How delayed r interview invites compared to other Specialities

[ml2001]

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Hello All:
I have applied to PM&R and was wondering how late do PM&R programs send out interview invites? So, far I have had 4 invites and 2 rejections. I have not heard back from the rest of the program. So, I emailed them all and some of them wrote back that they are still going through the application. However, I'm kinda getting concerned as I have only 4 interviews so far and my step scores are above national average and currently doing prelim medicine at a well reputed hospital. Could anyone shed some light into this matter? Thank you in advance.....

-ML

 

[evajaclynn]

So you are doing your prelim year right now? Are you taking a year off in between your prelim year and PM&R year? How many programs did you apply to?

I think some programs are waiting till closer to Nov 1st to respond, but am not entirely sure of the process. If you look at last years posts, some programs didn't start giving out interviews (at least to those on SDN) until late October, early November.

 

[Ludicolo]

Hello All:
I have applied to PM&R and was wondering how late do PM&R programs send out interview invites? So, far I have had 4 invites and 2 rejections. I have not heard back from the rest of the program. So, I emailed them all and some of them wrote back that they are still going through the application. However, I'm kinda getting concerned as I have only 4 interviews so far and my step scores are above national average and currently doing prelim medicine at a well reputed hospital. Could anyone shed some light into this matter? Thank you in advance.....

-ML

A few concerns:

You say are in prelim med now and are looking to do PM&R. Are you looking to start rehab residency July 2009? If so there are simply not as many spots available. If you are looking to start July 2010 then programs are going to want to know what you plan on doing for a year.

Did you apply to PM&R last year? Did you happen to match in some other advanced specialty (i.e. rads, anesthesia, derm) last year, and are now looking to switch? Or did you fail to match in one of those advanced specialties? You mention your above average scores, but as many people on this board have said before, PM&R isn’t just about scores. What is your motivation for pursuing PM&R? Have you done any rehab rotations, have any rehab LORs, etc?

If you tried applying to some advanced residency spots last year and failed to match, then honestly some programs are going to take a much closer look at your overall application. You may get some interview offers later than expected.

 

[ml2001]

A few concerns:

You say are in prelim med now and are looking to do PM&R. Are you looking to start rehab residency July 2009? If so there are simply not as many spots available. If you are looking to start July 2010 then programs are going to want to know what you plan on doing for a year.

Did you apply to PM&R last year? Did you happen to match in some other advanced specialty (i.e. rads, anesthesia, derm) last year, and are now looking to switch? Or did you fail to match in one of those advanced specialties? You mention your above average scores, but as many people on this board have said before, PM&R isn’t just about scores. What is your motivation for pursuing PM&R? Have you done any rehab rotations, have any rehab LORs, etc?

If you tried applying to some advanced residency spots last year and failed to match, then honestly some programs are going to take a much closer look at your overall application. You may get some interview offers later than expected.

Hi Ludi:

Thank you for your reply. I understand where you are coming from. I was undecided at that point last year. So, I applied to prelim positions and gained interest into PM&R after matching into a prelim spot. I know that score is not everything for PM&R, but I just mentioned about my score to let you guys know that my score is not bad. And as far as rehab rotations are concerned, I couldn't schedule it any earlier than Feb/2009 at my prelim program because of scheduling constraints. I have applied to a pretty good number of programs and have had 4 interviews and only 3 rejections so far. So, i was getting concerned. Again, thank you for your reply...

-ML

 

[Ludicolo]

I see. Simply late to the game.

Honestly, it will still be somewhat of an uphill climb for you. You are somewhat of a risk. You will need a stellar letter from your current prelim PD. A strong LOR from a rehab related field (ortho, neuro, rheum, etc,) may also be helpful. When you do your rehab rotation in Feb, you may want to mention to your attending about your situation, and maybe he/she can make some calls to the places where you interviewed on your behalf. It is reassuring to hear that you already have some interviews lined up. And, as mentioned before, November 1 seems to be a special date. But like I said, I get the feeling you may get some later interviews (possibly even from programs who rejected you - stranger things have happened), as some candidates start declining interviews and spots open up. You may want to keep January fairly open.

Good luck. Rock the interviews.

 

[Llenroc]

I got interviews throughout November and about halfway through December.