Aspiring DO ortho surgeon..Need some advice from residents.

[Thedothraki100]

Im in my second month of rotations and will start family medicine next month, however i know what field i want to go into. I always keep an open mind no matter what rotation I'm doing but I've always been interested in ortho as I've shadowed multiple surgeons.

COMLEX level 1 was 657 and USMLE was 230. Im in the top 15% of my class and in SSP. However i have no research experience.

My question is what should i start doing in my third year to boost my CV, what should i do to prepare for auditions ect. Do i have a chance with such a relatively low USMLE and no research?
I feel like med schools stop caring after you take ur boards and provide no direction. Thanks

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[OrthoPathic]

You'll be fine. The most important thing will be doing well on your auditions. If your school allows you to do an elective rotation in orthopedics, that is your best way to prepare, you can also see if you can do an elective rotation during your third year at a program you're really interested in. Try and do your orthopedics rotation at a residency, and not with a private doc, I did mine with a private guy and the expectations while on a residency service is entirely different. In terms of your USMLE, if you apply DO you don't even have to put it in your application. Research always helps but is not mandatory, it's nice to have something to talk about though when that question comes up during interviews. In terms of reading, know your netters well and know your handbook of fractures well. By the end of audition season I had both of those books pretty much memorized, especially handbook of fractures.

 

[Thedothraki100]

You'll be fine. The most important thing will be doing well on your auditions. If your school allows you to do an elective rotation in orthopedics, that is your best way to prepare, you can also see if you can do an elective rotation during your third year at a program you're really interested in. Try and do your orthopedics rotation at a residency, and not with a private doc, I did mine with a private guy and the expectations while on a residency service is entirely different. In terms of your USMLE, if you apply DO you don't even have to put it in your application. Research always helps but is not mandatory, it's nice to have something to talk about though when that question comes up during interviews. In terms of reading, know your netters well and know your handbook of fractures well. By the end of audition season I had both of those books pretty much memorized, especially handbook of fractures.

Gotcha, thanks for the advice! Also would you recommend buying Uworld and taking USMLE step 2 or just stick with COMBANK and take COMLEX. Thanks!

 

[OrthoPathic]

I only used uworld, didnt use combank, took both and did very well on both. Nothing can replace uworld. I advise taking both.