Are my stats good enough to get into an academic IM program?

[FrechToastFries]

I'll keep it short and sweet.

Current 3rd year. Goal is to get into an academic IM program in my home state and potentially apply for fellowship in the long run (thinking cardiology right now).

Step 1: 235

COMLEX Level 1: 605

Research: 1 published case report from an academic institution, 2 case reports presented at a big/well-known conference (one of them was the one that got published)

Extracurriculars: selected to be a tutor for first years (relatively competitive to be picked), cultural club position at school, a few different volunteering activities throughout first and second year

LORs: haven't asked for any yet, but I think I made an impression on a few attending and will get solid letters from them


Overall my app to me seems... average. Anything I can do to make my chances better at getting into an academic IM program, and how are my chances looking so far?

I've been working on trying to get involved with more research, but have been struggling to find a project to join or case reports to write.

As far as volunteering and stuff, is it worth my time to involve myself more with that?

Thanks in advance

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[NotAProgDirector]

Extracurric or volunteer unlikely to help. Make good topics for an interview, but won't get you an II.

More case reports also unhelpful. They are the bottom of the research tree, you've done some already, more won't change anything.

A real research project would help. Retrospective data is often the easiest to obtain.

From my view, most important is an LOR from an inpatient rotation at a GME teaching site. DO rotations can be highly variable -- I've seen clerkships range from those expected of MD schools to completely outpatient shadowing experiences. Best would be a rotation at an MD ACGME training program.

 

[FrechToastFries]

Extracurric or volunteer unlikely to help. Make good topics for an interview, but won't get you an II.

More case reports also unhelpful. They are the bottom of the research tree, you've done some already, more won't change anything.

A real research project would help. Retrospective data is often the easiest to obtain.

From my view, most important is an LOR from an inpatient rotation at a GME teaching site. DO rotations can be highly variable -- I've seen clerkships range from those expected of MD schools to completely outpatient shadowing experiences. Best would be a rotation at an MD ACGME training program.

Thanks for the feedback.

Do you have any advice on how I could try to get involved in a research project like that? Should I just keep asking residents that I rotate with? Does it matter if it gets published or not?

As far as LORs, I think I can get the LORs that you are describing. Do you think it would be fine if they aren't IM letters though, can they be from one of my other rotations?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I don't have advice about how to get research like that. You need to find someone whom can help.

In a perfect world, you have one LOR from your IM M3 clerkship, one from your 4th year SubI, one department letter (if your school offers such). Then you have one more from anywhere. At least 2 of your letters should be IM, preferably 3.

 

[DrJackRyan]

Thanks for the feedback.

Do you have any advice on how I could try to get involved in a research project like that? Should I just keep asking residents that I rotate with? Does it matter if it gets published or not?

As far as LORs, I think I can get the LORs that you are describing. Do you think it would be fine if they aren't IM letters though, can they be from one of my other rotations?

There's a "how to get involved in research as a DO" thread from a few weeks ago that I posted in that would be helpful for you.

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

Extracurric or volunteer unlikely to help. Make good topics for an interview, but won't get you an II.

More case reports also unhelpful. They are the bottom of the research tree, you've done some already, more won't change anything.

A real research project would help. Retrospective data is often the easiest to obtain.

From my view, most important is an LOR from an inpatient rotation at a GME teaching site. DO rotations can be highly variable -- I've seen clerkships range from those expected of MD schools to completely outpatient shadowing experiences. Best would be a rotation at an MD ACGME training program.

You have a shot at Low tier academic IM programs and some mid tier programs too. Better research and a higher step 2 score will open even more mid tier academic programs.

 

[FrechToastFries]

You have a shot at Low tier academic IM programs and some mid tier programs too. Better research and a higher step 2 score will open even more mid tier academic programs.

How do I know what “tier” the programs I’m interested fall into? I’ve seen the term used a lot but I honestly can’t tell what “tier” each program would be in.

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

How do I know what “tier” the programs I’m interested fall into? I’ve seen the term used a lot but I honestly can’t tell what “tier” each program would be in.

I think doximity has a ranking, the tier is based on the rankings ie top 25-30 prorgams are top tier and after that 31-60 is prbly mid tier i.e.