another fmg chances question, dont shoot me

[darkmansaad]

the title says it all haha. Should have 2 research abstracts done by the time i apply and maybe a publication but in pulmonary medicine (not sure if it matters), 248/99 step 1, got an A(honors?) on my surgical clerkship and planning at least 2 away rotations in ortho. of course i am attending a caribbean institution so along with applying to ortho i slipped jessica alba one of those napkins with the "do you want to date me? yes/no/maybe" notes on them. All jokes aside i know the uphill battle, i am planning on crushing step 2 and doing well on my aways but wondering what else i can do to merit a look. I know a handful of carib grads match each year but if anyone can throw me some advice/input it would be greatly appreciated. And in all seriousness i can bench 1.5x my bodyweight at least 12x while running a sub 7:30 mile any time of the day.

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[darkmansaad]

saba? i mean its not ross or sgu but we're approved in all 50 states....but thats probably equal on the list next to the ability to rap the entire song "triumph" by Wutang clan on pure memory

 

[darkmansaad]

apparently drinking, lifting heavy weights and hitting on girls was not the recipe for success i thought it would be.......

 

[gluon999]

But is your bench + step 1 score greater than 500? If yes, then you are set!

But seriously, I think you have covered your bases pretty well..the only thing more helpful would be ortho research but any research is better than nothing.

 

[johnsmith777]

your chances are ortho are slim to none as a FMG.

There are lots of US med students with 240+ on the Step1 wanting to do ortho and will be picked before you.

 

[VincentAdultman]

your chances are ortho are slim to none as a FMG.

There are lots of US med students with 240+ on the Step1 wanting to do ortho and will be picked before you.

You seem like a cool guy based on your most recent thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=598330

 

[Green Grass]

Burn!

you seem like a cool guy based on your most recent thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=598330

 

[Habeed]

That really bites. I hope the OP gets his spot in Ortho.

But consider this : it takes the exact same amount of studying effort + intelligence (if you have more of one, you need less of the other) to get a 240 on the boards, no matter what medical school you go to.

Given how people perceive Carribbean schools, one could reasonably argue that it takes more effort to get a 240 at a Carribbean school. (residency directors claim that Carribbean grads are a bad bet because their school is 'less rigorous')

So, the OP worked his butt off...and has drastically less options because of the name of his school.

It seems pretty clear that premeds should do whatever it takes to get U.S. allopathic to avoid this situation. For this reason, I turned down my St. George acceptance and waited for a U.S. allopathic spot.

 

[darkmansaad]

thanks for the responses....yeah i know where i stand trust me, i didnt want a competitive specialty til i finished all my 3rd year so at the time it wasnt a big deal. hindsight is 20/20 and of course i would have loved to go to an allopathic school. but i didnt, and now im going to have work my butt off just for an interview to say nothing of an actual spot. I believe 30something independent applicants matched into ortho from a total of 120 something....i guess im just hoping and praying i can be one of those 30 next year. Best of luck to everyone matching this year!

 

[SOUNDMAN]

Dark, I'll be with you hoping for a spot as well, only as a DO, but we are both considered independents essentially from my understanding. I can't bench press more than you though, and your mile time is better than mine too.

 

[thethom]

Ortho was an option for me too for this year's match, and I got a whopping ONE interview after applying to all the ortho programs from Florida to Maine and west to the Mississippi. PD's know that the USMLE is the great equalizer, yet they will still take a US grad with far lower scores over an IMG with stellar scores. Whats the reason? It has nothing to do with the rigors of the curriculum (Carib schools are equivalent, thats an excuse PDs use) but how their program would be perceived when their website shows an IMG resident. How do I know this, I had a gen surg PD actually tell me this...

-T

 

[SOUNDMAN]

Ortho was an option for me too for this year's match, and I got a whopping ONE interview after applying to all the ortho programs from Florida to Maine and west to the Mississippi. PD's know that the USMLE is the great equalizer, yet they will still take a US grad with far lower scores over an IMG with stellar scores. Whats the reason? It has nothing to do with the rigors of the curriculum (Carib schools are equivalent, thats an excuse PDs use) but how their program would be perceived when their website shows an IMG resident. How do I know this, I had a gen surg PD actually tell me this...

-T

Where did you do your rotations in ortho at? Did you get interview from any of those places? Just curious where you rotated to see if those places just weren't friendly in the first place or whatever?

 

[darkmansaad]

no offense to you as your step 1 score is killer, but if they saw your 24 point drop on step 2 dont you think that might have affected the # of interviews you got? unless you got your score after interviews went out....maybe im wrong. But best of luck maybe that ONE is all you need?

 

[thethom]

Regardless of when scores went out (mine came out after), my Step 1 is far higher than the majority of the Ortho residents, and my Step 2 is actually just ABOVE average for those that MATCHED into Ortho, GPA is a 3.91, so in all honesty, I'm a better applicant, but PDs apply a bullsht "handicap" because of the name of my medical school.

Ortho programs have long used Step 1 scores in selecting applicants because it correlated best with OITE and passing the ortho boards. Statistically speaking, I have a better chance at passing than most of the AMGs they rank... so WTF happened...

-T

 

[thethom]

Oh yeah, and my Step 1 plus bench is right at 500, lol, dang?!

 

[basupran]

Oh yeah, and my Step 1 plus bench is right at 500, lol, dang?!

Damn, that sucks man. I was in a very similar situation as the OP and you (bench plus step 1 612 and I was a caribbean student ). I was told by several residents, several attendings and a program chair: your chances are slim to none when it comes to ortho, transfer transfer transfer.

thethom, as you have found out, PDs of competitive residencies with FMGs are frowned upon...for some strange reason, an fmg can bring down the program name. This is regardless of how good the applicant is on paper.

A female friend of mine from the caribbean had 99 on step 1 and step 2, athletic, great letters, smart, personable and very attractive (sorry, had to throw that in) applied to nearly every ortho program and was not interviewed. I know people from us schools with 85's on the step landing several interviews. I will agree, it isn't fair at all.

Good luck to you.

 

[Black Surgeon]

the title says it all haha. Should have 2 research abstracts done by the time i apply and maybe a publication but in pulmonary medicine (not sure if it matters), 248/99 step 1, got an A(honors?) on my surgical clerkship and planning at least 2 away rotations in ortho. of course i am attending a caribbean institution so along with applying to ortho i slipped jessica alba one of those napkins with the "do you want to date me? yes/no/maybe" notes on them. All jokes aside i know the uphill battle, i am planning on crushing step 2 and doing well on my aways but wondering what else i can do to merit a look. I know a handful of carib grads match each year but if anyone can throw me some advice/input it would be greatly appreciated. And in all seriousness i can bench 1.5x my bodyweight at least 12x while running a sub 7:30 mile any time of the day.

haha , I actually did this back in Middle school . It was to a fine Dominican chick in my history class. I still remember her name . Hey OP, your stats are great but if I was in your situation (as an FMG), I would be on the safe side and gun for GS. Scrambling as an FMG might land you in PC or FP which would suck if your goal is to do surgery. GS still offers you a lot of options after residency.

 

[VincentAdultman]

haha , I actually did this back in Middle school . It was to a fine Dominican chick in my history class. I still remember her name . Hey OP, your stats are great but if I was in your situation (as an FMG), I would be on the safe side and gun for GS. Scrambling as an FMG might land you in PC or FP which would suck if your goal is to do surgery. GS still offers you a lot of options after residency.

"Because I couldn't do ortho" is a bad reason to select general surgery as a career.

 

[Habeed]

"Because I couldn't do ortho" is a bad reason to select general surgery as a career.

We can't all be astronauts. Even a general surgeon is...a surgeon. And while compared to Ortho, they might not do so hot, they still get to fix people all day and make enough money to have a decent life.

 

[VincentAdultman]

We can't all be astronauts. Even a general surgeon is...a surgeon. And while compared to Ortho, they might not do so hot, they still get to fix people all day and make enough money to have a decent life.

Yeah, general surgeons operate, but the OR is pretty much the only thing they have in common with ortho. The types of operations they do, plus the general malignancy of GS residencies in overall made this a deal-breaker for me. Just look at the thread about not liking GS as a potential reason for not pursuing ortho. I'd wager the VAST majority of ortho residents abhor gen surg.

They do plently of procedures in anesthesia, ER, rads, and even fam med to make all of those viable options to me BEFORE gen surg.

 

[Black Surgeon]

Yeah, general surgeons operate, but the OR is pretty much the only thing they have in common with ortho. The types of operations they do, plus the general malignancy of GS residencies in overall made this a deal-breaker for me. Just look at the thread about not liking GS as a potential reason for not pursuing ortho. I'd wager the VAST majority of ortho residents abhor gen surg.

They do plently of procedures in anesthesia, ER, rads, and even fam med to make all of those viable options to me BEFORE gen surg.

Ok I get it, "the two fields are different" No need to .

But like I said before, if the OP's main goal is to do surgery as opposed reading charts, then GS or any other surgical subspecialty would definitely be the next best thing.

No one is arguing about the similarities or differences between the two fields.

 

[darkmansaad]

Ok I get it, "the two fields are different" No need to .

But like I said before, if the OP's main goal is to do surgery as opposed reading charts, then GS or any other surgical subspecialty would definitely be the next best thing.

No one is arguing about the similarities or differences between the two fields.

I would not be against Gen Surg, but I am an IMG. Getting a categorical spot in GS as an IMG is almost as hard as Ortho...so instead they will make me do my PGY1 year TWICE and thats if i am lucky! I could possibly do intern year twice and then still have to switch into something else. Ortho has PA's so there is no need to build up that system of interns that run around the floor and most never get into their dream of surgery. I consider myself a hard worker and also I am not stupid, i would rather apply into something else if my dream of ortho wont be realized. Being someones slave for a few years before I get thrown to the side is not my idea of good repayment for the hard work I have put towards my Steps, research, etc. It its meant to be, it will.....

 

[thethom]

How about sports medicine or PMnR if you like athletics/the physical aspect of medicine...?