Anesthesiology Residency possible with low USMLE?

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Silver316

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So the odds are looking against me from what I can tell, I'm a 3rd year just got back my scores of USMLE 218, COMLEX 541, and bottom quarter of class. I was president of the Anesthesiology club at my school but not much else Anesthesia related. What do you think about my shot at getting an Anesthesiology residency? I'll be hoping for a better step 2 but let's assume no miracles haha

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So the odds are looking against me from what I can tell, I'm a 3rd year just got back my scores of USMLE 218, COMLEX 541, and bottom quarter of class. I was president of the Anesthesiology club at my school but not much else Anesthesia related. What do you think about my shot at getting an Anesthesiology residency? I'll be hoping for a better step 2 but let's assume no miracles haha
You have a good shot at gas... It's no longer what is was 5+ years ago... a 240+ step2 will certainly make things easier..
 
Also, you'll be matching pre-merger, so praise the old gods and the new for that. My school had someone match gas this year with a 219. So it's possible. Being willing to shoot for an AOA spot will also be helpful to you.
 
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Also, you'll be matching pre-merger, so praise the old gods and the new for that. My school had someone match gas this year with a 219. So it's possible. Being willing to shoot for an AOA spot will also be helpful to you.

There's barely any of them and I've only heard negative things about AOA gas programs. I would NOT advise applying to AOA gas.
 
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Disregard my above statement then. I've heard there are decent AOA programs, but @Rekt would know better than myself.
 
This is confusing me just a bit, so anyone answering would appreciate.

Wouldn't any AOA program that could still take DO's have to be initially accredited if they wanted to match 2018 for a DO? Its my understanding there's a TY, TRI w/e then the 3 year program, so wouldn't that mean it would have to have ACGME, or is it exempt because it would start the first year of actual Anesthesia in 2019-2020?
 
The AOA gas programs were obviously not as bad as SDN made them out to be. 10 out of 12 AOA programs have already gained ACGME accreditation.
 
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The AOA gas programs were obviously not as bad as SDN made them out to be. 10 out of 12 AOA programs have already gained ACGME accreditation.

While the floor of the ACGME residencies is higher than AOA, but just because MD programs are ACGME accredited doesn't mean there aren't bad programs to be found...
 
While the floor of the ACGME residencies is higher than AOA, but just because MD programs are ACGME accredited doesn't mean there aren't bad programs to be found...

Gotcha. So now they're just bad ACGME programs.
 
Gotcha. So now they're just bad ACGME programs.

Well, point being if the anesthesia residents didn't like them before the merger, then them being ACGME doesn't change this fact.
 
This is confusing me just a bit, so anyone answering would appreciate.

Wouldn't any AOA program that could still take DO's have to be initially accredited if they wanted to match 2018 for a DO? Its my understanding there's a TY, TRI w/e then the 3 year program, so wouldn't that mean it would have to have ACGME, or is it exempt because it would start the first year of actual Anesthesia in 2019-2020?

In order to match residents, they'd have to at least be pre-accredited. Recently, a rule was passed that allowed AOA programs that didn't transition to continue training those residents who started by June 30th 2020 with AOA accredition until they completed their training. In other words, anyone one who starts is going to finish.

Also, aren't there some categorical AOA Anesthesia programs that include an intern year?
 
doing a crap ton of audition rotations and looking awesome on them can overcome a score. How do I know? People who did auditions at my rank 1 last cycle got in over me, with way worse scores/stats. But they are super personable people.
 
In order to match residents, they'd have to at least be pre-accredited. Recently, a rule was passed that allowed AOA programs that didn't transition to continue training those residents who started by June 30th 2020 with AOA accredition until they completed their training. In other words, anyone one who starts is going to finish.

Also, aren't there some categorical AOA Anesthesia programs that include an intern year?
So would that mean the AOA match will still be around for 18, 19, AND 20?
 
doing a crap ton of audition rotations and looking awesome on them can overcome a score. How do I know? People who did auditions at my rank 1 last cycle got in over me, with way worse scores/stats. But they are super personable people.

A low score is generally the only context where you should do an Anesthesiology away rotation. Or, if you have a specific program you're trying to get into.

I have a higher step 1 score than OP (but not drastically higher) and I'm doing 1 away, because it is my #1 dream program. It is at a big, house hold name school in the south. I reached out to the program director and he told me as of last week I am one of two people doing an audition there. There's not much for you to do on that rotation that makes you look good. They'll let you intubate simple cases, but for the most part the CA-1,2,3's need those cases for numbers and are learning as well. So you're hanging around shadowing residents a ton. There's a lot that can go wrong. The program director cautioned me that last year there was an applicant that on paper was a slam dunk for the program, and killed the interview. But he annoyed the hell out of the residents during his audition there and it was enough to sink him.

So yeah. Be very cautious doing aways. On the flip side I have a good friend that did aways at like 6 programs after failing step 1 and still matched a solid program. This is the type of guy that is best friends with everyone in the room though. He got invited to the program director's 9 year old birthday party, when apparently even not all of the interns got invited.
 
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I have a higher step 1 score than OP (but not drastically higher) and I'm doing 1 away, because it is my #1 dream program. It is at a big, house hold name school in the south. I reached out to the program director and he told me as of last week I am one of two people doing an audition there. There's not much for you to do on that rotation that makes you look good. They'll let you intubate simple cases, but for the most part the CA-1,2,3's need those cases for numbers and are learning as well. So you're hanging around shadowing residents a ton. There's a lot that can go wrong. The program director cautioned me that last year there was an applicant that on paper was a slam dunk for the program, and killed the interview. But he annoyed the hell out of the residents during his audition there and it was enough to sink him.

This.

The audition can sink you if you do not perform well on them. Doing a ton of rotations doesn't make much sense either, since that is even more chances for things to go wrong. Stellar DO students shouldn't be treating the ACMGE auditions like AOA auditions.
 
The AOA gas programs were obviously not as bad as SDN made them out to be. 10 out of 12 AOA programs have already gained ACGME accreditation.

The problem is nobody knows who's going to accredit these former AOA programs. The anesthesia job market isn't exactly exceptional, and if you look at gaswork there are A LOT of openings that have a hard requirement of an ABA accreditation. As of right now it looks like the AOA programs will continue to be AOBA accredited, which is no bueno. Not having ABA will limit your job prospects.
 
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