board scores and programs

[smela]

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Hi. I am a third year medical student and I am interested in Anesthesiology. I did poorly on my Step I (<190) and I was wondering what programs I could apply to and should I take Step II. Thanks.

 

[apma77]

EVEN though its not impossible but itll be hard to match in anesthesia with that score since the field is getting very competitive; you should look at less competitive programs in not so desirable locations (OHIO, MISSISSIPPI, louisiana)

goodluck

 

[CaliGirlDO]

I disagree with the above post. Although a lower board score may be a bit of a hindrance it is not your ENTIRE application. Yes, the field is on a trend upward as far as competition goes, but last year there was SO much hype about how competitive it would be and it turned out to be moderate.

I would suggest you take Step 2 if you think you have time to study your ass off and can do significantly better. Also, what is the rest of your package like? Did you do well on clinical rotations, do you have a good class ranking, do you have strong letters of recommendations? Anesthesia programs are more interested in the whole package not just scores.

Also, consider doing some externships at your top choices to enhance your chances if you think you make a better impression in person than on paper. In addition, apply to more programs than you think necessary. It's purely strategic. The cost is nominal when you consider this affects the rest of your career. If you apply to more you have more chances to be offered interviews. It's hard to determine which programs will take a liking to you when you fall into that in between category. So just apply to tons and see who bites! You can always decline interviews later if you get too many.

I know this strategy worked for me because I ended up matching at a place that I never thought would even offer me an interview. I just applied to see what would happen..and it did!

Good luck

 

[NewGuyBob]

My very good friend matched into anesthesia in NY this year. Carib student, scored below 200 in both steps, no research or anything, his hobbies include basketball and hotdog eating contests. So you guys from US shools should have absolutely no problem matching!
My other friend matched into Gen Srgery Categorical! Also IMG, both steps below 210, a total of 4 weeks US clinical experience. Of course this one had a big a$$ conection in the department. Not quite the same, I'd say.

 

[drlee]

what program in ny did he match in?

 

[Sandpaper]

It will be difficult, but don't lose heart. (Man, that sounds like some inane commonsensical **** Oprah or Dr. Phil would say). A classmate of mine failed the board and matched at a program in Boston. A friend at another school got 187 on the Step 1 and is in New York (NYU). So there ya go. The reality is that you are unlikely to get more than 10 interviews because most programs weed applicants by their board scores. Better shine on the interviews you got. Good luck.

 

[Sandpaper]

Sorry, forgot to answer the original questions. 1) Apply to all programs where you think you have a realistic chance, that means no UCSF for you. 2) The current opinion is that Step II matters little. Most schools will weed you out by your Step I score, not Step II because of the variation in timing in regards to when people take the later Step exam. Good luck.

 

[drlee]

sandpaper,

which school did you friend graduate from who matched at nyu with a 187 on Step 1?

 

[NewGuyBob]

-----------------what program in ny did he match in?

I've been calling my friend but I can't get a hold of him. I'll let you know where his gonna do his CA years. Right now his doing his preliminary year in Brooklyn somewhere.
For the 2003 match, out of the 431 PGY1 positions only 321 were filled by US seniors, and out of the 833 PGY2 positions only 606 were filled by US seniors. So you see, there are more than enough positions to go around if you are a AMG.
P.S. I am assuming you are an AMG, if you are not then look at the numbers the other way around 😉
Keep checking this forum...

 

[jameshsu]

i was informed yesterday by the program director that the average step 1 was 230 and lots of AOA for the upcoming class.

 

[UTSouthwestern]

With a 96% match rate for PGY-1 & 2 positions overall, it is still very, very competitive. Also, most of the FMG's admitted to anesthesiology programs are going to armpit programs that can't attract enough domestic graduates. LSU Shreveport, Arkansas, OU, etc. account for the lion's share of FMG's and aren't likely to be able to attract better grads any time soon.

So back to the original poster's questions, yes you can still get into an anesthesiology program if you don't mind living in a hell hole, working like cheap labor for a private group, not getting any didactic education, and/or not getting enough experience in all aspects of anesthesiology. Even then, the match rate is still high and only the very worst programs have had available positions for scrambling.

A few years ago, a colleague of mine used LSU Shreveport as his practice interview. When they realized that he was a domestic graduate, he was immediately offered a position outside the match and a salary of $40K if he would sign on the spot. The money was tempting for him, but the inconsistencies of the interviewers and PD (interviewers told him there were no hearts or transplants available and he had to be farmed out to Corpus Christi or Baton Rouch for pedi, Texas Hearts for a single month of hearts, etc., while PD told him they had all of the above in Shreveport) and the fact that is was, well, Shreveport ("all of your patients have to be checked against the incest list") convinced him to leave halfway through his interviews.

Nail your next boards, do the externships, get letters from the professors at your externships, and you will get into a good program. It is well worth the effort.

 

[UTSouthwestern]

JamesShu, please give Todd Wheeler our best regards from his from the Southwestern residents from his medical school.

 

[NewGuyBob]

Hey guys I never said, it was easy to match in a top notch program nowadays. My point was:If you are an american grad, and your goal is to become a anesthesiologist, you should have no problem whatsoever matching into a program! And the match stats back me up. Cheers

 

[UTSouthwestern]

Again, that's not quite the case as we had 3 Southwestern medical students not match anywhere and were unable to scramble into a program, but with the trends of medicine being what they are, only radiology, ophthamology, dermatology, etc. are truly supercompetitive. General surgery, FP, pedi, IM, psych, etc. are all in a major downtrend that will hopefully be reversed soon unless we can tolerate having our PCP's toeing the lower end of the academic spectrum.

 

[Crypt Abscess]

I find it very hard to believe that 3 students from a top-notch med school such as UT Southwestern did not match in gas. At my lower tier med school in Texas, bottom of the barrel students had no problems getting spots in gas this year.

 

[IN2BATE]

I guess it depends where you apply, and of course the timing now is supposedly the most competitive in gas since 1984.

Coming from D.O. school in Florida (NSU-COM), we only had about 9 going for gas, and all except 1 matched MD Gas programs except one unmatched (and one took a DO residency where he used to work).

However, a girl with me in PGY1 went to NYCOM (DO school in NY) and told we 33 in her class matched gas, but almost seventy applied.

Some programs set cutoffs on step 1 to 220 minimum due to the overwhelming amount of applicants; ive been told up to 10 Times what they were the last few years.

Wish you luck this year anyway; just glad I matched and it wasnt in a tornado zone.

IN2BATE

 

[Arch Guillotti]

I second cyrpts surprise at 3 UTSW students not matching. I wonder if they played their cards wrong (not enough programs, interviews, ranks, etc.).

SGU, the erstwhile and veritable "Harvard of the Caribbean" (lol) matched a buncha people in gas this year. Kinda makes you wonder...................


2003 Residency Appointment List

PGY1

Anesthesiology
Charles Ciolino: St. Barnabas Medical Center
Alireza Farrohi: University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Medical Center
Melissa Kokoszka: St. Barnabas Medical Center
John Lesko: Shands Hospital at the University of Florida
Donald Thornton: Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis

2004 Residency Appointment

PGY2
Anesthesiology
Isaac Alexis: Maimonides Medical Center
Roy Berenholtz: Montefiore Medical Center-Weiler Hospital
Matthew Boles: University of Washington School of Medicine
Krishna Chunduri: St. Louis University School of Medicine
Wen Chung: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Bianca Conti: University of Maryland Medical System
Christopher DeSantis: Boston Medical Center
William Duggan: University Hospital-SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse
Pejman Foroush: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Justin Fox: SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn
Ratna Garapati: New England Medical Center Hospitals
Jon Karl: Loyola University Medical Center:
Amit Kaushal: New England Medical Center Hospitals
Melissa Kokoszka: University of Tennessee Medical Center
Kristin Royal: George Washington University School of Medicine
Noreen Sakowitz: St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
Kevin Scholten: Stanford University Hospital
Isaac Spiteri: UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Charles Starke, II: SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn
Michael Tahir: Maimonides Medical Center
Kevin Vakili: University Hospital-SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse
Jeffrey Yaiko: Maimonides Medical Center

 

[UTSouthwestern]

The three residents mentioned above did not match because they were highly qualified candidates who decided late that they wanted to do anesthesia and interviewed at too few programs. On top of that, they only interviewed at the most prestigious programs (Emory, UCSF, MGH, etc) and home base (Southwestern - not too shabby either). Since then, two have scrambled into good programs (Baylor and Galveston), the third is doing a medicine preliminary at Baylor Dallas and will reapply early this fall.

Timing is a big part of the application process and all three should have cruised into their residency instead of navigating the choppy waters of the scramble.

 

[edinOH]

For the record, OU filled with U.S. grads this year. They have a new PD now and the program is on the rise.

 

[UTSouthwestern]

It was unfortunate for OU (but fortunate for us) that it went through what it did with the previous PD. We accepted three OU grads the last couple of years and they have turned out to be excellent residents and friends.