Chances at PM&R (How much of an uphill battle will it for me?)

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

hsk013

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2012
Messages
104
Reaction score
27
- 3rd year DO student with COMLEX 1 score of 480 (no USMLE)
- Failed 1 pre-clinical course
- Took an additional year (spreading out 2nd year courses)
- 1 summer research (poster presentation)

I recently shadowed a couple of PM&R docs in my rotation and loved it. Coming into med school, I was pretty set on FM and IM and remained so until I started my 3rd year.
could see myself doing PM&R as a career but afraid my score and 2 red flags (1 failed course and spreading out 2nd year) will seriously put me at a disadvantage.

I don't plan on taking USMLE since all my practice NBME scores have been less than 200.

How can I better position myself for PM&R and do I even have the slightest chance at PM&R?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Those are red flags for any specialty, not just PM&R. Best bet for this or any specialty is rocking COMLEX 2, and/or doing very well at an audition rotation. If I program gets to know you and sees that you are bright, hard-working, pleasant, and teachable, than they will be more likely to look over red flags and take you over the many applicant that don't have those. Otherwise just looking at paper you look higher risk to take than the other applicants.
 
- 3rd year DO student with COMLEX 1 score of 480 (no USMLE)
- Failed 1 pre-clinical course
- Took an additional year (spreading out 2nd year courses)
- 1 summer research (poster presentation)

I recently shadowed a couple of PM&R docs in my rotation and loved it. Coming into med school, I was pretty set on FM and IM and remained so until I started my 3rd year.
could see myself doing PM&R as a career but afraid my score and 2 red flags (1 failed course and spreading out 2nd year) will seriously put me at a disadvantage.

I don't plan on taking USMLE since all my practice NBME scores have been less than 200.

How can I better position myself for PM&R and do I even have the slightest chance at PM&R?
To better position yourself, I would target lesser-known programs and those with a large number of DO residents. Auditions will be absolutely critical and it's important to rotate at places where the competition is less stiff. If you're especially serious about matching only into PMR, then likely you would have to give up any location preferences. If I was you, I would not even apply to the top 20 programs for auditions or ERAS. Instead I would target the bottom 30 programs and try to rotate at as many as I can. I think this will maximize your chances of matching and give you a decent shot -- anything is possible during the match. Good luck!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Like it's been said, your best chances are to do as many auditions as you can and kill them. Kill it on comlex 2. Try to get the best pm&r rec letters you can. And try to go to AAPMR this year and meet PD's at diff programs
 
Keep in mind that competition is a funny thing. The best programs aren’t necessarily the most competitive. For example, I’m sure that there are some NYC programs that are incredibly competitive in spite of not being perceived as great programs. Yeah, I’d probably not bother with the competitive programs in competitive cities such as RIC, Stanford, UW, Kessler, and Harvard. But otherwise I’d apply as broadly as possible. You never know which program will be willing to issue an interview. All PM&R programs fill...so it’s not like there is an obviously lesser program. The less recognized programs also typically are very small, so they are not necessarily uncompetitive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
From my peers, I have the impression that PM&R select for people who arent who competitiveness isnt a big deal for themso I could see how attractive places to live like Boston and NYC would draw alot of people regardless of the prestige of the program
 
Top