Chance me for EM- also maybe program suggestions

[Doggeronie]

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[Doggeronie]

Hi, I would really appreciate any input anyone may have

 

[esob]

You can check your odds by looking at the NRMP charting outcomes for EM. In general, you are on the lower end of matched allopathic seniors, but you need to size up your other facets such as volunteer experience, publications, etc. If you are lacking in all categories compared to the average matched applicant, your chances will ofc be lower.

https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2018-Seniors.pdf

 

[Tenk]

Beggers can’t be choosers. You said it yourself: you’re on the lower end of scores. Unfortunately with covid around aways may be difficult. This leaves you with just destroying Step 2 ck. It can help but it definitely won’t help as much as applying very broadly. So that’s my advice: do well on ck and apply very broadly. Also, if you have a home EM department becoming pals with the ED PD and ED chief can go a long way as well. Good luck.

 

[Dr.Bruh]

You can match EM for sure. Just apply broadly. Matching on the coast is going to be very difficult especially if auditions are cancelled this year. But matching in a midwest city is still probably doable as a USMD.

 

[Doggeronie]

I did see that 93% of people with a 220-230 step 1 score matched... Are my chances really that bad?
If it comes down to it, I don't have a problem going to a midwestern city. But I would prefer to stay around the east coast... I really don't even have to be in a big city on the east coast, I just want the chance to go home from time to time.
Am I really barred from the coast totally?

I am willing to apply to 80+ programs if i need to. I don't need to go to a big academic center either, community is fine.

 

[Dr.Bruh]

I did see that 93% of people with a 220-230 step 1 score matched... Are my chances really that bad?
If it comes down to it, I don't have a problem going to a midwestern city. But I would prefer to stay around the east coast... I really don't even have to be in a big city on the east coast, I just want the chance to go home from time to time.
Am I really barred from the coast totally?

I am willing to apply to 80+ programs if i need to. I don't need to go to a big academic center either, community is fine.

Yeah theres community programs on the coast you can match. Also 93% is not bad. Its pretty good considering USMD match rate was 94% this year.

 

[Rekt]

I did see that 93% of people with a 220-230 step 1 score matched... Are my chances really that bad?
If it comes down to it, I don't have a problem going to a midwestern city. But I would prefer to stay around the east coast... I really don't even have to be in a big city on the east coast, I just want the chance to go home from time to time.
Am I really barred from the coast totally?

I am willing to apply to 80+ programs if i need to. I don't need to go to a big academic center either, community is fine.

Not anymore. You can just walk in with the ridiculous amount of substandard programs opening. I would honestly pick something else.

 

[Doggeronie]

Not anymore. You can just walk in with the ridiculous amount of substandard programs opening. I would honestly pick something else.

Why do you say that? What's the problem with going to a less competitive EM residency?

 

[hopefulERdoc251]

No way are you banned from the east coast. Granted nobody knows how the pandemic is going to shake out, there are plenty of programs in PA/NY/NJ + super NE USA that will be within reach. As long as you do above average on CK, and have a decent SLOE (assuming they exist), I imagine not having much difficulty. You may not get metropolitan areas but there are some urban areas that you'd have a chance with.

 

[Darth Doc]

Why do you say that? What's the problem with going to a less competitive EM residency?

What he means is that with the new overabundance of HCA residencies flooding the market with community trained EM physicians, EM job availability and salary are going to be dropping significantly in the next few years. Do EM if you love the work of EM, no matter how much it pays. Otherwise, the job market will be bad for the next 10+ years, so find something else you like as much.

 

[Peach Newport]

In my (personal) experience, EM in general doesn’t particularly care about your scores or research. They care about your SLOEs and interview. 250 step and 7 EM pubs means nothing if your SLOEs aren’t good. Anecdotally, most of my classmates who matched EM had board scores well below average and no research. It was the SLOE that separated them. However, this was a DO school that mostly matched community programs. Big name university programs may be different.

But of course, with covid, who the hell knows what’s gonna happen? My personal suspicion is that they’ll be relying heavily on perceived personality and commitment to the field.

 

[Doggeronie]

In my (personal) experience, EM in general doesn’t particularly care about your scores or research. They care about your SLOEs and interview. 250 step and 7 EM pubs means nothing if your SLOEs aren’t good. Anecdotally, most of my classmates who matched EM had board scores well below average and no research. It was the SLOE that separated them. However, this was a DO school that mostly matched community programs. Big name university programs may be different.

But of course, with covid, who the hell knows what’s gonna happen? My personal suspicion is that they’ll be relying heavily on perceived personality and commitment to the field.

I see... Hopefully I can turn things around with Step 2 CK. It's looking less and less likely that aways will happen but at least I have a home program

 

[Doctor_Strange]

Look into UPMC Pinnacle. Fairly new program, had a 4th year match into it from my DO school w/o a Step 1 even. His SLOE carried him. He said the program is new and responsive to resident feedback and he saw a ton of trauma there.

 

[Doggeronie]

Really at this point my only goal is to get out of the middle of nowhere... I just want to match in some place that isn't in appalachia...
I'm willing to apply to 120 programs or more, especially given that this year interviews will be virtual.

Again, I will have only one SLOE from my home rotation site. I definitely don't want to match at my home program either, the location is just awful...

Also will it be possible for me to break out of the northeast region? I'm strongly considering moving to the southeast/south/southwest in general but I don't know if it will be possible due to the lack of away rotations

 

[Doggeronie]

Really at this point my only goal is to get out of the middle of nowhere... I just want to match in some place that isn't in appalachia...
I'm willing to apply to 120 programs or more, especially given that this year interviews will be virtual.

Again, I will have only one SLOE from my home rotation site. I definitely don't want to match at my home program either, the location is just awful...

Also will it be possible for me to break out of the northeast region? I'm strongly considering moving to the southeast/south/southwest in general but I don't know if it will be possible due to the lack of away rotations

.

 

[hopefulERdoc251]

Really at this point my only goal is to get out of the middle of nowhere... I just want to match in some place that isn't in appalachia...
I'm willing to apply to 120 programs or more, especially given that this year interviews will be virtual.

Again, I will have only one SLOE from my home rotation site. I definitely don't want to match at my home program either, the location is just awful...

Also will it be possible for me to break out of the northeast region? I'm strongly considering moving to the southeast/south/southwest in general but I don't know if it will be possible due to the lack of away rotations

My guess is that'll depend on the SLOE. If you kill it + do well on CK then you'll probably have a much better shot of breaking out. Just remember that CORD has residency IV caps at 12 or 17 depending on circumstance so that may pose a challenge.

 

[Doggeronie]

My guess is that'll depend on the SLOE. If you kill it + do well on CK then you'll probably have a much better shot of breaking out. Just remember that CORD has residency IV caps at 12 or 17 depending on circumstance so that may pose a challenge.

What do you mean? I won’t be extended more than 17 interview invitations? How would anyone even know if I attended more than 17?

 

[12jas]

What do you mean? I won’t be extended more than 17 interview invitations? How would anyone even know if I attended more than 17?

You can definitely be extended more than 17. It is a recommendation that you do no more than 17 because at that point you are pretty much guaranteed to match and are only hurting other applicants by taking an interview slot that could have gone to them.

 

[hopefulERdoc251]

You can definitely be extended more than 17. It is a recommendation that you do no more than 17 because at that point you are pretty much guaranteed to match and are only hurting other applicants by taking an interview slot that could have gone to them.

Ah ok I must’ve misunderstood what they said then in CORDs statement. My B!

 

[Dr.Bruh]

If programs are interviewing more people this year (which is what a lot of PDs are saying) will that mean that on average applicants will fall further on their rank lists? Since rank lists will be longer and likely people will be doing more interviews since they aren’t limited by travel.

 

[solitarius]

EM is not competitive.

If you Rock Step 2CK and your SLOEs, you will match into a very highly-ranked program.

And even if you don't, there's a ton of new programs that will take you.

 

[Doggeronie]

EM is not competitive.

If you Rock Step 2CK and your SLOEs, you will match into a very highly-ranked program.

Wow I really hope so.. I'm definitely ready to apply to 120+ programs and it looks so far like CK will go better than step 1 for me

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

One thing you should know about EM - don't just assume that academic center = good. A lot of times, the academic center is the recipient of transfers. And transfers mean your trauma patient already has their chest tube in place or their airway secured. You're not getting the fresh stuff basically.

I generally find that busy community setting is the best for being more "practically skilled" as in hands-on skills/procedural stuff and what not. Whereas academic center residents have stronger knowledge bases and see a broader range of cases. This tends to hold true in many specialties.

 

[Lexdiamondz]

Why do you say that? What's the problem with going to a less competitive EM residency?

Many of the newer EM programmes that have opened are affiliated with corporate management groups and teach sh*tty medicine for the purpose of making more drones to work in their specific healthcare system. These places are often in very substandard settings that have no business hosting an EM residency and have to farm out their residents to other institutions for core rotations like Trauma, ICU, etc.

5-10 years ago the adage that "all EM residencies with train you adequately" was mostly true. Today that's mostly false. Bottom line - try to find an EM residency with an established track record and a university affiliation where all of your core rotations are at 1 or 2 sites. If theyre sending you to shock trauma for 2 weeks for trauma and CHOP for 2 weeks a year for peds then your training is probably going to be poor.

 

[Doggeronie]

Many of the newer EM programmes that have opened are affiliated with corporate management groups and teach sh*tty medicine for the purpose of making more drones to work in their specific healthcare system. These places are often in very substandard settings that have no business hosting an EM residency and have to farm out their residents to other institutions for core rotations like Trauma, ICU, etc.

5-10 years ago the adage that "all EM residencies with train you adequately" was mostly true. Today that's mostly false. Bottom line - try to find an EM residency with an established track record and a university affiliation where all of your core rotations are at 1 or 2 sites. If theyre sending you to shock trauma for 2 weeks for trauma and CHOP for 2 weeks a year for peds then your training is probably going to be poor.

I see... But does that have any professional/career-related implications? I understand that the quality of training may be varied among different programs, but I think that applies to programs in IM or other specialties also.