if you don't match?

[eamd0619]

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in general, what do you do if you don't match? what options are there after 1 year of transitional/prelim year?

also, can you scramble for ANY open residency spot even if you didn't originally apply for that particular residency? i ask because i've read somewhere that someone who applied to derm that didn't match was able to scramble into an unfilled radiology program.

 

[Winged Scapula]

in general, what do you do if you don't match? what options are there after 1 year of transitional/prelim year?

Your options are:

1) reenter the match
2) find a position outside the match (because as an Independent candidate you can sign outside of the match)
3) consider another career

Most people do either 1 or 2, although there are some proponents for number 3, especially if you have failed to match several years in a row.

also, can you scramble for ANY open residency spot even if you didn't originally apply for that particular residency? i ask because i've read somewhere that someone who applied to derm that didn't match was able to scramble into an unfilled radiology program.

Yep. There are no restrictions on what you can scramble into. Of course, you may be questioned about your interest in that particular field (I would find it hard to stretch from Derm to Rads, but obviously that person had whatever the program was looking for) if you originally applied for a totally different specialty, but there are no rules against it.

 

[mlw03]

after 1 year of internship i think some states allow you to apply for full licensure and practice as a general practitioner. however i've also heard most insurance companies won't want to deal with you without completing a residency in something.

 

[Winged Scapula]

after 1 year of internship i think some states allow you to apply for full licensure and practice as a general practitioner. however i've also heard most insurance companies won't want to deal with you without completing a residency in something.

I didn't include that as an option because for most, it is not an option. If you choose a cash only, boutique practice then technically you can work as soon as you have a license. But as you note, more and more insurance companies, including Medicare, are refusing payment to non-Board Eligible (and in some cases non-BC) physicians. Therefore, without finishing a residency, your options for a successful practice as physician will be limited.

 

[lsres]

Your options are:

1) reenter the match
2) find a position outside the match (because as an Independent candidate you can sign outside of the match)
3) consider another career

Most people do either 1 or 2, although there are some proponents for number 3, especially if you have failed to match several years in a row.



Yep. There are no restrictions on what you can scramble into. Of course, you may be questioned about your interest in that particular field (I would find it hard to stretch from Derm to Rads, but obviously that person had whatever the program was looking for) if you originally applied for a totally different specialty, but there are no rules against it.

As far as option 3, it seems the options are limited. If you are 250K or more in debt from med school loans and have failed to match two years in row like myself you start to get nervous. I have volunteered and worked with local doctors, am now completing an observership near my hometown, and am not sure what else I can do.

 

[Blade28]

You're trying to match in what field?

Observership? Nothing else?

 

[mlw03]

As far as option 3, it seems the options are limited. If you are 250K or more in debt from med school loans and have failed to match two years in row like myself you start to get nervous. I have volunteered and worked with local doctors, am now completing an observership near my hometown, and am not sure what else I can do.

are you only applying to a small number of programs in a competitive specialty? if you're willing to do one of the big 3 primary care fields and you've passed step 1 and step 2, then you should probably be able to match somewhere. it may not be a desireable program or location, but it would it be a means to an end, the end being you could move wherever you want and practice primary care, and make a decent living.

please consider providing a little more information, which will allow us to understand your situation better and give you more focused advice.

 

[lsres]

please consider providing a little more information, which will allow us to understand your situation better and give you more focused advice.

I have passed all three steps with an average score on step 1 and below average on steps 2 and 3. My clinical rotations went well where I got good references and have applied to primary care residencies. What has hurt me? I went to an offshore school, though one of the better ones, and was forced to resign from a FM program near the beginning of my first year.

 

[Blade28]

I have passed all three steps with an average score on step 1 and below average on steps 2 and 3. My clinical rotations went well where I got good references and have applied to primary care residencies. What has hurt me? I went to an offshore school, though one of the better ones, and was forced to resign from a FM program near the beginning of my first year.

IMHO, those are probably the red flags to Program Directors...

(1) Below average Step 2 CK
(2) FMG
(3) Did not complete FP internship

 

[Faebinder]

IMHO, those are probably the red flags to Program Directors...

(1) Below average Step 2 CK
(2) FMG
(3) Did not complete FP internship

Ya, but he/she knows that. $250k loans from med school is nothing to laugh at. Residency matching has changed a lot since the 90s. Thanks to the clintons that capped them and the war that drains public money. Everything has become competitive now. Perhaps it will change after the next year elections.