Put the gun down, there are a lot of options for those of you that don't match this year. I was in that very situation last year when I found a great opportunity on this forum. I decided to postpone my Transtional year for a year of Ocular Pathology research at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. It has been a great experience so far and I think this was the best option for improving my application for reapplication to the match this year. The program has a great record with all except one of the previous fellows matching in the past ten years. So if Thursday brings you bad news feel free to email me and I'll tell you more about the program. Good Luck!
For Those Unmatched
- Thread starter bear05
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I think I speak for everyone in saying that I hope your PM box stays empty. 
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.Hello Friends,
Unfortunately, not everyone can get a spot.
.
.Do not get discouraged, as there are many routes to pursue a career in this great profession.
One of those pathways is through research.
Thus, I wanted to drop a post here for anyone interested in a postdoc fellowship (after med school, between internship and ophtho or after ophtho) in a highly prolific retina lab working on dissecting multiple molecular mechanisms of ocular angiogenesis. This fellowship serves as an excellent transition from a prelim surgery or medicine internship to ophtho. It also provides the necessary experience/CV to pursue a career as an ophthalmologist-surgeon-scientist. .
.
Please let me know by PM if you or anyone you know would be interested.
MD, MD/PhD, or PhD required..
Unfortunately, not everyone can get a spot.
.
.Do not get discouraged, as there are many routes to pursue a career in this great profession.
One of those pathways is through research.
Thus, I wanted to drop a post here for anyone interested in a postdoc fellowship (after med school, between internship and ophtho or after ophtho) in a highly prolific retina lab working on dissecting multiple molecular mechanisms of ocular angiogenesis. This fellowship serves as an excellent transition from a prelim surgery or medicine internship to ophtho. It also provides the necessary experience/CV to pursue a career as an ophthalmologist-surgeon-scientist. .
.
Please let me know by PM if you or anyone you know would be interested.
MD, MD/PhD, or PhD required..
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T
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While I agree with the point of the rest of your message, this statement is absolutely untrue.
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I unfortunately didn't match this year, but I'd love to apply for this path fellowship...can you give me some more information?
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If anyone is interested in an academic experience in ophtho with a "big-wig" ophthalmologist in Manhattan, PM me for more info. A yearlong committment is preferred starting this academic year. This is a phenomenal opportunity to strengthen your application or if you are looking to take time off before residency.
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The original poster was from two years ago, so who knows if he's still posting here.
If you want more info, contact Nick Mamalis at the University of Utah. He's the fellowship director. It's a very nice program that they have set up, and the fellows actually get a fair amount of patient interaction; much more than you would expect from a path fellowship. They also get a good number of publications.
For disclosure: no, I didn't do the fellowship, but I know several people who did and I know Dr. Mamalis.
Dave
As I am currently doing the Path fellowship at the University of Utah. I thought I would give my 2 cents for anyone interested.
After I did not match last year I was devastated. All my advisors told me to not even think about doing an internship, as this would add nothing to my application except bags under my eyes. They told me the path fellowship would give me a great knowledge base for residency and also help me to improve my CV. I had decided to go into ophtho late and really didn't have great LOR's or ophtho experience. So although I had had 8 solid interviews, I think these things came back to haunt me.
So the Path fellowship at the University is is a great opportunity to boost your CV in the research and ophtho experience category. Not only do we do path, but we also do a lot of cutting edge IOL research. In addition we do H&P's prior to surgeries and work as recovery technicians for the eye bank to make some extra money.
Dr Mamalis is a great adviser. He is currently co-editor-in-chief of JCRS and yet I have gone mountain biking and to basketball games with him. Very smart and still down to earth. Up until this year he was also chair of the admissions committee at the University of Utah, so he also has some good advice for interviews.
Although the initial post on this thread makes it sound like its an automatic for matching in the coming year, I would have to temper this sentiment a bit. There are three fellows per year and the stats for matching have sagged a bit. Over the past two years one fellow has not matched each year. I think this is simply a representation of how much more difficult the match is becoming. If you are looking to cover up bad board scores, or a poor performance in med school the fellowship might not help. If on the other hand you just need to get a strong LOR or add some items to the last page of you application this is the place for you.
As a note there are other places to do Path fellowships. The publicized ones are the University of Utah and Bascom Palmer. I think they both pay the same but cost of living in Salt Lake City is considerably less. Other places I have heard about include Iowa, Emory, Mass Eye and Ear, and possibly University of Wisconsin. I don't know if any of these other fellowships are paid, however.
In the end I think my suggestion would be to contact each of these programs. Talk to them and see what you think. They might have a better track record for matching. It is possible that doing the fellowship at Bascom Palmer looks more prestigious and that this in turn translates into a better residency spot.
In the end I am very happy with my decision to come to Utah. I interviewed at Bascom and did not feel like it would be a good fit for me. My year at the University of Utah has been an awesome and I have learned a ton. My CV now has around 6-7 more publications on it! I feel I will be well served for the rest of my career.
Best of luck!
After I did not match last year I was devastated. All my advisors told me to not even think about doing an internship, as this would add nothing to my application except bags under my eyes. They told me the path fellowship would give me a great knowledge base for residency and also help me to improve my CV. I had decided to go into ophtho late and really didn't have great LOR's or ophtho experience. So although I had had 8 solid interviews, I think these things came back to haunt me.
So the Path fellowship at the University is is a great opportunity to boost your CV in the research and ophtho experience category. Not only do we do path, but we also do a lot of cutting edge IOL research. In addition we do H&P's prior to surgeries and work as recovery technicians for the eye bank to make some extra money.
Dr Mamalis is a great adviser. He is currently co-editor-in-chief of JCRS and yet I have gone mountain biking and to basketball games with him. Very smart and still down to earth. Up until this year he was also chair of the admissions committee at the University of Utah, so he also has some good advice for interviews.
Although the initial post on this thread makes it sound like its an automatic for matching in the coming year, I would have to temper this sentiment a bit. There are three fellows per year and the stats for matching have sagged a bit. Over the past two years one fellow has not matched each year. I think this is simply a representation of how much more difficult the match is becoming. If you are looking to cover up bad board scores, or a poor performance in med school the fellowship might not help. If on the other hand you just need to get a strong LOR or add some items to the last page of you application this is the place for you.
As a note there are other places to do Path fellowships. The publicized ones are the University of Utah and Bascom Palmer. I think they both pay the same but cost of living in Salt Lake City is considerably less. Other places I have heard about include Iowa, Emory, Mass Eye and Ear, and possibly University of Wisconsin. I don't know if any of these other fellowships are paid, however.
In the end I think my suggestion would be to contact each of these programs. Talk to them and see what you think. They might have a better track record for matching. It is possible that doing the fellowship at Bascom Palmer looks more prestigious and that this in turn translates into a better residency spot.
In the end I am very happy with my decision to come to Utah. I interviewed at Bascom and did not feel like it would be a good fit for me. My year at the University of Utah has been an awesome and I have learned a ton. My CV now has around 6-7 more publications on it! I feel I will be well served for the rest of my career.
Best of luck!
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Nothing Is Impossible!!!!
Ophthalmologists Are Some Of The Nicest Ppl That U Will Ever Deal With In Ur Medical Career, Y Do I Say That? Bec They Will Give U A 2nd Chance In A Heart Beat. All They Need To See Is Determination, A Yr Of Research Is Definitely Proof.
I Interviewed At A Program Where All The Pgy2 Were All Second Time Applicants.
If U Think Things Are Their Worst.... Just Remember Things Happen For A Reason Research Will Help You Grow And Mature
Ophthalmologists Are Some Of The Nicest Ppl That U Will Ever Deal With In Ur Medical Career, Y Do I Say That? Bec They Will Give U A 2nd Chance In A Heart Beat. All They Need To See Is Determination, A Yr Of Research Is Definitely Proof.
I Interviewed At A Program Where All The Pgy2 Were All Second Time Applicants.
If U Think Things Are Their Worst.... Just Remember Things Happen For A Reason Research Will Help You Grow And Mature
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For those of you who did not match, there are opportunities for you out there! I was in your position last year, and ended up doing a ophthalmic path fellowship at Bascom Palmer. It has been an great experience. The amount of pathology seen at Bascom Palmer is amazing! I have learned a lot from Dr. Dubovy and from working with the residents. There are GR, lectures and conferences that you can attend. Overall, I am very happy with my knowledge base, and the connections that I have made at Bascom Palmer. All of the fellows that completed this fellowship have gone on to match in Ophthalmology. I matched this year, and I couldn't be happier!🙂
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
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how about doing the prelim year that is required before u start ophtho??
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He/she probably had to reapply to the match, and therefore have already done the prelim year but still have to take a year off.
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This position has been filled. Thank you for all of your interest and best of luck!
