has ophtho ever been a noncompetitive residency to match into?

[tetris]

the reason i ask is because if it ever has been, then chances are it will become so again in the future.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by tetris
the reason i ask is because if it ever has been, then chances are it will become so again in the future.

In 1997, there were:

CAS participants: 717
Rank lists: 637
Matched applicants: 435
US seniors: 349 applied
Overall match rate - 68%
US senior match rate - 94%

USMLE was slightly above the national average @ 210-213 (average was 205).

It was definitely less competitive back in the late 1990s. With everything in medicine, the competitive nature of a field waxes-n-wanes.

I anticipate that ophthalmology is going to be a much needed specialty in the next 20-30 years. The baby boomers are getting to the age where cataracts need to be removed, diabetes worsens, AMD develops, and glaucoma advances.

http://www.uihealthcare.com/reports/ophthalmology/040301glaucoma-tv.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/20/health/main504225.shtml

 

[tetris]

wow, that was only 7 years ago, much more recent than i expected.

good point about baby boomers. it gives me the feeling that the ophtho match won't be getting any easier in the near future.

although many specialties fluctuate in their competitivenes, not all do. i don't think derm and neurosurgery have ever been much easier than they are now (at least not in our lifetimes; but in 1950, say, i suppose all fields were wide open because there were far fewer applicants and therefore much more need). conversely, has psychiatry ever been difficult to match into?

i believe that only something drasticly damaging to the field will bring about such a change in ophtho.

 

[Mirror Form]

Originally posted by tetris
wow, that was only 7 years ago, much more recent than i expected.

good point about baby boomers. it gives me the feeling that the ophtho match won't be getting any easier in the near future.

although many specialties fluctuate in their competitivenes, not all do. i don't think derm and neurosurgery have ever been much easier than they are now (at least not in our lifetimes; but in 1950, say, i suppose all fields were wide open because there were far fewer applicants and therefore much more need). conversely, has psychiatry ever been difficult to match into?

i believe that only something drasticly damaging to the field will bring about such a change in ophtho.

Has derm really always been that hard? I thought it just got tough in the the 90's, although I could be wrong. Neurosurg is one of the few fields I can think of that has always been pretty tough.

 

[tetris]

Sledge, i just asked your question in the derm forum:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=109095

of course, for derm, the question is purely out of curiosity. i wouldn't want to look at flaky rashes and infected nails and scalps all day long. i find ophtho much more enjoyable.