I need help please

Started by Medstudentquest
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Medstudentquest said:
do you think i should try to find a prelim spot? i don't want to just go anywhere or do anything but still not sure if anything can open up in a normal area in a decent program.
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i think you sould pursue both finding a prelim spot and finding a derm research position. that way, if something comes up, you can decide what is best at that time. leave all the doors open, let the dust settle, etc.. this may take time but will work out.

i also think you should not be listening to advice from this board so much. your best bet is your derm PD or another derm faculty member. they know you, know your application, know your chances, and are much much more likely to know what is best for your situation than a bunch of complete strangers.
 
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Medstudentquest said:
the more i think about it, i kind of agree with you. i don't like FP and again, don't really like IM enough to do it for the rest of my life. and i don't think that going into a random, potentially not great program would be helpful for me. i'll definitely do step 2, finish mph, and see if i can get any type of research position.

i like psych as well, not as much as derm of course, but have done rotations in pysch and have letters as well. i just don't know how i would explain sitting out this match though, you know? i like anesthesia as well, but again, i don't have anesthesia letters or anything other than a required rotation at my school, so i'm not sure how i would go into it if i wanted to.
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You could definitely match into psych next year. I am 100% sure you would get in somewhere (US grad with good grades, etc. would be a shoe-in). You would need a LOR or two that are specific for psych. You could admit that you tried for derm this year but didn't get in, but that you are also enthusiastic about psych, etc. There are a lot of programs that would take you, and love to have you. The thing that would be tricky would be if you were still applying to derm and psych was truly your backup...you'd have to lie about it, or risk not getting ranked for psych. There are also psych PGY1 and PGY 2 positions that open up periodically, so switching into psych (after say, an IM prelim year or even a TY year) would not be that hard.

You could likely get into anesthesia next year. Again, you would need a LOR specific to anesthesia. I think you could explain the year off/not matching this year by either admitting that you tried for derm, and/or just saying you needed the extra year to finish the MPH, which you wanted to finish. People switch into anesthesia all the time from general surgery, or after doing a medicine prelim year, etc. so I don't think the programs would refuse to take you or something. What happened this year might make it harder to get into some of the very top level anesthesia programs, especially if they figure out anesthesia was not your first choice of specialty, but there are a ton of programs that would take a student like you. Word of warning: despite the cushy reputation it has among med students, anesthesia is actually a pretty stressful specialty. The hours are good, but stuff can hit the fan pretty fast (stressful and high lawsuit risk, etc.), and it can be physically demanding (lifting patients, intubating them, etc.). I have a couple of good friends who do anesthesia and they work for their $$$.
 
I'd agree this kind of "neediness" is a bit over the top. In the end, this is something that is best discussed with actual authorities: deans and program directors.

Not well-intentioned, anonymous strangers on the Internet.
 
asmallchild said:
I'd agree this kind of "neediness" is a bit over the top. In the end, this is something that is best discussed with actual authorities: deans and program directors.

Not well-intentioned, anonymous strangers on the Internet.
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Everyone has their own mechanisms for dealing with this kind of a stress. It is probably the OP's mechanism for letting off steam.
 
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