Can't Leave Pittsburgh

[MiesVanDerMom]

I'm an OMS1 right now and recently divorced. Due to custody issues, I will need to stay in the Pittsburgh area for residency. Say, a one hour radius. I am interested in anasthesiology and emergency medicine, both of which are failry competitive (and I'm getting a D.O. degree which doesn't help matters). Obviously, I have no idea what my board score will be at this point. I'm just wondering if this is a crazy idea, to limit myself geographically like this? Would I need to be an uber-candidate to do this, has anyone else out there done this? Is there anyone that knows anything about these 2 areas of residency in Pittsburgh in particular? I need to start figuring this out now in case I need to fight for a new custody agreement or start focusing on less competitive fields.

Any input??

 

[Blade28]

Well, I think for many residency fields, limiting yourself to a single CITY would be quite difficult. Obviously this is premature and it all depends on Step 1, third year rotations, letters, etc., but can you at least widen that area to the state of PA? Otherwise you really have your work cut out for you.

 

[Llenroc]

Doing a lot of local rotations your 4th year would definitely help.

 

[Miami_med]

If you end up as a stellar candidate, you'll have a reasonable shot, especially if there are multiple programs in Pittsburgh (I don't really know). Your best shot is always at your home program if you are a reasonable human being, so get involved early in your own ER. If you are a below average candidate, you might have to consider either a change of location or specialty. If you are still an OMS-1, you should probably be sure that you can deal with it before you move forward. I am male, my wife works part time, and childcare is already convoluted. Your situation is even more complicated, so make sure you can handle it. If you can, I'd recommend making sure that you do well.

 

[mlw03]

look into what's available in the area via FREIDA (google it to find the site). then decide what's most important, specialty or location. getting into IM, Peds, or FP somewhere in Pittsburgh is probably doable since UPMC is a massive place that probably has 50 IM residents per year. i would agree with the comment about MS4 externships helping your chances assuming you show them that you are hard working, bright, etc.

also realize a lot of people change specialty interests during medical school. i've definately seen DO EM docs, i dunno about anesthesia. at this point just do the best you can and see how things go. you're at mile 3 of the marathon and the match is at mile 25.

 

[smq123]

I'm an OMS1 right now and recently divorced. Due to custody issues, I will need to stay in the Pittsburgh area for residency. Say, a one hour radius. I am interested in anasthesiology and emergency medicine, both of which are failry competitive (and I'm getting a D.O. degree which doesn't help matters). Obviously, I have no idea what my board score will be at this point. I'm just wondering if this is a crazy idea, to limit myself geographically like this? Would I need to be an uber-candidate to do this, has anyone else out there done this? Is there anyone that knows anything about these 2 areas of residency in Pittsburgh in particular? I need to start figuring this out now in case I need to fight for a new custody agreement or start focusing on less competitive fields.

Hi -

It looks like you'll be at LECOM, so you're in Erie - do you mean an hour away from there? Or do you mean an hour away from Pittsburgh? Because if you mean Pittsburgh, then you could definitely extend your search to WVU. Morgantown's about 30-45 minutes away from Pitt. I don't think it would be terribly competitive, but it might be a decent place to do (rural) EM if you're interested.

I don't know - you're just starting OMS-1. You have a lot of time to think about which specialty will interest you - and it's sometimes VERY surprising to see what people ultimately end up doing a residency in. Good luck!

 

[motox]

Since you are in the DO program you would want to check at do-online.org. Look under student then under the heading of resources look under opportunities. This will tell you what DO residencies are available where. Remember that if you plan on staying in Pa, as a DO you must do the DO internship which means DO residencies. Good luck hope your first week wasn't too bad. If you need anything pm me I'm also at LECOM MSII.

 

[cabinbuilder]

I am a DO and have had to go through custody. I am telling you now. It will be easier to change your custody agreement than try to guarantee yourself a residency spot in Pittsburgh. The only way to stay in Pittsburgh is to rotate at all the hospitals there, only apply to the residency programs there and hope you get interviewed. Come match day if you do not match since you only applied in one city then you will be doing the scramble and have to take what is left over. If that happens (happened to me) you could end up at any part of the country and will be leaving your kids behind. TRUST me, you are only MSI, take care of the custody agreement that is the part of your life you can have some control over.

 

[DeLaughterDO]

Since you are in the DO program you would want to check at do-online.org. Look under student then under the heading of resources look under opportunities. This will tell you what DO residencies are available where. Remember that if you plan on staying in Pa, as a DO you must do the DO internship which means DO residencies. Good luck hope your first week wasn't too bad. If you need anything pm me I'm also at LECOM MSII.

This is patently untrue. One can complete a TRI and then enter an allopathic residency. One can also enter an allopathic residency and petition to have the internship approved by the AOA. Don't spread lies.

jd

 

[FL350]

Look at UPMC Shadyside for your DO year. They have a specific DO program that takes 3 per year. I have also met a couple of anes. DO residence who are in the West Penn program. I believe they were all LECOM grads.