Help! - prep for the derm match?

[therealdeal555]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi,

I'm a first time poster, but I had a few questions and would appreciate any constructive advice anyone has. I'm a 3rd/soon to be 4th year and after having gone through a slew of possible career choices, I feel derm is still one of the better options for me in terms of having a good amount of patient care combined with a fair amount of pediatric involvement. However, since I haven't been all gung ho for derm to this point, I haven't been involved in any research for it (although I have done 2 summers in a basic science lab). Also, my school doesn't offer a derm residency. So what do you think I should do to plan my 4th year at this point--what aways would be an option, if any? My school does have a derm elective in the community, but I believe it's only for 2 weeks. Would it be better to take a year off and do some research? Any advice, much appreciated, thanks!

 

[porokeratosis]

Hi,

I'm a first time poster, but I had a few questions and would appreciate any constructive advice anyone has. I'm a 3rd/soon to be 4th year and after having gone through a slew of possible career choices, I feel derm is still one of the better options for me in terms of having a good amount of patient care combined with a fair amount of pediatric involvement. However, since I haven't been all gung ho for derm to this point, I haven't been involved in any research for it (although I have done 2 summers in a basic science lab). Also, my school doesn't offer a derm residency. So what do you think I should do to plan my 4th year at this point--what aways would be an option, if any? My school does have a derm elective in the community, but I believe it's only for 2 weeks. Would it be better to take a year off and do some research? Any advice, much appreciated, thanks!

How do you know Derm is for you? Have you done a Derm elective yet? If you truly enjoy it after a Derm elective, then I recommend you take a year off to do research at a place affiliated with a Derm residency program.

To increase your chances of acceptance in Derm, you should have great grades (AOA would be awesome!), outstanding USMLE scores, do research in the specialty, publish, work hard and impress attendings on elective Derm rotations, and get excellent letters of recommendations from Derm attendings. The competition for Derm is fierce. So the more "feathers in your cap", the better your chances.