Boards weight on residency placement

[thanecyan]

Just curious and want to confirm:
I am under the notion that if a student does not do well on Step 1 then his/her chances at landing a residency aside from primary care are significantly lowered.

True?

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[Lamborghini1315]

Just curious and want to confirm:
I am under the notion that if a student does not do well on Step 1 then his/her chances at landing a residency aside from primary care are significantly lowered.

True?

Yes in the allopathic world, no in the osteopathic world. AOA residencies although are more and more interested in your board scores these days they generally tend to look at the complete package of school rankings, rotation letters, and prefer you setting up an audition rotation at their program. So from what i gathered, if i had to guess you would have an easier chance of matching at a non primary care field in AOA compared to ACGME. But some folks will try to do tremendously well on step 2 in the allopathic world to make up for a poor step 1 score..there are a lot of variables really for mid tire programs that can determine your faith. If you are going for ROAD specialties at a big program..your chances of matching with a poor step 1 score will be zero imo.

 

[tideleonheart]

Just curious and want to confirm:
I am under the notion that if a student does not do well on Step 1 then his/her chances at landing a residency aside from primary care are significantly lowered.

True?

I'm going to say true in both osteopathic and allopathic residencies. And keep in mind that this depends HEAVILY on the residency you're wanting to get into.

Derm, Ortho, Surgery, Radiology, Oto, Ophth, etc... all will require you to do very well on boards. Any applicant, DO or MD with a low board score probably can't match.

Neurology, Anesthes, Family Practice, Psych, ER, etc... yes, board scores matter, but a low, passing score (esp if you pass on the 1st try) is not the nail on the coffin like it is for the top tier residencies.

That said, it ALSO varies from residency to residency. Some residency directors will place a heavy emphasis on whether or not you rotated there and whether or not they know you already. Others don't care - what are your numbers.

I wish there were a true or untrue answer, but there's not. Too many factors.

 

[thanecyan]

Thanks

 

[DO it right]

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[tideleonheart]

Just to follow up a little bit on this for future people:

Keep in mind that every single decision comes down to a person or small group of people. Since it comes down to a few people making the decision of whether or not you get into a residency, the results can vary greatly.

Some won't care what kind of doctor you are. Others are old fashioned and still think of DOs as being less educated. Some will choose the person who they think they'll be able to tolerate the best when they come in at 3AM. Others will choose the person with the traditionally good stats because they want to uphold the reputation of their residency program.

 

[JeffLebowski]

Well that depends on what you mean by "not do well".

And in general, no that's not true. Read up on it in "Charting Outcomes of the Match".

There are many specialties with average matched board score less than average.