Gyn Onc

[NachoPlatter]

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[anonperson]

hi All,

Current M3 here loving everything on gyn onc. I am seriously considering OBGYN but I am wondering what steps could I take when deciding where to apply to amplify my chances of matching to a program that has a strong gyn onc program/perhaps a fellowship! I am pretty clueless about OBGYN as I was thinking surgery for the last few months until I did Ob and loved the patients way more. I go to a mid-tier school but have a 254 Step 1 and minor research in leukemia (no pubs but a poster)

I have a meeting with my chairman to discuss next steps in a few weeks but I was curious about outside advice too. I have heard from this forum that gyn onc programs are name conscious but I’m not sure exactly “what names” those entail. And should I consider an away? I hear mixed reviews on this, whereas for surgery it’s necessary.

Thanks!

If you are comfortable doing obstetrics and potentially being a general OB GYN then go for it. There aren't that many Gyn onc fellowships and you should always be prepared for the possibility of not matching into fellowship and being a generalist.

You should try to do your residency at a place that has a gyn onc fellowship. These are listed online. Think UCLA, UAB, OSU, JHU, Stanford, UTSW, etc. A lot of places match their own people. There is basically 1 spot per fellowship as well. A lot of these spots are promised as well (handshake agreements between fellowship directors) so the spot may be listed as open but in reality is going to someone they know from another program.

With your step 1 score, assuming the rest of the application is reasonable, you should match into a name brand program.

In all honesty, I would recommend just trying to match something like ENT or urology. Better pay, better lifestyle. Can still do cancer surgery or smaller procedures and live a good life.

 

[herkyMD]

As someone who just finished matching into Gyn Onc and had similar thoughts as you in med school (i.e., I was going to do gen surg then changed everything last minute to do OB/GYN with plans to do gyn onc), I will offer you my experience.

As the previous person said, I would recommend going to a program that has a gyn onc fellowship program. With that being said, I left a med school that had a gyn onc fellowship and went to a place for residency that did not have a gyn onc fellowship and matched, but there were lots of people who were not as lucky as me. I'll summarize the rest of my insights in bullet form to make it easier to read.

• Gyn Onc is competitive. Match rate this year was 66% meaning 1 in 3 people did not match. If you don't think you'll be happy doing general OB/GYN, don't do OB/GYN!
• Programs tend to keep people that they know (meaning people match at their home program often). This is not a rule but definitely happens regularly.
• Doing an away in med school for residency, in my opinion, is not necessary; however, you MUST do an away at a gyn onc program during residency (usually Sloan Kettering or MD Anderson). Some people may get away without doing this, but I would discourage taking the risk.
• Interviewing is long, tiring, and expensive, but you do what you have to do to match.
• There is no "magic number" of programs to be guaranteed to match into Gyn Onc. I know of people who ranked 20+ programs (out of ~50) and didn't match. It happens. It's competitive.
• Research is necessary. Start early. Third year of residency sneaks up on you faster than you think and there are certain places where you will be expected to present your research during your interview.
• Try to go to SGO and network with people. Bonus if you are presenting research there.
• Use any and all contacts that your residency program offers you. Gyn Onc is a small field. People talking to programs on your behalf matters.
• Realize that everyone who is interviewing for Gyn Onc is a competitive candidate. They wouldn't be interviewing if they weren't. Trust in yourself and be confident that you deserve to be there too.

Good Luck!

 

[Medstudent1874]

What are the odds of matching to fellowship if you don't match the first time?

 

[brady12]

@herkyMD
I, like you, wanted to do general surgery and had a last minute switch to OBGYN. I just matched this year and will be starting residency in July. My residency program is an academic program but does not have a gyn onc fellowship. I understand the importance of aways and networking as well as strong research however with step 3 coming up, I was wondering the importance of the score?
My scores for step 1/2 are ok: 245/258.


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