Does anyone have any advice for a incoming first year medical student very interested in ophthalmology?

[wolveman222]

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Hey everyone,

I’m starting med school next week and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little terrified. Ophthalmology has been my goal for a while now, but the competitiveness of the match (especially with ~72% match rate for USMDs that received ≥ 1 interview) is definitely weighing on me.

My biggest worry isn’t the academics—I’ve always been a strong test taker and did well in undergrad. My medical school also has a fairly well-known Ophtalmology department. What really makes me nervous is the networking and people aspect. I'm coming straight from science undergrad, and although I have had my fair share of summer jobs I am a bit introverted and I feel like I haven’t really had time to hone those skills that help you make a good professional impressions especially with literal eye surgeons.

So I’d really appreciate any advice on the following:

How do I put myself out there early as an M1?

What are some practical ways to network with residents, faculty, or even peers in Ophtho? I keep imagining every conversation being filled with awkward silence because I run out of things to say.

How can I start building a “story” that would make me a compelling applicant 3–4 years from now?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[mjohnsonets]

Hey everyone,

I’m starting med school next week and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little terrified. Ophthalmology has been my goal for a while now, but the competitiveness of the match (especially with ~72% match rate for USMDs that received ≥ 1 interview) is definitely weighing on me.

My biggest worry isn’t the academics—I’ve always been a strong test taker and did well in undergrad. My medical school also has a fairly well-known Ophtalmology department. What really makes me nervous is the networking and people aspect. I'm coming straight from science undergrad, and although I have had my fair share of summer jobs I am a bit introverted and I feel like I haven’t really had time to hone those skills that help you make a good professional impressions especially with literal eye surgeons.

So I’d really appreciate any advice on the following:

How do I put myself out there early as an M1?

What are some practical ways to network with residents, faculty, or even peers in Ophtho? I keep imagining every conversation being filled with awkward silence because I run out of things to say.

How can I start building a “story” that would make me a compelling applicant 3–4 years from now?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

You'll get better specific advice from the people on here who have been through this. In short, get with ophtho department on some research projects and get in good with them for recs.

On the introverted topic, I have some general advice for you. I almost dropped out of college from a sudden and crippling social anxiety when I started, literally couldn't sit in class without sweating and a racing heart, also introverted as you say you are, was definitely never "cool" in any social setting. There was a lot of mental work that went into overcoming that, but one of the exercises I undertook was to talk to someone everywhere I went; know no strangers. Waiting in line? Talk to the person behind you. Ordering food? Ask the waiter what they like. At the grocery store and see something you like in someone's cart "oh, I really like those too" and smile. This will be awkward at first but you'll get enough reps in and that awkwardness will become smaller each time, just a smaller part of the total awkwardness in your life. In short time, you'll learn a lot of social patterns and in the medium term it will actually become awkward not to talk to people. If you don't know what to talk to someone about, pick something they have on or are carrying that's interesting "Hey, I like your hat/shoes". The reason you probably run out of things to say now is because you feel awkward, once that goes away and you realize you can literally talk about an infinite number of things, it becomes easier. This will help you with any type of networking.

^^^This is meant to be actionable. You're going to start med school in a week, why don't you start with a metric to ask 5 of your new classmates who are total strangers, what specialties they're thinking about and why? Do this day 1. There will be some kind of awkwardness but from a statistical sense, I'd guarantee you you're not the most awkward person in a room of med students. You have a week to practice what I said above.

 

[wolveman222]

You'll get better specific advice from the people on here who have been through this. In short, get with ophtho department on some research projects and get in good with them for recs.

On the introverted topic, I have some general advice from you. I almost dropped out of college from a sudden and crippling social anxiety when I started, literally couldn't sit in class without sweating and a racing heart, also introverted as you say you are, was definitely never "cool" in any social setting. There was a lot of mental work that went into overcoming that, but one of the exercises I undertook was to talk to someone everywhere I went; know no strangers. Waiting in line? Talk to the person behind you. Ordering food? Ask the waiter what they like. At the grocery store and see something you like in someone cart "oh, I really like those too" and smile. This will be awkward at first but you'll get enough reps in and that awkwardness will become smaller each time, just a smaller part of the total awkwardness in your life. In short time, you'll learn a lot of social patterns and in the medium term it will actually become awkward not to talk to people. If you don't know what to talk to someone about, pick something they have on or are carrying that's interesting "Hey, I like your hat/shoes". The reason you probably run out of things to say now is because you feel awkward, once that goes away and you realize you can literally talk about an infinite number of things, it becomes easier. This will help you with any type of networking.

^^^This is meant to be actionable. You're going to start med school in a week, why don't you start with a metric to ask 5 of your new classmates who are total strangers, what specialites they're thinking about and why? Do this day 1. There will be some kind of awkwardness but from a statistical sense, I'd guarantee you you're not the most awkward person in a room of med students. You have a week to practice what I said above.

Thank you. I will try this asap.

 

[eyeeye_captain]

Assuming academics turn out fine and you wind up actually wanting to do ophtho (no guarantees):

Reach out to the program coordinator and see what they have available in terms of research and shadowing. A reasonable department likely has some kind of interest group, and that’s usually connected to whichever faculty heads medical student education, so another resource. They usually try to put someone nice/personable in that position.

Good advice from Matt above - go figure when he talks to and connects with people for a living now. You don’t have to be everyone’s best friend, just human/yourself.

Pick something that actually interests you and follow it down the line. Are you big on service? Do free clinics and screenings. Maybe some kind of international aid with how focused some programs are on that. Does some area of research really speak to you where you can follow interconnected projects down the line? Try that. Etc. etc.