back-up for radiology??

[efh4]

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For people that have already applied for radiology (or are planning to), did any of you apply in a back-up specialty? How do you do this without the programs knowing? I thought the same transcript and application goes to every program (minus LORs and PS)? Any advice?

 

[ApacheIndian]

Yes the same transcript and appy go to each program, but those don't reveal what field you're applying to. The only things that do are your PSs (and you can customize those for each distinct program you transmit to) and your LoRs if you asked your letter writers to make them specialty-specific.

So actually it's fairly easy to apply to multiple fields without anyone knowing. Beware though, you may be asked this question in an interview... e.g. I applied to Gas back-ups and was asked "So, did you apply to anything other than Anesthesia?" As much as I wanted to tell the truth I said no. I heard of someone else who was asked the same question in the same situation (also applying to Rads and Gas back-up) and he answered honestly... the PD responded sarcastically "So, I guess Radiology is your back-up field then right?"

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[eddieberetta]

Gas is a pretty common backup. But if your interests lie elsewhere, consider those specialties preferentially. I was very interested in a couple of surgical areas and ended up doing electives and applying. The elective in the other specialty gave me things to talk about in the interviews (for rads, seeing how the referring specialty needs/uses imaging, improvements in workflow; for surg, radiology was very relevant). Also remember that you are career sampling... the decision as to which to rank first may not be easy (but of course, you'll eventually decide on rads!!!!!)

 

[efh4]

Thanks for the replies! What if you will have research in both fields (rads and the other field) and electives in both? That will show up on your transcript and application.

 

[eddieberetta]

Put it all down. If it is possible to tailor your resume per program, change the ordering to highlight the specialty you are applying to. However, I do not recommend deleting things from your resume. Electives are on your transcript and research / papers simply should not be deleted. If it is not possible to submit multiple resumes, try to subtly emphasize your preferred specialty but not too much.

Also, try to brainstorm way to relate your other specialty to radiology (easy for surgery, internal, hard for gas, optho, derm, plastics). This will ready you for the inevitable questions.

Another strategy is to preempt them by including your experience in the other specialty while discussing your reasons for choosing rads (often one of the first questions asked).

Good luck.