I wish somebody had told me that!!!!!!

[soonerfan77]

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I'm starting med school in the fall, and I have my heart set on Cardiology. Excuse the pun.🙄

Is there any advice that you might have for me, maybe something you wish somebody had told you. I'm just trying to give the best effort to make my dreams come true, and who better to ask for advice than those who are currently headed on the same path.

Thanx for all the help.
😎

THE University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Class of 2011

 

[H_Caulfield]

My advice is to first have your heart set on internal medicine, since that's what you'll be doing for the next 7 years if you want cardiology. The way I understand it, your chances of landing a cardiology fellowship are somewhat dependent upon being at a decent IM program. Do tons of research in the IM specialties (I've done some rheum, nephrology, cardiology etc.) and show that you're not two-dimensional (e.g. NOT totally set on cardiology without ever having experienced it).

USMLE is pretty important too.

 

[dadof2]

Do well in medical school. Your class ranking WILL matter. AOA if possible. Get involved with a research project while in medical school. USMLE sores are very important (step 1>2>3). These things will help you obtain a good medicine residency. When looking for a residency program pay attention to their outcomes data (where the residents go for fellowship). While in residency do well clinically and complete an academic project prior to starting your cardiology application. This will help with getting strong letters. If you do these things you will be very competitive for a cardiology fellowship. Don't let anyone get in the way of your dreams!

 

[heartdoc345]

Another point - the majority of fellowship programs prefer to take residents from academic medical centers. This is primarily a function of "who you know" since you will be able to get letters from people who are familiar with other important people. However, there are a few programs that snobbishly do not consider residents from community programs, since there is a pervasive (not necessarily correct) mindset that community programs take less-academically-able residents or residents who don't want to work as hard.

Also, an academic program will give you more access to research and sicker patients to learn from.

 

[black sea]

I wonder, if anybody knows how can I get a list of cardiology research
fellowship?