Gearing my third year for the match

[ophthope]

*-edit-* Post should probably have been titled "Gearing my 2012 year for the match"

Hey everyone, I've browsed these forums a number of times in the past for advice so I know that this issue has been raised before, but I'd like some opinions on my particular situation. I know the standard advice is tons of research, publish everything, and be AOA but I will not likely be a golden child candidate.

I'm a third year student interested in ophthalmology who doesn't have any "lab" research on my resume. I became interested in ophthalmology in my second year and thus far the only available "research" I could get was helping with a State-wide research project making phone calls and compiling data about healthcare access. I believe it was a worthwhile project and am glad to have been involved with it, but I don't know that it will have much impact on my CV. I've done well on my clinical rotations and have a couple of ophthalmologists and physicians in other fields who could write me good letters, but they are physicians in the community and not well known academics (I'm at a satellite campus away from my institution's ophthalmology program). I also have a (hopefully) unique work experience related to ophthalmology from second year that I am continuing this year when I am available. My plan is to do a month long ophthalmology research rotation as soon as possible during my fourth year to get some type of "research" going if I can manage to get that rotation.

I've got As and Bs in probably near equal quantities from the first two years and step score in the mid 240s. I most likely will not be an AOA member.

My question is this: what else can I do during 2012 to set myself up to be a better match candidate? This corresponds to the last half of my third year and the first half of my fourth year when I'll be going through the sfmatch and doing interviews. If I am unable to secure a research project are my chances of matching hindered such that I should consider taking a year off? I would very much like to avoid taking a year off.

I've worked hard during medical school and I think my scores and work experience are good enough to allow me to match somewhere, someday. I'm genuinely interested in a career in ophthalmology and I feel confident that someone will view me as an asset to their program, but like everyone this confidence is often shaken by the fear that I won't match. I worked as an engineer for a year or so before applying to medical school and am absolutely ready to be a working part of a team again instead of a student, so I would like to avoid scrambling and looking for a year long research position or other CV booster.

Any tips or advice on what I can do with my remaining time to make my match success better would be very much appreciated.

P.S. In my browsing these forums the advice by contributors such as Visionary, Andrew Doan and others have been great. Thanks everyone!

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[UAmeddan]

Well, coming from someone who is going through the match now, take whatever I say with a grain of salt. I was somewhat similar to you in the research department and in going to a satellite campus. PM me if you want to talk more about the satellite campus aspect. However, on the research front, I did some things that I think helped, which all nicely fit in during MS4. Like you, I had research outside of the field only. So I connected with a local retina fellow who had some cases to write up, and I wrote them up, etc. My interest in writing those up lead to a review article with him, so that was 3 pubs. After that I did a month-long ophtho research rotation, which resulted in 2 prospective studies and 1 more review article. I'm telling you these specifics so you know what is possible in a short amount of time, if you're willing to work hard. If you're going to do a research rotation, try to make sure it's with someone who is prolific in research (3-4 pubs per month). Hope this helps.

 

[vamosrafa]

Like UAmeddan I am also an MS4 in the match process right now, so I am by no means an expert. My medical school doesn't have a department of ophthalmology or a residency program, so I can relate to your situation. I didn't decide on ophthalmology until half way through my 3rd year so like you I had no ophthalmology research experience (1 previous pub from ugrad benchtop research) and my LORs weren't from well known people in ophthalmology. My recommendation would be that you try to find private practice ophthalmologists that are still involved in research. From what I heard, Retina is still pretty active in research in the private practice setting. This will hopefully translate into a small and quick project that can be submitted for a poster/meeting or manuscript. Also, I would recommend that you schedule at least one away rotation at a well known institution. While some discourage away rotations, you don't have the luxury of a home program with an ophthalmology department/residency. An away rotation will allow for you to potentially make a good impression at a place you otherwise would have a difficult time matching at, it could lead to potential research projects/case reports due to the higher volume/academic nature, and give you perspective on what academic ophthalmology is about.

If you or anyone wants to talk further just shoot me a message.

 

[Visionary]

I think you're on the right track, and I agree with the advice above. When you don't have a readily available home department, you have to get creative. Private practice rotations can be good experience, and you may be surprised at what a letter from a private practice doc can do, especially if they are fellowship trained. Ophthalmology is a very small community. I, for instance, have connections at numerous training institutions across the country. Also, a lot of research is done in private practice offices. Most clinical trials, by necessity, involve significant numbers of private practitioners. Your grades are sufficient. If you work hard on research projects and rotations, I really think you'll do fine. Programs are looking for motivated, industrious candidates.