MD Emergency Medicine Chances

[mymembernames]

Posting for a friend to see if he needs to apply to a back-up specialty:
-US MD
-Step 1 212
-Two HPs and the rest Ps for 3rd year
-Has two aways scheduled (one OOS and one in-state) plus home program
-1 EM Publication and another EM Pub pending
-Step 2 Pending but expecting at least a 220+
-Chances/thoughts/back-up (yay or nay)?

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[Redpancreas]

Posting for a friend to see if he needs to apply to a back-up specialty:
-US MD
-Step 1 212
-Two HPs and the rest Ps for 3rd year
-Has two aways scheduled (one OOS and one in-state) plus home program
-1 EM Publication and another EM Pub pending
-Step 2 Pending but expecting at least a 220+
-Chances/thoughts/back-up (yay or nay)?

Does he know you’re posting here? While these are mediocre scores and those publications are relatively meaningless IMO for EM, his application is still legitimate. What’s going to work in his favor is his US MD status, his decent clinical grades and possibly future stuff like his SLOEs and his Step 2 score. In other words, his cake is not even half baked yet. Other than that Step 1, he’s the average EM applicant and definitely still in the running. Now if this were IM, those pubs would matter a bit more, but the Step 1 would be more of a major issue. Overall he is fine and doesn’t need his pre-med friend telling him what field to apply to as a 4th year.

Also, Emergency Medicine

 

[Taddy Mason]

I would consider a back-up. This is based on how the interview season and match/SOAP went for my classmates this past year who applied EM.

Now if this were IM...Step 1 would be more of a major issue.Overall he is fine and doesn’t need his pre-med friend telling him what field to apply to as a 4th year.

 

[texER]

You can apply backup to family med, and still work ER. I know one who did this and still got into EM, and another who ended up at a backup program and life still goes on. Match > not matching. Just remember that your letters and personal statements should be uploaded judiciously so that there is no indication of cross-applying, IMO.

 

[Crayola227]

I basically set up my own app to go either EM and what I ended up doing, I just applied to one and it was fine. I could have applied to both and it would have worked too. People forget it's not that hard not to pigeon hole yourself in the less specialized fields as they build their apps before ERAS

 

[MD-2022]

You can apply backup to family med, and still work ER. I know one who did this and still got into EM, and another who ended up at a backup program and life still goes on. Match > not matching. Just remember that your letters and personal statements should be uploaded judiciously so that there is no indication of cross-applying, IMO.

I second this! Great advice!