Fresh minted MSIII....want to know what to do.

[invitro]

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I am so glad I am finally able to post.

Class of 2006 at private non-top 50 ALLOPATHIC med school.
I got my board score back....step I 225. (Is that good enough?)
Mostly honors in preclinical. Have a shot at AOA if I honor like 2 or 3 of the 6 clinical courses 3rd yr....I know, a long shot.

I want to practice pain management in private practice. Don't care about academics or setting (don't mind working in a small city/town in "undesirable area"). Want to do pain, because is interesting (yes I have shadowed physicians/liked it a lot) and obviously because it is lucrative financially.

Basically I just want to match at a residency program that is -1- NON-malignant/good hours, and -2- will allow me to do a pain fellowship.
I don't give a damn about the "prestige" of a program, as long as the above two are okay.

Okay, so is this possible with my board scores/possible chance at AOA? Is there anything I should do 3rd yr to help with this?

I noticed that the reviews for SCUTWORK said St. Caritas in Mass was pretty good/an easy match. Plus it has a pain fellowship in house. What are some other programs?

Finally, I want to premptively apologize to any people offended by the directness of my post....I know it is somewhat money-centered and not patient centered. In all honesty I really like working w/ pts, and would be committed to helping them get better, but why not do it in a pleasant setting (nice attendings/work environment) and with the knowledge that a lucrative job awaits once residency is finished? 🙂

I'll say it again....please don't flame me....I am being honest, and I imagine quite a few other med students feel the same way.

 

[painmanager]

Hey, I'm an intern now, going to UPenn next year. I think you have a great shot at some top programs, the board score is a tad low, but that seems to be the only minor problem, and I mean very minor. I'd apply to top programs if I were you. When it comes down to it, the name of the school does have something to do with the types fellowships/jobs one can expect to get. I think BID has a lot of pain exposure, a great pain fellowship, and very easy work hours. But any good academic medical center will have a pretty large pain clinic with plenty of procedures for residents. Some of the places that I remember impressed me for pain were Brigham and Womens, Rush, UCSF.

 

[Stinky Tofu]

You'll be competitive for most Anesthesiology programs and you certainly haven't excluded yourself from programs like Hopkins, MGH or BWH.

I'm not saying that the Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center program isn't good, but you could certainly match at a more competitive residency program if you wanted to. While they do have a Pain fellowship, there are much better ones in Boston.

 

[invitro]

Thanks for the replies, painmanager and stinkytofu.

I know my Step I is not the highest, but I feel it is solid enough to have a chance at most middle-tier programs. 🙂

I am actually interested in staying (relatively) close to the DC/VA/MD region.
So I am considering places like U of Maryland/West Virginia/U of Virginia/UNC/U of Pitt/Penn State etc. I guess all of the above programs aren't "top-tier" but I imagine the teaching is good, and they all have pain fellowships. U of maryland would be great in particular.

What about doing away rotations/research? Is that necessary? I just find doing anesthesia research to be difficult. BTW I do have One publication (in Ortho, unfortunately), and an abstract (ENT), and citation (Molecular Oncology research). Will that help, given none of the research is in anesthesia?

BTW stinky tofu....is Caritas St. Elizabeth's really bad? Given that I just want to go into private practice/not academics, will it hold me back if I went there? It's just I heard the environment is VERY benign.

Thanks again,

Invitro

 

[powermd]

Thanks for the replies, painmanager and stinkytofu.

I know my Step I is not the highest, but I feel it is solid enough to have a chance at most middle-tier programs. 🙂

I am actually interested in staying (relatively) close to the DC/VA/MD region.
So I am considering places like U of Maryland/West Virginia/U of Virginia/UNC/U of Pitt/Penn State etc. I guess all of the above programs aren't "top-tier" but I imagine the teaching is good, and they all have pain fellowships. U of maryland would be great in particular.

What about doing away rotations/research? Is that necessary? I just find doing anesthesia research to be difficult. BTW I do have One publication (in Ortho, unfortunately), and an abstract (ENT), and citation (Molecular Oncology research). Will that help, given none of the research is in anesthesia?

BTW stinky tofu....is Caritas St. Elizabeth's really bad? Given that I just want to go into private practice/not academics, will it hold me back if I went there? It's just I heard the environment is VERY benign.

Thanks again,

Invitro

Hope you don't mind if I jump in- I interviewed at St. Elizabeth's last year, so I have some inside info. The issue for you is not how you want to practice when you finish, but that you want to do a pain fellowship. You need to be competitive for these, and that means going to the best anesthesiology program you can get in to. Shoot for the top, with your application you will be competitive at mid to top level places. St. Elizabeth's is not a great program. They have to farm their residents out to Lahey for neuro and SICU, and their caseload and mix are not great. One third year told me he planned to do a fellowship because he didn't feel he was sufficiently trained for private practice. If you want St. Elizabeth's to be an option for a pain fellowship, it would still serve your best interests to go to a top anesthesiology program. You won't regret it.