I need to rest/

Congratulations!

 

[The wise one]

Congratulations!

Thank You!

 

[Lem0nz]

Behind the knife book + podcasts (multiple times on each one) and doing TrueLearn 1.5 times got me 80th + percentile on intern ABSITE this year. So would say do that haha but I like Schwartz for a textbook. Not a big Sabistons fan personally

Schwartz is > Sabiston but arguably too thick/dense still. As far as raw score the level of detail of Schwartz is too much for the time invested. Would completely recommend starting with Cameron instead. Its... still thick, but much less and way easier to read and digest. Orders of magnitude easier.

That out of the way - textbooks are a poor way to study for the Absite. SurgDoc is right. Truelearn twice (any more and you'll have memorized the answers, consciously or subconsciously) is your first and best resource. I didn't do BTK but everyone who did raves about it which means its probably the next best option. DeckerRx or whatever the new thing is is hit and miss - the Surg/Onc one was better than Score, I don't know how well the general surgery one is. Score is so/so at best, only use it for questions if you're going to use it.

Practicing questions is by far the most effective way to get a high score. It will teach you almost no useful/practical knowledge about how to be a good clinical general surgeon, but you will get a great score. Textbooks and taking care of patients teach you the actual medicine you'll need. You will have to strike a balance on which one is more important to you and gets more of your time based on your fellowship goals.