Help! M3 and no clue what to do!

[JustSomePreMed]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I know plenty of M3s are in a similar situation as me, but I'm freaking out here a little.

I'm an M3 with a few months left in the year. I entered medical school thinking I would probably like to do ortho or urology. I ended up really not enjoying my surgery rotation (except the ortho part, really), and for that and many other reasons I began to realize that the lifestyle of a surgeon was probably not, in fact, what I wanted.

I have >250 on Step I and have all Honors in my preclinical years, and all high passes so far in my clinical rotations (but no honors). Lifestyle is very important to me, which is something I'm only now realizing. I entered medical school thinking "Hey, I'm willing to work 100 hours/week as long as I get to be an orthopedic surgeon", but now realize how wrong I was. It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't want medicine to COMPLETELY overtake my life (though I realize that by entering the profession as a whole, I'm making a bigger sacrifice in this department than most other careers).

My big dilemma right now is what on earth I want to apply to. People have been suggesting I pick radiology (given the good pay and sweet lifestyle), but honestly while I find it fairly fascinating, I don't think I'd enjoy being a Radiologist, and part of me would probably view it as not feeling like a "real doctor" (and I mean no insult to people in/interested in rads at all). Dermatology is obviously a sweet lifestyle too, although I'm not sure how excited I could get for skin, really. I do like that there's still plenty of diagnosing in person, prescribing treatments, and even performing procedures (depending on the scope of a derm's practice). But it's super freakin' competitive, and aside from my relatively decent Step I score and good preclinical grades, I've got "pretty good" clinical grades so far, and only one research project on which I'm a first author, but it has yet to be published (should be within a few months). So overall I feel horribly underqualified for dermatology.

I've thought about EM too, since there's a wide variety of things you get to do as an EM physician, the hours aren't horrible (well, the total work hours aren't, although you often have weird shifts to work). I guess what's holding me back from that is that I'm not truly sure I have the lightening-quick diagnostic skills to thrive in that environment.

And another stupid consideration of mine is that I really want to capitalize on my current stock. As a student with high grades and a high Step I score, I'd like to be able to use that to my advantage to get into a program that is something prestigious/competitive/whatever, rather than, say, applying for IM in order to then apply later for a super competitive fellowship like GI.

I'm all over the map here, I realize, but can someone help point me in the right direction??

 

[ShyRem]

I think what you need to do is figure out what you want to do.

You don't want EM.
You don't want surgery.
You don't want derm.
You don't want rads.

How about ophtho? Urology?

Now, you say you want to "capitalize" on your "current stock" and don't want to get into IM and then subspecialize later. Do you want to specialize at all?

More important than "capitalizing on your current stock" should be what you want. Do you like patients? Do you like the subspecialties in medicine? If you like cardiology or nephrology or something like that, you could very well use those publications and research to help you get where you want to be later.

 

[PistolPete]

I'm a 3rd year in a similar situation and I totally understand where you're coming form.

Do you really love the OR, or not so much? If you like being in the OR but want to have a decent lifestyle, consider anesthesia, urology, ophtho and ENT. Residency might be hard, but the lifestyle afterwards is pretty nice, and you can work as much or as little as you want. Maybe think about Obgyn.

Or, are you more of a thinker? I think that's the big issue you have to figure out. More of a doer or a thinker? If a thinker, consider neuro (good pay and lifestyle), PM&R or psych.

I also think you could have a shot at RadOnc, if you are interested in cancer and technology.

Good luck.

 

[Deferoxamine]

Common dilemma. I dealt with this problem about 1 year ago, even though it was different from yours. My dilemma was: Something surgical vs. something medical.

All the 3rd-year core rotations offer you clues along the way. Some are more obvious than others. I remember being on Ob-Gyn (knowing from Day 1 that I would never go into it)... and realizing it wasn't nearly as painful as everyone in my class made it sound. In fact, I started realizing how much I liked seeing patients in antepartum and trending their lab values. And deliveries were actually kinda neat. And I liked being on my feet... a lot, walking from patient to patient in L&D. And my patients were awake and not asleep, and could laugh with me. Whenever I had to step into the OR for a Gyn case, I wanted to burn both of my eyes out with cigarettes. And then it hit me: Aside from the OR time, I actually liked Ob-Gyn, certainly way more than I pretended to like Surgery.

And that's when I knew my Surgery days were over. I chose Medicine. And I've never looked back. Zero regrets.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

Have you thought about doing an elective in Anesthesia? Most students don't go into medical school with Anesthesia as their number one specialty but there are lots of converts. Also, it is a specialty that is extremely hard to understand unless you see the difficult cases and put yourself in the mind self of the anesthesiologist, which doing an elective would allow. It's an awesome field that is very flexible. You can choose to live that nice lifestyle or you can take that extra time and spend it in research, simulator, teaching, etc.

 

[JustSomePreMed]

Thanks guys, very helpful so far. I appreciate the commiserating.

It's not that I don't like derm, it's just that I haven't had much exposure to it. Also, I feel like people who go into derm basically hit the ground running from day 1 of first year of med school with research and networking with the derm people. I have zero derm connections and of course no derm publications or research. Which is what makes me worry about trying for that.

I had thought about anesthesiology too . . . in fact, I was looking at that and rads in the same light, sort of. Pay well, decent hours, "specialized" residency*, etc. I guess I'm just not sure I'd find it terribly interesting (but again, I only got one week of anesthesiology exposure during my surgical clerkship this year). We get zero electives in third year, so I haven't been able to do actual electives in any of these fields.

As for neuro/psych, I'm really not that into either of those I don't think. PM&R is something I may consider, although I know very little about it to be honest. I realize that seems to be a common theme here. It's not that I'm totally clueless about these specialties, it's just that I guess I'm having trouble really pin pointing what it is I want. I feel like I'm still sitting around waiting for some perfect specialty that I've never heard of to suddenly appear.


*to clarify for ShyRem, I basically meant that I'd love to be able to apply for a residency that is sort of already a "subspecialty", such as ortho or urology vs. general surgery if I was surgically inclined, or dermatology vs. GI via IM. I don't see myself as an IM doc/hospitalist, or family doc, or peds, so basically yeah I would like to "specialize" I suppose.

 

[476515678234896]

.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

I had thought about anesthesiology too . . . in fact, I was looking at that and rads in the same light, sort of. Pay well, decent hours, "specialized" residency*, etc. I guess I'm just not sure I'd find it terribly interesting (but again, I only got one week of anesthesiology exposure during my surgical clerkship this year). We get zero electives in third year, so I haven't been able to do actual electives in any of these fields.

Yeah, I totally get that anesthesia can be a field that is hard to find interesting. I certainly didn't even consider it until nearing the end of third year when I gave in to an anesthesia elective. Once I was able to see the more difficult anesthesia cases, combined with exposure to some bad ass anesthesia attendings, it made the decision all the more easy. If you seriously think Anesthesia could be a possibility it might be a benefit to give yourself a few weeks in the beginning of fourth year to look into it. Also, honestly, if on your one week of Anesthesia you only saw simple surgeries like appys and choles and the residents didn't let you do anything, it would not be what one could consider "good exposure."

 

[Way2Swanky]

Definitely feeling your dilemma. Went through an essentially identical thought process over this past year, which will reach a conclusion of sorts 2 weeks from now.

I think the advice about the lifestyle surgical specialties (Uro, ENT) is good. Definitely do a rotation in both fields. I am a gen surg-minded person who realized that gen surg was out of the question for lifestyle reasons. Liked rads and had planned to apply in it, but ultimately couldn't pull the trigger for reasons similar to yours (wouldn't feel like a real doctor, want to help patients directly, would probably get bored 10 years down the line, DVT from all the sitting...) Liked the idea of urology (gen surg with a life), tried very hard to love it on my several rotations in it. I did enjoy the big cases but couldn't stand cystoscopies, ureteroscopies, lithotripsy, foleys, bladder irrigations. So that was a no-go.

Ultimately applied in and ranked IM. Very stimulating intellectually and options for procedures in a number of subspecialties. Hoping this was the right call.

WRT your application, the lack of third year Honors will really hurt you for competitive fields and for top programs in IM. I had Step 1 of 247, essentially all Honors in MS 1 and 2, only 1 Honors and all else High Passes in MS 3, and all Honors in MS 4. Will likely be going to a good university IM program, but got uniformly rejected by top tier programs.

I know plenty of M3s are in a similar situation as me, but I'm freaking out here a little.

I'm an M3 with a few months left in the year. I entered medical school thinking I would probably like to do ortho or urology. I ended up really not enjoying my surgery rotation (except the ortho part, really), and for that and many other reasons I began to realize that the lifestyle of a surgeon was probably not, in fact, what I wanted.

I have >250 on Step I and have all Honors in my preclinical years, and all high passes so far in my clinical rotations (but no honors). Lifestyle is very important to me, which is something I'm only now realizing. I entered medical school thinking "Hey, I'm willing to work 100 hours/week as long as I get to be an orthopedic surgeon", but now realize how wrong I was. It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't want medicine to COMPLETELY overtake my life (though I realize that by entering the profession as a whole, I'm making a bigger sacrifice in this department than most other careers).

My big dilemma right now is what on earth I want to apply to. People have been suggesting I pick radiology (given the good pay and sweet lifestyle), but honestly while I find it fairly fascinating, I don't think I'd enjoy being a Radiologist, and part of me would probably view it as not feeling like a "real doctor" (and I mean no insult to people in/interested in rads at all). Dermatology is obviously a sweet lifestyle too, although I'm not sure how excited I could get for skin, really. I do like that there's still plenty of diagnosing in person, prescribing treatments, and even performing procedures (depending on the scope of a derm's practice). But it's super freakin' competitive, and aside from my relatively decent Step I score and good preclinical grades, I've got "pretty good" clinical grades so far, and only one research project on which I'm a first author, but it has yet to be published (should be within a few months). So overall I feel horribly underqualified for dermatology.

I've thought about EM too, since there's a wide variety of things you get to do as an EM physician, the hours aren't horrible (well, the total work hours aren't, although you often have weird shifts to work). I guess what's holding me back from that is that I'm not truly sure I have the lightening-quick diagnostic skills to thrive in that environment.

And another stupid consideration of mine is that I really want to capitalize on my current stock. As a student with high grades and a high Step I score, I'd like to be able to use that to my advantage to get into a program that is something prestigious/competitive/whatever, rather than, say, applying for IM in order to then apply later for a super competitive fellowship like GI.

I'm all over the map here, I realize, but can someone help point me in the right direction??

 

[cpants]

I would rethink EM. You don't come out of med school with 'lightning-fast diagnostic skills', any more than you are come out of med school knowing how to take out a kidney or do a colonoscopy. It's something you learn through repetition and years of training. The lifestyle for EM is one of the best. Even as a resident you will only work 15ish days a month. Lots of procedural work and sick patients. The ability to make a real difference for some of your patients. For me the drawback was the frequent flyers/social work cases, but that is only a part of your job.

It sounds like you aren't really a surgeon. Anesthesia is also an excellent option. Look into it. Derm would be good, but even with a 250 it's a long shot starting now. If you decide that's what you want to do, it might be best to take a year off and do full time research in derm. Then you should be good to go. It's worth it to wait a year if derm is what you want to do for the next 30-40.

 

[2012mdc]

I know plenty of M3s are in a similar situation as me, but I'm freaking out here a little.

I'm an M3 with a few months left in the year. I entered medical school thinking I would probably like to do ortho or urology. I ended up really not enjoying my surgery rotation (except the ortho part, really), and for that and many other reasons I began to realize that the lifestyle of a surgeon was probably not, in fact, what I wanted.

I have >250 on Step I and have all Honors in my preclinical years, and all high passes so far in my clinical rotations (but no honors). Lifestyle is very important to me, which is something I'm only now realizing. I entered medical school thinking "Hey, I'm willing to work 100 hours/week as long as I get to be an orthopedic surgeon", but now realize how wrong I was. It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't want medicine to COMPLETELY overtake my life (though I realize that by entering the profession as a whole, I'm making a bigger sacrifice in this department than most other careers).

My big dilemma right now is what on earth I want to apply to. People have been suggesting I pick radiology (given the good pay and sweet lifestyle), but honestly while I find it fairly fascinating, I don't think I'd enjoy being a Radiologist, and part of me would probably view it as not feeling like a "real doctor" (and I mean no insult to people in/interested in rads at all). Dermatology is obviously a sweet lifestyle too, although I'm not sure how excited I could get for skin, really. I do like that there's still plenty of diagnosing in person, prescribing treatments, and even performing procedures (depending on the scope of a derm's practice). But it's super freakin' competitive, and aside from my relatively decent Step I score and good preclinical grades, I've got "pretty good" clinical grades so far, and only one research project on which I'm a first author, but it has yet to be published (should be within a few months). So overall I feel horribly underqualified for dermatology.

I've thought about EM too, since there's a wide variety of things you get to do as an EM physician, the hours aren't horrible (well, the total work hours aren't, although you often have weird shifts to work). I guess what's holding me back from that is that I'm not truly sure I have the lightening-quick diagnostic skills to thrive in that environment.

And another stupid consideration of mine is that I really want to capitalize on my current stock. As a student with high grades and a high Step I score, I'd like to be able to use that to my advantage to get into a program that is something prestigious/competitive/whatever, rather than, say, applying for IM in order to then apply later for a super competitive fellowship like GI.

I'm all over the map here, I realize, but can someone help point me in the right direction??

So you didn't like the lifestyle of surgery but did you enjoy spending time in the OR? You said you didn't enjoy your surgery rotation, what were the particular reasons? Some reasons could eliminate all surgical fields while others could only eliminate GSurg.

I entered med school thinking ortho as well but when I was finished with my GS rotation I figured out that I really didn't like surgery. Not only did I not enjoy the lifestyle but I figured out I didn't like working with my hands and was more of a thinker than a doer. So I eliminated surgery altogether.

Some of my friends didn't like GS either but it was mainly because of the type of cases. ENT, Uro, and Ortho are all pretty different than GS, especially depending on your exposure during your GS rotation.

 

[NAGNAM]

Not to be mean-- honestly, though it will 100% sound that way-- but saying you want to "capitalize on your current stock" makes you sound like a douche.

 

[JustSomePreMed]

Not to be mean-- honestly, though it will 100% sound that way-- but saying you want to "capitalize on your current stock" makes you sound like a douche.

Doesn't bother me. You're entitled to your opinion. I happen to think it's entirely reasonable to want to be rewarded for my hard work up to this point. Having busted my ass and sacrificed a lot to get solid grades and a solid Step I score, I'd like to see it pay off. As it stands right now, I'm a pretty strong applicant for most areas. Since I don't know how to work a crystal ball, there's no telling how this may change - if at all - a couple years down the line were I to decide to go the IM route and then hang my hopes on obtaining a GI fellowship.

Other people I know who are in similar standing tend to share the same attitude . . . namely, that it would really be great to be able to obtain a great residency in something by virtue of their/my recent academic success. I have been very honest with myself, and feel that this is important to me. Others - like you - may disagree. And I'm perfectly ok with that.

 

[ShyRem]

I think you ought to seriously consider opthalmology. Hours are good, surgery minimal, pay pretty decent. And you can definitely "capitalize on your current stock" with that one.

 

[username456789]

I would rethink EM. You don't come out of med school with 'lightning-fast diagnostic skills', any more than you are come out of med school knowing how to take out a kidney or do a colonoscopy. It's something you learn through repetition and years of training. The lifestyle for EM is one of the best. Even as a resident you will only work 15ish days a month. Lots of procedural work and sick patients. The ability to make a real difference for some of your patients. For me the drawback was the frequent flyers/social work cases, but that is only a part of your job.

It sounds like you aren't really a surgeon. Anesthesia is also an excellent option. Look into it. Derm would be good, but even with a 250 it's a long shot starting now. If you decide that's what you want to do, it might be best to take a year off and do full time research in derm. Then you should be good to go. It's worth it to wait a year if derm is what you want to do for the next 30-40.

Yeah the overall package of EM is pretty attractive, and I think it's something I'd probably be interested in. You're right about obviously not coming out of med school with the necessary skill set to be a quick diagnostician. Definitely still considering it.

Derm is more sort of the kind of thing that if it wasn't going to be too much of a hassle to apply for it, I'd probably do it. But as you said, I'm pretty late in the game and would likely have to take time off for research and such, and when it comes down to it, it's not the kind of thing I have a burning passion for.

So you didn't like the lifestyle of surgery but did you enjoy spending time in the OR? You said you didn't enjoy your surgery rotation, what were the particular reasons? Some reasons could eliminate all surgical fields while others could only eliminate GSurg.

I entered med school thinking ortho as well but when I was finished with my GS rotation I figured out that I really didn't like surgery. Not only did I not enjoy the lifestyle but I figured out I didn't like working with my hands and was more of a thinker than a doer. So I eliminated surgery altogether.

Some of my friends didn't like GS either but it was mainly because of the type of cases. ENT, Uro, and Ortho are all pretty different than GS, especially depending on your exposure during your GS rotation.

Spending time in the OR wasn't bad. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about my surgery rotation, but I think a lot of it has to do with the uncertainty of the schedule as a surgeon, as well as the overall attitudes/interactions with the residents and some attendings. None that were particularly malignant, just the general atmosphere of "I'm being **** on from above, so let me **** on those below me" that trickles down from the top to the bottom. Much more so than my medicine clerkship.

I think you ought to seriously consider opthalmology. Hours are good, surgery minimal, pay pretty decent. And you can definitely "capitalize on your current stock" with that one.

This might sound silly, but I think that although ophtho sounds like a great specialty, and the eye really interests me, I also tend to get a little squeamish with eye stuff (it's the only thing I have trouble with . . . I have no problem watching any other part of the body be cut and splayed open, poked, prodded, etc . . . but the eye gives me the heebie jeebies sometimes). I wouldn't totally rule it out, but the early match makes things even more difficult for me at this point.

 

[2012mdc]

Yeah the overall package of EM is pretty attractive, and I think it's something I'd probably be interested in. You're right about obviously not coming out of med school with the necessary skill set to be a quick diagnostician. Definitely still considering it.

Derm is more sort of the kind of thing that if it wasn't going to be too much of a hassle to apply for it, I'd probably do it. But as you said, I'm pretty late in the game and would likely have to take time off for research and such, and when it comes down to it, it's not the kind of thing I have a burning passion for.






Spending time in the OR wasn't bad. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about my surgery rotation, but I think a lot of it has to do with the uncertainty of the schedule as a surgeon, as well as the overall attitudes/interactions with the residents and some attendings. None that were particularly malignant, just the general atmosphere of "I'm being **** on from above, so let me **** on those below me" that trickles down from the top to the bottom. Much more so than my medicine clerkship.





This might sound silly, but I think that although ophtho sounds like a great specialty, and the eye really interests me, I also tend to get a little squeamish with eye stuff (it's the only thing I have trouble with . . . I have no problem watching any other part of the body be cut and splayed open, poked, prodded, etc . . . but the eye gives me the heebie jeebies sometimes). I wouldn't totally rule it out, but the early match makes things even more difficult for me at this point.

I haven't had a ton of exposure to the fields but the personalities in ENT and Uro seem to be quite different than GS and post-residency the schedules can be a lot better. Based on your response I wouldn't rule those out. Also, GS gets a bad rap but there can be malignant folks in every specialty

 

[Arthroscope]

Whats wrong with capitalizing on current stock? this person got a >250 on boards and has alot of honors. Sounds like you were doing something right, nothing wrong with that.


Optho- solid choice with a 'surgical' component, and clinic like hours.

Rad onc- would need to get involved with research now, but very intellectual, pays great, hours are really nice, and do various procedures with brachytherapy.

IM/cards/EP - Im and cards residency might be alot of hours , but EP attendings arent getting cremated with call like interventionalists, they also do alot of procedures.

Anes/PMR to pain - life not too horrible in residency, pain has great hours and pay but need the personality for the patients.

ENT to Neurotology - like neurosurgery-lite, ENT residency lots of hours, but most neurotologists have pretty good hours with mostly daytime schedulable surgeries.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Thanks guys, very helpful so far. I appreciate the commiserating.

It's not that I don't like derm, it's just that I haven't had much exposure to it. Also, I feel like people who go into derm basically hit the ground running from day 1 of first year of med school with research and networking with the derm people. I have zero derm connections and of course no derm publications or research. Which is what makes me worry about trying for that.

I had thought about anesthesiology too . . . in fact, I was looking at that and rads in the same light, sort of. Pay well, decent hours, "specialized" residency*, etc. I guess I'm just not sure I'd find it terribly interesting (but again, I only got one week of anesthesiology exposure during my surgical clerkship this year). We get zero electives in third year, so I haven't been able to do actual electives in any of these fields.

As for neuro/psych, I'm really not that into either of those I don't think. PM&R is something I may consider, although I know very little about it to be honest. I realize that seems to be a common theme here. It's not that I'm totally clueless about these specialties, it's just that I guess I'm having trouble really pin pointing what it is I want. I feel like I'm still sitting around waiting for some perfect specialty that I've never heard of to suddenly appear.


*to clarify for ShyRem, I basically meant that I'd love to be able to apply for a residency that is sort of already a "subspecialty", such as ortho or urology vs. general surgery if I was surgically inclined, or dermatology vs. GI via IM. I don't see myself as an IM doc/hospitalist, or family doc, or peds, so basically yeah I would like to "specialize" I suppose.

Hokay. So you don't want to be a surgeon, which means you're medicine-ish. And you don't like rads, which means you probably won't like path.

I think you might like an IM-subspecialty, EM, derm, or rad onc.

I sort of get tired of people saying that derm is impossible, and that all candidates have been getting ready since elementary school. Nonsense. The average Step 1 is something like 245, which means that lots of people got lower than that. I would try it out, see if you like it, and then go from there.

 

[JustSomePreMed]

Hokay. So you don't want to be a surgeon, which means you're medicine-ish. And you don't like rads, which means you probably won't like path.

I think you might like an IM-subspecialty, EM, derm, or rad onc.

I sort of get tired of people saying that derm is impossible, and that all candidates have been getting ready since elementary school. Nonsense. The average Step 1 is something like 245, which means that lots of people got lower than that. I would try it out, see if you like it, and then go from there.

That's a pretty good analysis/summation, I would say. And it gets down to the heart of what I'm finding I want to apply for, which is derm or possibly EM. I really do think I'd enjoy derm, I guess the whole "super competitive" thing has scared me away thus far. It's hard after reading the derm subforum and seeing all the 270/AOA/PhD people posting about their match and such. It's an intimidating arena.

I'm scheduling an appointment to speak with a head of the dermatology program to look into this further.

 

[cpants]

Hokay. So you don't want to be a surgeon, which means you're medicine-ish. And you don't like rads, which means you probably won't like path.

I think you might like an IM-subspecialty, EM, derm, or rad onc.

I sort of get tired of people saying that derm is impossible, and that all candidates have been getting ready since elementary school. Nonsense. The average Step 1 is something like 245, which means that lots of people got lower than that. I would try it out, see if you like it, and then go from there.

Sorry you are tired about people saying how tough derm is, but it is not that easy to match to derm, even with a 250. Some statistics from the 2009 match to illustrate the point:

The probability of matching with a step one of 250 was only about 80%. So you may say great, he has an 80% chance of matching. He should go for it. But wait, let's look at the publication data. The OP only has one publication, not in derm, and it hasn't even been published yet. In the 2009 match 80% of matched US seniors had 2 or more publications, and more than 50% had 5 or more publications.Well over half of matched US seniors were AOA. He has high passed all clinicals. Furthermore, he states that he has no contacts in derm at this point. This is from 2 years ago, and all indications are that the match is getting more difficult. In the OP's situation, why wouldn't he fall into the 20% of 250-ers who do not match?

To the OP, you are doing the right thing by talking to the derm chair. He will be able to tell you how competitive you are and give you some good advice, maybe even get you set up with some derm research. If you decide this is the route to go, be realistic. You may be fine. You may strongly benefit from a year of research to improve your application. Your step I score is there, and your grades are good enough. Make sure that you apply from a position of strength.

 

[drizzt3117]

If the data you have is from NRMP, that's 5 "research experiences" which isn't the same thing as publications.

Sorry you are tired about people saying how tough derm is, but it is not that easy to match to derm, even with a 250. Some statistics from the 2009 match to illustrate the point:

The probability of matching with a step one of 250 was only about 80%. So you may say great, he has an 80% chance of matching. He should go for it. But wait, let's look at the publication data. The OP only has one publication, not in derm, and it hasn't even been published yet. In the 2009 match 80% of matched US seniors had 2 or more publications, and more than 50% had 5 or more publications.Well over half of matched US seniors were AOA. He has high passed all clinicals. Furthermore, he states that he has no contacts in derm at this point. This is from 2 years ago, and all indications are that the match is getting more difficult. In the OP's situation, why wouldn't he fall into the 20% of 250-ers who do not match?

To the OP, you are doing the right thing by talking to the derm chair. He will be able to tell you how competitive you are and give you some good advice, maybe even get you set up with some derm research. If you decide this is the route to go, be realistic. You may be fine. You may strongly benefit from a year of research to improve your application. Your step I score is there, and your grades are good enough. Make sure that you apply from a position of strength.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Sorry you are tired about people saying how tough derm is, but it is not that easy to match to derm, even with a 250. Some statistics from the 2009 match to illustrate the point:

The probability of matching with a step one of 250 was only about 80%. So you may say great, he has an 80% chance of matching. He should go for it. But wait, let's look at the publication data. The OP only has one publication, not in derm, and it hasn't even been published yet. In the 2009 match 80% of matched US seniors had 2 or more publications, and more than 50% had 5 or more publications.Well over half of matched US seniors were AOA. He has high passed all clinicals. Furthermore, he states that he has no contacts in derm at this point. This is from 2 years ago, and all indications are that the match is getting more difficult. In the OP's situation, why wouldn't he fall into the 20% of 250-ers who do not match?

Because if I listened to the people who said I couldn't do derm, I wouldn't be here. SDN definitely overstates how hard it is to get accepted anywhere, whether it's into medical school or residency.

To the OP: If you want it, you can get it. It might take an extra year or research if you're willing to do that, and you should definitely have a backup plan, but it's not impossible. You just need to show passion, as so many applicants just have the numbers.

 

[cpants]

If the data you have is from NRMP, that's 5 "research experiences" which isn't the same thing as publications.

Incorrect. Check it again. More than 50% (n=150) have 5+ abstracts, presentations, and publications. The vast majority have fewer than 5 experiences.

Because if I listened to the people who said I couldn't do derm, I wouldn't be here. SDN definitely overstates how hard it is to get accepted anywhere, whether it's into medical school or residency.

To the OP: If you want it, you can get it. It might take an extra year or research if you're willing to do that, and you should definitely have a backup plan, but it's not impossible. You just need to show passion, as so many applicants just have the numbers.

Good for you. However, I'm sure that the reason you matched is not because you ignored advice and applied, but because you took advice to make yourself a more competitive applicant. Derm is extremely difficult to match into. Just because you beat the odds doesn't make that fact less true.

No one is saying the OP doesn't have a chance at derm. The recommendation is to seek out expert advice and make sure to submit a strong application.