How does one stand out in the anesthesia match now that step 1 is probably pass/fail and summer research plans are shot this year?

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Step 2 is going to become more important. Take it earlier and do well.

Depending on the “tier” of your medical school, an away rotation may help you punch a bit higher than your weight. I’ve written a lot about away rotations in the past, and in general don’t think they are terribly helpful, but if you have a dream program it might be worth a shot.
 
crush step 2. Get honors when possible. Stay professional/no red flags. You will be fine. When step 2 goes pass/ fail, then it gets interesting...
 
Are you an M1 now? class of 2023 will have numerical step. Anesthesia doesn’t require a ton of research, look at charting outcomes.
 
I had 0 research and didn't have any issues. I even had interviews at relatively research heavy programs.

Just do average on Step 1 and don't be a weirdo, assuming you're USMD.
 
Step 2 will just become the new Step 1, so take Step 2 a little earlier to make sure programs see it, and get a 250+.
 
For those saying to take step 2 early, what month is ideal? C/O 2023 is going to have a numerical score, but what hasn't been decided at this point is whether or not that numerical score will be reported on ERAS, and there is a lot of bluster about how it would be "unfair to this group or that group" if some applicants have a score and some don't (for example, Baylor doesn't take Step 1 until 3rd year, so they wouldn't have a score on ERAS).
 
esob said:
For those saying to take step 2 early, what month is ideal? C/O 2023 is going to have a numerical score, but what hasn't been decided at this point is whether or not that numerical score will be reported on ERAS, and there is a lot of bluster about how it would be "unfair to this group or that group" if some applicants have a score and some don't (for example, Baylor doesn't take Step 1 until 3rd year, so they wouldn't have a score on ERAS).
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What is going to stop Med Students from self reporting their Step 1 scores? I think those students that do well will manage to get those scores to Program Directors one way or the other.

Med Students are very creative and a high Step 1 score will make its way to the Programs. Those without Step 1 will need to crush Step 2. Don't hate the player hate the game.
 
BLADEMDA said:
What is going to stop Med Students from self reporting their Step 1 scores? I think those students that do well will manage to get those scores to Program Directors one way or the other.

Med Students are very creative and a high Step 1 score will make its way to the Programs. Those without Step 1 will need to crush Step 2. Don't hate the player hate the game.
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I had actually thought about that. I'm sure there will be some gunners who start their personal essay with "I knew I wanted to be an anesthesiologist the day I got my 270 back" 😀 However, our AAMC rep has said that they have gotten a lot of feedback from PD's that in order to avoid going into the match for the C/O 2024 blind, they were planning on NOT using our Step scores and picking applicants without using them and then prior to the following year's match they would evaluate if their new system yielded favorable residents.

So, even if we do have our scores reported, there is at least some number of programs that won't look at it, hence the reason I am want to prioritize my timeline to maximize my step 2 score.
 
Now that Step 1 is Pass/Fail (after Jan 2022) Med Schools are going to revamp their curriculum so students have time to study for Step 2 over the summer.
This means that clinicals will likely start earlier in Med School while the science portion gets condensed. Ideally, you want 6 weeks of study time for Step 2 so Med Schools will be building in that time during the end of the 3rd year but prior to 4th year.

I'm sure that the schools have been discussing this as they create the schedule for the Class of 2024.
 
esob said:
For those saying to take step 2 early, what month is ideal? C/O 2023 is going to have a numerical score, but what hasn't been decided at this point is whether or not that numerical score will be reported on ERAS, and there is a lot of bluster about how it would be "unfair to this group or that group" if some applicants have a score and some don't (for example, Baylor doesn't take Step 1 until 3rd year, so they wouldn't have a score on ERAS).
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Save the pdf of your score report. Put the number on your CV if it’s good. People have been hyper focused on them for years. Even if they’re not supposed to, they’re still going to likely think a 240+ is better than a “P”.

Also, while it might be “unfair” to one group or another, I doubt the competence of the nbme to do anything about it.
 
Some Med Students are posting on Blogs that ERAS won't allow self-reporting of your Step 1 score. Really? How can anyone tell you it is "illegal" to post a score that you earned on an exam on your own CV? I would expect legal challenges and lawsuits to any such policy. If you earned the score you can report it. Now, Residency Programs may request the score not be included in your application. But, I don't see most programs really adhering to any such rule. They want the best candidates so if a student has a 250 Step 1 score I doubt the program will hold that against them.

In addition, most med students in the Class of 2023 are planning on taking Step 2 prior to interview season. This means the Step 2 scores will be available to program directors to use as a screen. I suspect Step 2 and/or Step 1 will be the new standard for most specialties. The Class of 2023 will have Step 1 and 2 scores while the Class of 2024 and later will just have Step 2 scores.
 
Research and test scores do not make good anesthesiologist. Good skills and knowledge make good anesthesiologist. Residency will know the difference. Good luck and stay safe!
 
BLADEMDA said:
Now that Step 1 is Pass/Fail (after Jan 2022) Med Schools are going to revamp their curriculum so students have time to study for Step 2 over the summer.
This means that clinicals will likely start earlier in Med School while the science portion gets condensed. Ideally, you want 6 weeks of study time for Step 2 so Med Schools will be building in that time during the end of the 3rd year but prior to 4th year.

I'm sure that the schools have been discussing this as they create the schedule for the Class of 2024.
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Joke's on them, obviously Step 2 will be changed to P/F next. 🙂
 
Aways and letters from good academic programs will do more than anything else.
 
habibimarwan said:
Research and test scores do not make good anesthesiologist. Good skills and knowledge make good anesthesiologist. Residency will know the difference. Good luck and stay safe!
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The thing is, research and test scores actually do correlate with hard working intelligent people. On the whole, these kind of people make better anesthesiologists. Obviously a person's Step 1 score does not have the final say in their professional success or whether their kids make the honor roll.

In the absence of other objective data points or correctly-coded LORs from persons that PDs know personally, the answer to your assertion that residencies will know the difference is really a resounding NO. Residencies won't know the difference, until it's too late and they've already committed to someone who barely P'd but who was able to get through an interview without throwing up on their own shoes.

I'm not saying that the USMLE is a great exam. It's not. It's terrible. But people who do well on it, despite how terrible it is, have demonstrated a few things - intelligence, commitment, willingness to devote long hard work to something that they don't really want to do. It's naive to think the USMLE Step 1 score means nothing - every PD in the country knows this and that's why you won't find any that are pleased about this change.


This is a classic, classic example of how people should be careful what they wish for. Change for the sake of change, without a better plan. Med students have been griping about how dumb the USMLE Step 1 is and how it has such an outsized effect on their matching prospects. Congrats guys, you got rid of it. Now the things that will have an outsized effect on your matching prospects are going to be, drum roll please, a few minutes of interview interactions and perhaps your schmoozing skills to get an LOR you won't be able to read before sending it to programs. At least with Step 1 your fate was entirely in your hands.
 
habibimarwan said:
Research and test scores do not make good anesthesiologist. Good skills and knowledge make good anesthesiologist. Residency will know the difference. Good luck and stay safe!
Click to expand...

i have yet to meet a strong resident with low ITE score. Low score means they lack strong foundation because they do not read, and those residents also tend to be the lazy ones that just do the bare minimum.
 
Step scores simply opened doors at some places that may of not looked at you otherwise.
Really its the words from academic clinicians that had a chance to actually see you work, writing something meaningful and unique on your behalf that will secure you a job.
Outside of that your personal statement that is well written and thoughtful.
And then being a good interviewer.

The fact that step scores aren't a factor so much except step 2. Just means the first hurdle will be your personal statement and then 2nd hurdle will be your LOR, ideally from a very good away.
 
Employers may begin to realize that pass/fail scores were invented to hide the failure of affirmative action, meaning that many underperformers admitted to medical school based on subjective criteria keep underperforming (no surprises here). Hence the pass/fail grading spreading like cancer in medical schools, and now on Step 1. That's what the obsession with equality of outcomes does to quality.

Known minorities will have to work even harder to stand out, because people may assume that they are underperformers anyway (that's not bigotry, just a logical consequence of all the help they get), and God forbid that the only score on that resume confirms that.

Just my 2 cents.
 
JiPo said:
i have yet to meet a strong resident with low ITE score. Low score means they lack strong foundation because they do not read, and those residents also tend to be the lazy ones that just do the bare minimum.
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I have yet to meet a strong resident with low Step scores. 😉

Overachievers tend to keep overachieving, and the opposite. It's like with every other good/bad habit in life; studying is no different. People who read every day are different from people who study only when they have a test. People who are intellectually curious have a deeper knowledge well than people who study "for the test", mostly from question banks. Etc.
 
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habibimarwan said:
Research and test scores do not make good anesthesiologist. Good skills and knowledge make good anesthesiologist. Residency will know the difference. Good luck and stay safe!
Click to expand...
Where do you think those test scores came from? Santa Claus? Or good knowledge?

Underperformers keep underperforming, for the simple reason that one cannot plug during residency the holes one has had for years. There is no time for that. Those people will keep struggling to keep up, hiding their incompetence under social niceties, like a demented person.

I've seen it again and again, ignorant physicians who are glorified nurse practitioners, because they lack essential knowledge to fall back on. Those are the knee-jerk, the protocol people (i.e. easily replaceable with midlevels). Residency is not the time to learn basic physiology or pathology or pharmacology. Or physics.

Unfortunately, anesthesia is a monkey see-monkey do specialty, where professional knowledge doesn't matter that much, hence the midlevel encroachment. But put the same person in a critical care position, and the knowledge level stands out. Same for internal medicine, EM etc.
 
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FFP said:
Where do you think those test scores came from? Santa Claus? Or good knowledge?

Underperformers keep underperforming, for the simple reason that one cannot plug during residency the holes one has had for years. There is no time for that. Those people will keep struggling to keep up, hiding their incompetence under social niceties, like a demented person.

I've seen it again and again, ignorant physicians who are glorified nurse practitioners, because they lack essential knowledge to fall back on. Those are the knee-jerk, the protocol people (i.e. easily replaceable with midlevels). Residency is not the time to learn basic physiology or pathology or pharmacology. Or physics.

Unfortunately, anesthesia is a monkey see-monkey do specialty, where professional knowledge doesn't matter that much, hence the midlevel encroachment. But put the same person in a critical care position, and the knowledge level stands out. Same for internal medicine, EM etc.
Click to expand...

It’s very interesting to read others' opinions on this. I work in the UK - where many medical schools are now referred to as “GP factories” (primary care physician factories).

The lack of basic medical knowledge amongst some junior doctors I have met is shocking.

I remember one doctor telling me they never studied pathology in medical school, because they could scrape a pass doing reasonably well on the other topics…

I used to teach medical sciences to first year students at my old medical school. A colleague recently told me too many students were failing the anatomy exams (spot tests on pro-sections and cadavers) so they got rid of the exams! Students are now no longer tested on musculoskeletal and neuroanatomy.

Preparation for some medical school final exams now just involves learning treatment protocols/guidelines.

No wonder even in internal medicine over here we now have “advanced clinical practitioners” (previously known as NPs, then ANPs now they’ve done away with the nurse bit…).

I like the USMLEs - They set a good standard.
 
ugm12 said:
No wonder even in internal medicine over here we now have “advanced clinical practitioners” (previously known as NPs, then ANPs now they’ve done away with the nurse bit…).

I like the USMLEs - They set a good standard.
Click to expand...

Lol "advanced clinical practioner" is just a synonym for a mf'ing physician. Gotta love the English language
 
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