Any underdogs during this application season?

[membrname]

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I am applying to residency this year and have been having a difficult time getting interviews. I look at the interview invite post and feel so inadequate compared to some of the rockstars on this forum. A little bit about me:

I am a DO student who has had a couple of remediations during the first two years, a pretty low (but passing) COMLEX Step 1 and a failed Step 2 (my retake score should be out next week). There is no excuse for my sub-par performance, but my mom died, my dad went into a deep depression and started using drugs, and my younger siblings were placed in foster care. My school put me on probation with mandatory counseling sessions for a few months while I dealt with my personal issues. Needless to say I've had a pretty rough time, but I am hopeful that someone will see past my less than awesome application and give me a chance to explain myself. I've applied to 70 mid- and low-tier programs with 1 interview so far. I can't see myself doing anything but pediatrics and feel like I'd be miserable in another specialty, but I'm wondering if I should have a back-up. Is there anyone else who is having a tough time, or is it just me? Any words of encouragement from other applicants (past, present, and future) would be great, as this process is killing my spirit 🙁

 

[doopdidoop]

I am applying to residency this year and have been having a difficult time getting interviews. I look at the interview invite post and feel so inadequate compared to some of the rockstars on this forum. A little bit about me:

I am a DO student who has had a couple of remediations during the first two years, a pretty low (but passing) COMLEX Step 1 and a failed Step 2 (my retake score should be out next week). There is no excuse for my sub-par performance, but my mom died, my dad went into a deep depression and started using drugs, and my younger siblings were placed in foster care. My school put me on probation with mandatory counseling sessions for a few months while I dealt with my personal issues. Needless to say I've had a pretty rough time, but I am hopeful that someone will see past my less than awesome application and give me a chance to explain myself. I've applied to 70 mid- and low-tier programs with 1 interview so far. I can't see myself doing anything but pediatrics and feel like I'd be miserable in another specialty, but I'm wondering if I should have a back-up. Is there anyone else who is having a tough time, or is it just me? Any words of encouragement from other applicants (past, present, and future) would be great, as this process is killing my spirit 🙁

i have no words of wisdom or any wisdom at all for that matter but i just want to tell you not to give up! reading your story...my heart goes out to you for all that you've been through. i can't even imagine dealing with half the stuff you dealt with and staying in school. you should be really proud of yourself for having gotten this far. med school requires an above average person...adding in personal and family issues like those - i'm not even sure that i would have been able to finish school. even if this year doesn't work out the way you want it to, you should believe that you've done the best you can do given your circumstances and just try again. i'm sending good vibes and keeping you in my prayers!!!

i wonder if having a sit down with your school's PD and explaining your situation thoroughly and then asking him or her to make some personal phone calls vouching for you despite what you look like on paper. i think it would be worth it if they would be willing to speak to a fellow PD and say that there is much that goes beyond your ERAS/scores, etc. i know that PD-PD communication goes a long way. just an idea.

best of luck OP, wishing you the absolute best

 

[membrname]

i have no words of wisdom or any wisdom at all for that matter but i just want to tell you not to give up! reading your story...my heart goes out to you for all that you've been through. i can't even imagine dealing with half the stuff you dealt with and staying in school. you should be really proud of yourself for having gotten this far. med school requires an above average person...adding in personal and family issues like those - i'm not even sure that i would have been able to finish school. even if this year doesn't work out the way you want it to, you should believe that you've done the best you can do given your circumstances and just try again. i'm sending good vibes and keeping you in my prayers!!!

i wonder if having a sit down with your school's PD and explaining your situation thoroughly and then asking him or her to make some personal phone calls vouching for you despite what you look like on paper. i think it would be worth it if they would be willing to speak to a fellow PD and say that there is much that goes beyond your ERAS/scores, etc. i know that PD-PD communication goes a long way. just an idea.

best of luck OP, wishing you the absolute best

Thanks doop (lol I love your name). That sounds like a great idea! I'll definitely look into getting my school to vouch for me. I'm lucky to have faculty and staff who truly do believe in me

 

[Vita]

Have you considered applying to Pediatric Neurology? I have heard that this tends to be less competitive (though I imagine this also depends on years). At least you would be in Pediatrics that way. In case you haven't looked into it: Peds neuro usually does their first two years with general peds residents and then do their neurology portion of residency. You match directly into many programs from medical school.

Personally, I would have a backup. Are you applying to both MD and DO? Some DO programs notoriously don't fill because most DO students who do peds go through the MD match. It might be worth looking at those programs and applying. I would consider doing FM programs as a backup as well if you don't start getting some more interviews. I know you want Peds specifically, but you can always go to a FM program that is heavy in Pediatrics.

Good luck. I'm sorry you had so many difficult things pop up in life.

 

[membrname]

Have you considered applying to Pediatric Neurology? I have heard that this tends to be less competitive (though I imagine this also depends on years). At least you would be in Pediatrics that way. In case you haven't looked into it: Peds neuro usually does their first two years with general peds residents and then do their neurology portion of residency. You match directly into many programs from medical school.

Personally, I would have a backup. Are you applying to both MD and DO? Some DO programs notoriously don't fill because most DO students who do peds go through the MD match. It might be worth looking at those programs and applying. I would consider doing FM programs as a backup as well if you don't start getting some more interviews. I know you want Peds specifically, but you can always go to a FM program that is heavy in Pediatrics.

Good luck. I'm sorry you had so many difficult things pop up in life.

Thanks for the suggestion Vita! I didn't even think about peds neuro. I'll take a look at that! I've applied to all of the peds DO programs but wasn't sure if any would look at me since I didn't do a DO away rotation.

 

[caligirlmd]

hi membrname. like everyone else, im really sorry about what happened to you and im sure it has been extremely difficult for you. and kudos to you for pulling through this far... seriously. that being said.. i will give my two cents (but take it with a grain of salt because im really just another applicant too). the thing is.. altho anyone can see you're a strong person, the problem with your application will probably be that it is hard for the admissions committee to see what you can offer. it is a reality that these scores are not competitive.. if you honored alot of your rotations (esp pediatrics) or had amazing letters of rec, i can see the committees possibly looking pass everything... but from my impression the personal statement will not likely pull you through... they want doctors that will do well in their residency program and pass the pediatrics board (which i heard is actually one of the hardest boards). so unless there is something else thats solid on your app, i suggest two options 1) apply to seriously the lowest tier programs in places that are in the middle of nowhere if Pediatrics is your only option (discuss with your dean first). 2) like someone said, consider family medicine. If your goal is to do outpatient Pediatrics (ie. not do a fellowship and specialize or become a hospitalist), then it is honestly not a bad idea. At least in NY, you can choose your own panel of patient (maybe not initially, in the first 1-2 years), and never see adult patients if you dont want to. There is so many more family medicine programs that pediatrics program. This means you'd have to like seeing patients with the flu, asthma, and doing well baby checks. Finally, I agree with another user. You should seriously sit down with your dean or your Pediatrics clerkship director (and maybe a family med clerkship director) and ask what to do at this point, esp since its running late in terms of interview offers.... again, im really sorry for what happened and best of luck.

 

[membrname]

hi membrname. like everyone else, im really sorry about what happened to you and im sure it has been extremely difficult for you. and kudos to you for pulling through this far... seriously. that being said.. i will give my two cents (but take it with a grain of salt because im really just another applicant too). the thing is.. altho anyone can see you're a strong person, the problem with your application will probably be that it is hard for the admissions committee to see what you can offer. it is a reality that these scores are not competitive.. if you honored alot of your rotations (esp pediatrics) or had amazing letters of rec, i can see the committees possibly looking pass everything... but from my impression the personal statement will not likely pull you through... they want doctors that will do well in their residency program and pass the pediatrics board (which i heard is actually one of the hardest boards). so unless there is something else thats solid on your app, i suggest two options 1) apply to seriously the lowest tier programs in places that are in the middle of nowhere if Pediatrics is your only option (discuss with your dean first). 2) like someone said, consider family medicine. If your goal is to do outpatient Pediatrics (ie. not do a fellowship and specialize or become a hospitalist), then it is honestly not a bad idea. At least in NY, you can choose your own panel of patient (maybe not initially, in the first 1-2 years), and never see adult patients if you dont want to. There is so many more family medicine programs that pediatrics program. This means you'd have to like seeing patients with the flu, asthma, and doing well baby checks. Finally, I agree with another user. You should seriously sit down with your dean or your Pediatrics clerkship director (and maybe a family med clerkship director) and ask what to do at this point, esp since its running late in terms of interview offers.... again, im really sorry for what happened and best of luck.

Thanks for the response caligirlmd (I'm a "cali girl" myself!). I appreciate your honest opinion. I just got off the phone with the peds chair from my school and she advised me not to apply to family med since it's pretty obvious that I wouldn't be happy doing anything but peds. She said another option is to do a Traditional Rotation Internship and then try to match again. I hadn't even thought of that. But she also thinks that once I get my step 2 scores, I can email some of my favorite programs and let them know how interested I am. I definitely applied to all of the low tier schools. We'll see what happens!

 

[Giic]

I like the Rotating Internship idea - if indeed you can get a spot there.... It will give you a chance to prove that you really do have what it takes to be an intern/resident, before anyone commits to you. And then you can get letters of recommendation from there as well.

One thing I would like to tell you - NEVER EVER GIVE UP. If you truly believe that this is what you want to do, and that you have what it takes, then NEVER give up. Keep trying, go a different/longer route if you have to. But don't stop until you get there!

 

[membrname]

I like the Rotating Internship idea - if indeed you can get a spot there.... It will give you a chance to prove that you really do have what it takes to be an intern/resident, before anyone commits to you. And then you can get letters of recommendation from there as well.

One thing I would like to tell you - NEVER EVER GIVE UP. If you truly believe that this is what you want to do, and that you have what it takes, then NEVER give up. Keep trying, go a different/longer route if you have to. But don't stop until you get there!

I appreciate the kind words 🙂 I definitely am not giving up. The more I do rotations in other specialties, the more I realize that I absolutely love peds. I still am sitting on only 1 interview so it looks like I won't be hearing from any more programs, but I'm definitely going to try to get a TRI spot and try again next year!