General Surgery Application

[ORHopeful]

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I'm looking for honest advice from people involved in General Surgery education and residency selection.

I'm a DO student who is committed to pursuing General Surgery. Due to a required clerkship remediation, my fourth-year schedule has become compressed, which affects the timing of some 4th year required rotations and audition rotations.

My school has suggested that I consider applying to a less competitive specialty rather than surgery, but I'm trying to determine whether that's truly the best course of action or simply the most conservative recommendation.

Before making a decision as significant as delaying graduation or changing specialties, I'd like perspectives from people who understand General Surgery residency selection.

My questions are:

1. In general, when does a delayed timeline become a reason to postpone applying rather than continue with the current cycle?
2. If an applicant is otherwise committed to surgery, is delaying graduation for a stronger application generally viewed more favorably than rushing to apply with a compressed fourth year?
3. What factors would make you recommend one approach over the other?

I'm not looking for false hope—I genuinely want candid advice. If you were advising one of your own students, what would you recommend they consider before making this decision?

Thank you for any insight.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I think we need to start with the answer to this question:

Which rotation are you remediating, and why?

 

[GoSpursGo]

Agree with above.

Applying surgery as a DO has become more competitive over the years. Applying with a clerkship remediation, at baseline, would seem to imply you don’t have a strong application to begin with. Which may be what your school is trying to tell you.

Delaying graduation in the hopes it will improve your competitiveness is not realistic. Plenty of competitive students able to hit the marks without needing a delayed graduation, and whatever you do during that year won’t make up for academic deficiencies.

 

[ORHopeful]

I think we need to start with the answer to this question:

Which rotation are you remediating, and why?

Mental Health Rotation, due to COMAT score being one point below school threshold.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

It better that your remediation is because of an exam score (rather than a clinical issue). As mentioned, getting GS as a DO is a competitive process, and this will certainly not help. If the rest of your application is excellent (i.e. no step/COMLEX failures, excellent S2/L2 score, remainder of clerkship performance is good, etc) then perhaps there is some chance of getting a spot, esp with a good audition experience. But everything else has to go well.

In any case, the only way to know is to apply, so you'll need to decide if you're going to do so. You could:

1. Apply to GS and another field as a backup. Rank your GS programs first (if you get any) and then the backup afterwards. The problem with this plan is that you are likely to not do as well in your backup match -- programs are not dumb and will see your multiple audition rotations in GS, any personal statement that says "I've changed my mind" is rather unbelievable. But some programs will see that you're unlikely to match in GS and be willing to take you.
2. Apply to GS only. If you don't match, then plan for a gap year. You could discuss with your school, sometimes they are willing to extend your 4th year at that point, giving you a chance to to a bunch of new rotations and then apply again the next year in a new specialty. Don't make the mistake of applying to GS again because "you made your application better". It is very unlikely to work out. I would not consider a research year -- it's not likely to overcome your issues.
3. Apply to GS, and also to prelim surgery. If you get a prelim spot, then try to get a categorical afterwards. This can be a very challenging path, many people who try never get a categorical spot and then are left scrambling for something else.
4. Apply to something else. This is likely to make your life much easier.

I would not delay to make your application better. How will it be any better? More rotations will not make it better

 

[DOVinciRobot]

What does the rest of your app look like?