Applying to Ophtho + another competitive specialty

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soccerboy2288

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Hi guys,

I'm a MS3 right now and trying to figure out what I want to go in to. I'm really interested in ophtho, but I'm also interested in other specialties like Radiology and maybe Ortho. Another thing about me is that I really want/need to stay in the West coast (California would be ideal).

That being said, my questions is: is it realistic to apply for ophtho and another competitive field like Radiology at the same time? Since the ophtho match results come out earlier, I can drop my radiology match once I find out I matched or not. This is assuming I only apply to West coast programs (~10-15). Would this be a bad idea?

Stats:
- My step 1 is Low 260s
- NO publication (1 paper that I'm like 7th author in surgery paper lol)
- Just started 3rd year but lets just hypothetically say: honor 3~4 rotations with at least one in surgery or IM (hoping)

I'm really just trying to get insight on how this would work and if its a good idea. Thanks for your advice!

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Its definitely possible because I know people that did this :applied to both ophtho and radio, for example.

But honestly your step 1 is golden, try to pick a field out of the three options you mentioned early on, do research and get on some papers, and you should be set.

I wouldn't apply to more than one field, its a lot of work and its not necessary.
 
Apply to just one of those. That's an amazing Step 1 score so you're more than competitive enough for any of those fields. Just work hard on rotations and try and get some letters of recommendation in the field you choose.
 
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Hi guys, thanks so much for your input. I guess my biggest concern is the fact that being able to match in California is a HUGE factor for me (to the point where I would be willing to match into my 2nd choice specialty in California than to match into my 1st choice specialty elsewhere. Perhaps I say this now only because I don't have any one particular specialty I want really badly.... yet). This means there are less than 10 programs in each specialty that I would be truly happy with. Some might consider me dumb, crazy, ignorant, or whatever, but I have my personal reasons for this. FYI I am not from CA, nor do I attend medical school there, but I was there for undergrad.

That being said, matching into California is very difficult (UC schools, USC, Kaiser, Cedars sinai, etc). Also, I'm not very strong with research and never had my own project or publication in the past (which becomes important in academic programs like UC schools). This is why I'm a bit paranoid and was concerning applying to 2 specialties.

Again, thank you for the response so far.
 
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Hi guys, thanks so much for your input. I guess my biggest concern is the fact that being able to match in California is a HUGE factor for me (to the point where I would be willing to match into my 2nd choice specialty in California than to match into my 1st choice specialty elsewhere. Perhaps I say this now only because I don't have any one particular specialty I want really badly.... yet). This means there are less than 10 programs in each specialty that I would be truly happy with. Some might consider me dumb, crazy, ignorant, or whatever, but I have my personal reasons for this. FYI I am not from CA, nor do I attend medical school there, but I was there for undergrad.

That being said, matching into California is very difficult (UC schools, USC, Kaiser, Cedars sinai, etc). Also, I'm not very strong with research and never had my own project or publication in the past (which becomes important in academic programs like UC schools). This is why I'm a bit paranoid and was concerning applying to 2 specialties.

Again, thank you for the response so far.


Just anecdotal but I've heard that it is very heard to 'break in' to the California residencies. Maybe since you did undergrad in Cali you won't have as much trouble, I don' t know. Long term, the job market in California is supposed to be pretty bad for Ophthalmologists right now. It would be much better if someone with more than second hang knowledge could back me up on these, though.

I will say though that I'm sure you've gotten this advice so far and will get it again in the future, but you should definitely just try to figure out what you really want to do during your M3 year without worrying about where you're going to train to do it since it's going to impact the entire... rest of your life. If you find out that you really do have a preference about which specialty to pick (and most people end up figuring out pretty well what their top choice is going to be) then I'd say go with that. I thought I could maybe enjoy internal medicine, but now that I'm doing it as an intern I can't wait to finish and start Ophthalmology. Settling for your second choice may be torture for someone with a Step 1 score as high as yours. To put it in perspective that's at least 12 points higher than my score and I matched my #1 choice in Ophtho. You need to do some resume-boosters for whatever specialty you choose but once you pick something you'll probably be able to match into it somewhere if you're willing to move, even if it's Plastics or Derm. If you limit yourself to just Cali then I don't know if there's even a real guarantee that you can match even if you pick two different specialties. With so few schools it may be difficult to hide that fact that you're interviewing for multiple specialties at the same place. Something else to think about is that if there is a certain location you're trying to be closer to there may be programs in neighboring States that are actually a shorter drive to get there than other programs in Cali. Anyway just food for thought. Good luck!
 
Just anecdotal but I've heard that it is very heard to 'break in' to the California residencies. Maybe since you did undergrad in Cali you won't have as much trouble, I don' t know. Long term, the job market in California is supposed to be pretty bad for Ophthalmologists right now. It would be much better if someone with more than second hang knowledge could back me up on these, though.

I will say though that I'm sure you've gotten this advice so far and will get it again in the future, but you should definitely just try to figure out what you really want to do during your M3 year without worrying about where you're going to train to do it since it's going to impact the entire... rest of your life. If you find out that you really do have a preference about which specialty to pick (and most people end up figuring out pretty well what their top choice is going to be) then I'd say go with that. I thought I could maybe enjoy internal medicine, but now that I'm doing it as an intern I can't wait to finish and start Ophthalmology. Settling for your second choice may be torture for someone with a Step 1 score as high as yours. To put it in perspective that's at least 12 points higher than my score and I matched my #1 choice in Ophtho. You need to do some resume-boosters for whatever specialty you choose but once you pick something you'll probably be able to match into it somewhere if you're willing to move, even if it's Plastics or Derm. If you limit yourself to just Cali then I don't know if there's even a real guarantee that you can match even if you pick two different specialties. With so few schools it may be difficult to hide that fact that you're interviewing for multiple specialties at the same place. Something else to think about is that if there is a certain location you're trying to be closer to there may be programs in neighboring States that are actually a shorter drive to get there than other programs in Cali. Anyway just food for thought. Good luck!

Hi Ophthope,

Thanks for your input. I agree that it'll probably difficult to break in to California. I do have a sibling that is doing her/his residency there too (if that counts as a tie at all...). The combo of sibling + undergrad + an away in Cali will hopefully raise my chances... I was unaware that the future job market for ophtho is not looking too hott in Cali. Good info. One questions I have is that when people say "it will affect your entire life".... If my ultimate goal is to practice in California once I am out of residency, would going to a program outside of California even further decrease my chances of going there after residency? In that sense, I feel like not getting into a California program will also impact my future life. Sorry, I am not trying to make an argument against what you say, but I am more curious to know if this is how things will be.

I guess the consensus here is that I should suck it up and pick one specialty and hope I'll be competitive enough for Cali in the end.

Thanks for all your advice I really appreciate it!
 
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Hi Ophthope,

Thanks for your input. I agree that it'll probably difficult to break in to California. I do have a sibling that is doing her/his residency there too (if that counts as a tie at all...). The combo of sibling + undergrad + an away in Cali will hopefully raise my chances... I was unaware that the future job market for ophtho is not looking too hott in Cali. Good info. One questions I have is that when people say "it will affect your entire life".... If my ultimate goal is to practice in California once I am out of residency, would going to a program outside of California even further decrease my chances of going there after residency? In that sense, I feel like not getting into a California program will also impact my future life. Sorry, I am not trying to make an argument against what you say, but I am more curious to know if this is how things will be.

I guess the consensus here is that I should suck it up and pick one specialty and hope I'll be competitive enough for Cali in the end.

Thanks for all your advice I really appreciate it!

I'm not sure if going to residency outside of Cali will keep you from practicing there. I actually went to a different State for residency partially because I want to move back to my home State and I was told that if I wanted a job in private practice that it would be looked at favorably that my training was done elsewhere so that I may have a different perspective to bring to a practice. You should read iballdoc's blog. He went to residency in Chicago and after he finished, immediately opened a solo practice in California.

I just mean "it will affect your entire life" because if you get your 'second choice' residency then you're going to be settling for your second career choice. To put it in perspective I used to think I'd be happy as an Internal Medicine doctor, but after a couple of months in an internal medicine intern year I think I'd quit medicine if I had to deal with this crap every day. Once you find something that you really want to do, it's hard to slog through doing something else. Luckily it's just one year for me. Ophthalmology is going to be a huge challenge, but it's one that I want to undertake, and that makes all the difference. If this was what I second-most wanted it would be harder.
 
I'm not sure if going to residency outside of Cali will keep you from practicing there. I actually went to a different State for residency partially because I want to move back to my home State and I was told that if I wanted a job in private practice that it would be looked at favorably that my training was done elsewhere so that I may have a different perspective to bring to a practice. You should read iballdoc's blog. He went to residency in Chicago and after he finished, immediately opened a solo practice in California.

I just mean "it will affect your entire life" because if you get your 'second choice' residency then you're going to be settling for your second career choice. To put it in perspective I used to think I'd be happy as an Internal Medicine doctor, but after a couple of months in an internal medicine intern year I think I'd quit medicine if I had to deal with this crap every day. Once you find something that you really want to do, it's hard to slog through doing something else. Luckily it's just one year for me. Ophthalmology is going to be a huge challenge, but it's one that I want to undertake, and that makes all the difference. If this was what I second-most wanted it would be harder.

Wow, thanks for the in-depth feedback and the website!
And yes I understand what you meant, just wanted to ask from a different angle, but you cleared that up too :thumbup: very helpful!
 
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