How competitive is Ophthalmology?

[KaratCake]

Got to shadow some Ophthalmologists at my school and found it pretty interesting. I've always heard it's an incredibly tough specialty to match into, but don't really envision what that entails. I'm hoping to match into California for it. Would just that fact alone warrant a research year for a middle-of-the-road student? What are some good ways to stand out when trying to match into competitive specialties in competitive states? Thanks!

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[frosted2]

What year are you in medical school? Good grades, good LORs/connections since Step 1 is now P/F, AOA, research (preferably in ophthalmology) good audition rotation/Sub-I in ophthalmology.

 

[KaratCake]

What year are you in medical school? Good grades, good LORs/connections since Step 1 is now P/F, AOA, research (preferably in ophthalmology) good audition rotation/Sub-I in ophthalmology.

M2, we have a P/F preclinical system but it factors partially into our MSPE. I'm hitting around the average, so not fantastic but not bad (likely not getting AOA for preclin). Only got started in research late M1, have not done rotations yet/built connections/LORs. I am involved with a few groups on campus (interest societies, clinics, clubs, etc.).

 

[Goro]

Got to shadow some Ophthalmologists at my school and found it pretty interesting. I've always heard it's an incredibly tough specialty to match into, but don't really envision what that entails.

Your heard correctly.

Publish papers in the field, do audition rotations, get good evals and letters, and network, network, network.

Oh year. Get high Step scores.

 

[operaman]

Yeah Ophtho has a wild card in the new meta. They have traditionally been an earlier match so will be interesting to see if that changes in order to let applicants have time to take the scored step 2.

Aside from that, as Goro said you want to be the best student you can possibly be. Your home program is always your best bet for a spot, so get involved and be a superstar they all want to train. Not only does this give you a spot to match, but it means all your letters and phone calls will be better and reflect the fact your home program loves you.

As an average student you definitely have a shot at matching, but your chances would be boosted if you have any bandwidth to step up your game moving forward. Try hard to honor all your clinical rotations, especially the big ones. Get some Ophtho research cooking ASAP. Continue shadowing as you’re able. Figure out when departmental meetings like grand rounds and whatnot are and if you can attend (usually students are welcome at such things). Become a familiar face that everyone likes to see.

Matching to California can be tricky in small competitive fields simply because there are fewer slots. If you’re from California and currently in Med school there, then you have a good shot. If you have minimal connections and are in a southeastern Med school, you’ve got some work to do. Every program wants to limit interviews to people who really want to come there, so there are big regional biases that come into play when deciding who on the short list gets an interview. Doing aways out there is a good way to improve your chances.

 

[collegestud2013]

It's at the top of competitiveness. Unless you're from a top med school or unranked med school, you should be within the top half of the class. The typical successful applicant has quite a bit of research so a research year may be necessary if your school does not allow enough dedicated research or you find that you're not as productive with your research without the research. As mentioned above, if you have a home ophtho program that's ideal and it will be slightly harder if you don't have a home program. Since Step 2 will likely replace Step 1 as the primary standardized objective measure screen residency applicants, If possible I wouldn't commit to the research year until you get your Step 2 score back and make sure it's competitive for ophtho, though depending on when your school lets you take Step 2 this may be hard to do. The last thing you want is to find out last minute that your Step 2 score is lower than what your practice scores predicted (and uncertain for ophtho) and have to switch specialties but you already committed to a research year.

 

[KaratCake]

Yeah Ophtho has a wild card in the new meta. They have traditionally been an earlier match so will be interesting to see if that changes in order to let applicants have time to take the scored step 2.

Aside from that, as Goro said you want to be the best student you can possibly be. Your home program is always your best bet for a spot, so get involved and be a superstar they all want to train. Not only does this give you a spot to match, but it means all your letters and phone calls will be better and reflect the fact your home program loves you.

As an average student you definitely have a shot at matching, but your chances would be boosted if you have any bandwidth to step up your game moving forward. Try hard to honor all your clinical rotations, especially the big ones. Get some Ophtho research cooking ASAP. Continue shadowing as you’re able. Figure out when departmental meetings like grand rounds and whatnot are and if you can attend (usually students are welcome at such things). Become a familiar face that everyone likes to see.

Matching to California can be tricky in small competitive fields simply because there are fewer slots. If you’re from California and currently in Med school there, then you have a good shot. If you have minimal connections and are in a southeastern Med school, you’ve got some work to do. Every program wants to limit interviews to people who really want to come there, so there are big regional biases that come into play when deciding who on the short list gets an interview. Doing aways out there is a good way to improve your chances.

It's at the top of competitiveness. Unless you're from a top med school or unranked med school, you should be within the top half of the class. The typical successful applicant has quite a bit of research so a research year may be necessary if your school does not allow enough dedicated research or you find that you're not as productive with your research without the research. As mentioned above, if you have a home ophtho program that's ideal and it will be slightly harder if you don't have a home program. Since Step 2 will likely replace Step 1 as the primary standardized objective measure screen residency applicants, If possible I wouldn't commit to the research year until you get your Step 2 score back and make sure it's competitive for ophtho, though depending on when your school lets you take Step 2 this may be hard to do. The last thing you want is to find out last minute that your Step 2 score is lower than what your practice scores predicted (and uncertain for ophtho) and have to switch specialties but you already committed to a research year.

I'm from California, but am attending a decent east coast medical school (not top tier by any means). I believe we are ranked, however those who do around average/slightly above or below average get grouped in the same ranking to my understanding (so if I'm in the top half by a little, it wouldn't exactly show). We have a solid home ophtho program which should help. Step 2 timing should be interesting for my cohort and onwards; personally don't want to do a research year, but from the sounds of it a typical student like me will need one to match into ophthalmology in California (please don't quote this post, thank you!).

 

[operaman]

I guess a big question would be how hard you’re working now relative to what you could potentially do. If you’re working at the very edge of your abilities and barely hitting average, then a research year may be necessary to both keep your grades up and build a strong app. If you can up the ante and really shine on clinical rotations, get some good publications, and do well on step 2 then you may not need the research year.

If you can honor all of your clerkships, then that’s a sign you may be able to do a few aways and really shine. I had a classmate who wanted to do ENT in a very specific location for family reasons, so he did 4 aways to hit every institution there and ended up matching to one. Aways can be iffy because most students do not distinguish themselves and many outright sabotage their chances, but if you’re really solid clinically it can give you a foot in the door.

Another thought - if you do need a research year, you might be able to do it at a program in California. Really your biggest obstacle to matching west coast is your school being on the East coast. Plenty of people overcome that every year, but it does take some additional effort to do the aways, make connections, write specific personal statements, and get mentors to make phone calls for you.

 

[Phloston]

Got to shadow some Ophthalmologists at my school and found it pretty interesting. I've always heard it's an incredibly tough specialty to match into, but don't really envision what that entails. I'm hoping to match into California for it. Would just that fact alone warrant a research year for a middle-of-the-road student? What are some good ways to stand out when trying to match into competitive specialties in competitive states? Thanks!

You don't need a research year. Just get good USMLE scores. The only thing people look at is numbers. 260s + no research is better than 230s and research.

 

[Redpancreas]

Got to shadow some Ophthalmologists at my school and found it pretty interesting. I've always heard it's an incredibly tough specialty to match into, but don't really envision what that entails. I'm hoping to match into California for it. Would just that fact alone warrant a research year for a middle-of-the-road student? What are some good ways to stand out when trying to match into competitive specialties in competitive states? Thanks!

You’ll need an above average Step 2CK score, honors in as many 3rd year rotations, good audition feedback, and some research in the field. All of that’s possible but it’s tough (for anyone).