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- Apr 13, 2021
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Hi all,
I thought I'd ask here for some tips/advice to hopefully match Gen Surg, I don't have any friends/family in medicine to help guide me like a lot of my classmates. I'm an M3 at a state US MD school and I'm on my second rotation, I haven't rotated in surgery yet. I passed STEP on the first try and passed all of my preclinical courses with no red flags. I was involved in some volunteering and med student club leadership my first two years, I also am a part of my school's global health program and rural health programs. As for research, this is my weaker area. I have one publication and one poster presentation so far. I am involved in a few other projects but they're very slow going and I am unsure if I will be able to get another publication or presentation anytime soon. I also don't have any surgery research and it is very hard to find at my school, I've been cold emailing and asking for connections for a while with no luck. I also am not the strongest student academically, I have never been a super high scorer in tests or classes so I don't know how high of a score I will get on STEP 2. I was wondering if anyone knows what score I should shoot for? Same with getting honors on my rotations, at my school only 15% of the class can qualify for clinical honors and a lot of it is based on the quizzes for each block, which I never score well on so I don't know if I will be able to honor surgery.
I've been hearing mixed things on how competitive surgery is and what they look for in students. I don't have a significant other or a family to tie me down to a location so I am willing to match to any Gen Surg program anywhere in the US, this is why the lifestyle is also not an issue for me. I also don't care about rank or prestige of the program, in fact I would prefer a community program to an academic one as I despise research and am not interested in academia, I want to open a practice someday. I do hope to match into a fellowship afterwards so I don't know if this will matter for the programs I apply to. Does anyone have any advice for me to help prepare to be a strong applicant for a Gen Surg residency? Mistakes and red flags to avoid? Any tips on how to perform well during my surgery rotation would also be appreciated <3. Thank you in advance!
I thought I'd ask here for some tips/advice to hopefully match Gen Surg, I don't have any friends/family in medicine to help guide me like a lot of my classmates. I'm an M3 at a state US MD school and I'm on my second rotation, I haven't rotated in surgery yet. I passed STEP on the first try and passed all of my preclinical courses with no red flags. I was involved in some volunteering and med student club leadership my first two years, I also am a part of my school's global health program and rural health programs. As for research, this is my weaker area. I have one publication and one poster presentation so far. I am involved in a few other projects but they're very slow going and I am unsure if I will be able to get another publication or presentation anytime soon. I also don't have any surgery research and it is very hard to find at my school, I've been cold emailing and asking for connections for a while with no luck. I also am not the strongest student academically, I have never been a super high scorer in tests or classes so I don't know how high of a score I will get on STEP 2. I was wondering if anyone knows what score I should shoot for? Same with getting honors on my rotations, at my school only 15% of the class can qualify for clinical honors and a lot of it is based on the quizzes for each block, which I never score well on so I don't know if I will be able to honor surgery.
I've been hearing mixed things on how competitive surgery is and what they look for in students. I don't have a significant other or a family to tie me down to a location so I am willing to match to any Gen Surg program anywhere in the US, this is why the lifestyle is also not an issue for me. I also don't care about rank or prestige of the program, in fact I would prefer a community program to an academic one as I despise research and am not interested in academia, I want to open a practice someday. I do hope to match into a fellowship afterwards so I don't know if this will matter for the programs I apply to. Does anyone have any advice for me to help prepare to be a strong applicant for a Gen Surg residency? Mistakes and red flags to avoid? Any tips on how to perform well during my surgery rotation would also be appreciated <3. Thank you in advance!
