(throwaway account)
So I put in a ton of effort and just plain didn't make it in last year. Met some really great applicants and was treated really well by staff at my auditions and thought I might just overcome my board scores (very low scores but all first time passes, DO applicant) but it didn't happen. No one treated me wrong, it's a competition and there can only be so many winners.
For better or worse, I decided it was better to have the sure thing of a FM residency than potentially burn a year in a pre-lim/TRI after not matching EM. I ended up at very nice FM program. Established, good training, nice people. I have a good life, but it's an FM life. I've been talking with my family about applying back towards EM and I curious about how that would work and anything I could do to increase my odds. My odds of getting picked up are low enough that I can't in good faith risk losing my current spot so I expect to finish FM and apply out during my pgy3 yr. I'd welcome any general impressions/opinions or a specific reply to the following:
1) would getting through a residency with good reviews and getting my license help mitigate concerns about low board scores? I tend to do quite well on clinical/professionalism evaluations
2) in regards to SLOEs/LORs, am I correct in assuming the ones from school are now useless?
3) beyond trying to get an elective EM month at a place with an EM residency for a true academic EM letter, is there anything else you would recommend?
4) Are there any other letters that would be useful beyond EM preceptors? (my FM pd?)
5) Any advice on how to articulate that I can bring some maturity and reliability as a resident with a number of years in residency while highlighting that maturity also means I understand that I'd be brand new to EM as a resident and I can follow instructions?
6) I have an interest in EMS/disaster medicine. Would finding a role as an assistant medical director/instructor with a local EMS crew be helpful?
7) If there is a chance I could make chief, would that help?
8) anything else I can do to increase odds?
*I know the odds are low. I'm fine with burning some application money to chase something I loved. If your only opinion is that this is literally never going to happen, that's still valid and I need to hear even tough honesty.
**I know I can get an ED job with an FM residency, that is not my goal. My goal is be an EM trained doc, not just a doc with an ED job.
***I'm aware of the FM sponsored EM fellowships, I don't consider that comparable training.
So I put in a ton of effort and just plain didn't make it in last year. Met some really great applicants and was treated really well by staff at my auditions and thought I might just overcome my board scores (very low scores but all first time passes, DO applicant) but it didn't happen. No one treated me wrong, it's a competition and there can only be so many winners.
For better or worse, I decided it was better to have the sure thing of a FM residency than potentially burn a year in a pre-lim/TRI after not matching EM. I ended up at very nice FM program. Established, good training, nice people. I have a good life, but it's an FM life. I've been talking with my family about applying back towards EM and I curious about how that would work and anything I could do to increase my odds. My odds of getting picked up are low enough that I can't in good faith risk losing my current spot so I expect to finish FM and apply out during my pgy3 yr. I'd welcome any general impressions/opinions or a specific reply to the following:
1) would getting through a residency with good reviews and getting my license help mitigate concerns about low board scores? I tend to do quite well on clinical/professionalism evaluations
2) in regards to SLOEs/LORs, am I correct in assuming the ones from school are now useless?
3) beyond trying to get an elective EM month at a place with an EM residency for a true academic EM letter, is there anything else you would recommend?
4) Are there any other letters that would be useful beyond EM preceptors? (my FM pd?)
5) Any advice on how to articulate that I can bring some maturity and reliability as a resident with a number of years in residency while highlighting that maturity also means I understand that I'd be brand new to EM as a resident and I can follow instructions?
6) I have an interest in EMS/disaster medicine. Would finding a role as an assistant medical director/instructor with a local EMS crew be helpful?
7) If there is a chance I could make chief, would that help?
8) anything else I can do to increase odds?
*I know the odds are low. I'm fine with burning some application money to chase something I loved. If your only opinion is that this is literally never going to happen, that's still valid and I need to hear even tough honesty.
**I know I can get an ED job with an FM residency, that is not my goal. My goal is be an EM trained doc, not just a doc with an ED job.
***I'm aware of the FM sponsored EM fellowships, I don't consider that comparable training.
