Incoming Med Student Interested in Pediatrics

[chronicangina]

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Hello!!

I'm an incoming URM M1 at a mid-tier MD school in a large metro area without a robust home pediatrics program but that has a good reputation overall. I am interested in getting a perspective on what I can do early to be a top applicant for a pediatrics residency. I don't necessarily need to be able to match into Boston children's or CHOP, however I want to be able to have those options on the table. I am 98% sure I want to do peds, it would take a lot to deter me from this career path. I've had numerous shadowing experiences as a pre-med in different areas of peds as well as done research in peds at a top institution and have loved every second of it. So I wanted to get some advice as to things that I could do early on to stand out as a peds applicant to top programs, especially since my Step 1 will be graded as P/F. I know there won't be a specific formula but any advice would be great. Thank you! If there is anything that you would need to know to make better suggestions please let me know! I appreciate any help.

 

[BabyDoc86]

Find a good mentor. Find a research project early on and present it/get it published before your residency application cycle. Still perform well on exams. Find some extracurricular that you really care about and throw yourself into it. Have a hobby that you are passionate about that you can talk about. Work hard. And most importantly, be nice! 😉

 

[Oso]

In addition to what BabyDoc mentioned, there are a ton of opportunities to do volunteer work with children. It's fun and shows a longitudinal commitment to kids/peds. Also, doing some shadowing as a preclinical med student would be a good way to get to know some of the peds faculty as well. We sometimes had M1-2's shadow during rounds. Still prioritize your studies during your first two years though, even if step will be pass fail.

Last thing I would say is still try to keep an open mind. I knew several people who said they were going to go into ortho or rads or anesthesia or peds or whatever every single day starting from orientation, but then they totally changed their minds after 3rd year rotations. A lot of people do go into the field they initially thought, but you'd be surprised at how many people completely change their minds from what they're thinking when they start school.

Best of luck!

 

[BabyDoc86]

Agreed with Oso, 75% of medical students change their minds about what field they will ultimately go into. I'm an outlier in that I went to med school to be a neonatologist and now I'm entering Neo fellowship. Don't be too surprised if you change your mind, but good job on already looking ahead!

 

[chronicangina]

Thanks so much! That was really helpful! I've had good experiences in peds and totally have loved them more than the experiences I've had in the adult side of medicine, but we'll see what happens! Thank you both for the insight, I just had a follow up, BabyDoc mentioned to do some research, how much research would be needed? I know there isn't a set number but maybe a ballpark approximation if you have one, I have an abstract in Peds anesthesia that was presented at a conference as well as have worked on multiple projects but haven't been able to actually get my name on a paper yet.

 

[NurWollen]

Agreed with Oso, 75% of medical students change their minds about what field they will ultimately go into. I'm an outlier in that I went to med school to be a neonatologist and now I'm entering Neo fellowship. Don't be too surprised if you change your mind, but good job on already looking ahead!

I think there are probably more of us in peds who went to med school dreaming of being a pediatrician, who ended up sticking with it, than there are in other specialties. But I'm not one of them. I had no idea I wanted to do peds when I started.

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[NurWollen]

In addition to what BabyDoc mentioned, there are a ton of opportunities to do volunteer work with children. It's fun and shows a longitudinal commitment to kids/peds. Also, doing some shadowing as a preclinical med student would be a good way to get to know some of the peds faculty as well. We sometimes had M1-2's shadow during rounds. Still prioritize your studies during your first two years though, even if step will be pass fail.

Last thing I would say is still try to keep an open mind. I knew several people who said they were going to go into ortho or rads or anesthesia or peds or whatever every single day starting from orientation, but then they totally changed their minds after 3rd year rotations. A lot of people do go into the field they initially thought, but you'd be surprised at how many people completely change their minds from what they're thinking when they start school.

Best of luck!

@OOP,

This is really good advice. Prepare for peds if you think you want to be a pediatrican, but be open to completely changing your mind during med school.

Sent from my SM-G930V using SDN mobile

 

[Oso]

I think there are probably more of us in peds who went to med school dreaming of being a pediatrician, who ended up sticking with it, than there are in other specialties. But I'm not one of them. I had no idea I wanted to do peds when I started.

Same, I actually thought peds would be "too sad", so from day one was saying "anything but surgery or peds". Intentionally scheduled peds as my last rotation of third year so I could explore everything else … but then realized it was awesome and now here I am

 

[smh343]

Find a fun longitudinal volunteer opportunity or two with kids as well as maybe a research project you're interested in. Since step 1 won't matter much, really practice and work on your clinical skills whenever you can, and take that seriously. Also, shadowing opportunities will be better/different as an actual med student, so continue that when you have time.

Peds has a lower rate of drop out than other specialties since it's not too competitive and has many options within it, but as everyone says, keep an open mind! Worst case scenario is you are even more confident in peds after considering others.

Good luck!

 

[mvenus929]

Just as a comment on intentions of specialty choice--I advise students regardless of what they want to do to go into rotations with the mentality that they have something worth learning during that rotation. Certainly if you're going into peds, IM may not be as interesting or you may not feel that it's relevant, but 1) You still have to pass Step 2 and Step 3, and 2) something you learn in that rotation is going to be important for the future care of your patients. Same with OB, Surgery, etc.

As far as making yourself a competitive applicant, certainly research will do that, but you want to craft your application to your future career. If you don't want to do research long-term, then sure, do it for the experience, but don't make it a central part of your application. If you want to teach, get involved in the student education committees. If you want to do advocacy, get involved in AAP early on and participate in some of the legislative action items.

Overall, you want something more than 'I did well on peds and made it through med school' to get into a top program, but it's good if you have some sort of narrative and long-term goals.

 

[Step Up]

It's natural to want to know how to position your self optimally for residency match. The best advice I can give is to plan, as you are, but not worry about it. It's easy to get caught up in the competitive mentality that if only I can get into CHOP or BCH instead of Tufts or Sinai, then perhaps my life will be better. But this isn't true. If you work hard in medical school you will absolutely match at a very good pediatric residency program and have the entire gamut of peds career opportunities available. You don't have to get accepted to all programs, just one.

Aftering learning how to make yourself a competitive application, focus on excelling in medical school, with the primary goal that you learn the material well, not so that you get a A- instead of a B+ in a class. Focus on developing skills that will make you an excellent physician and make your career more meaningful and enjoyable. Don't worry about the residency match. It will work out fine.

 

[chronicangina]

Thanks everyone for your responses! They've been really helpful! As a final question just wanted to get an opinion on doing an away rotation in 4th year. I know for specialties like neurosurg or ortho these are very useful but was wondering about how useful they are in peds. Thanks again!

 

[Oso]

Thanks everyone for your responses! They've been really helpful! As a final question just wanted to get an opinion on doing an away rotation in 4th year. I know for specialties like neurosurg or ortho these are very useful but was wondering about how useful they are in peds. Thanks again!

Really not necessary (and potentially harmful) for peds, though some people do them if they’re really interested in particular program.

Also, don’t worry about these things if you haven’t even started med school yet. Don’t let SDN make you crazy before you even begin 🙂

 

[BabyDoc86]

Thanks so much! That was really helpful! I've had good experiences in peds and totally have loved them more than the experiences I've had in the adult side of medicine, but we'll see what happens! Thank you both for the insight, I just had a follow up, BabyDoc mentioned to do some research, how much research would be needed? I know there isn't a set number but maybe a ballpark approximation if you have one, I have an abstract in Peds anesthesia that was presented at a conference as well as have worked on multiple projects but haven't been able to actually get my name on a paper yet.

Doesn't have to be much; don't have to be published in JAMA or NEJM or anything like that. Presentations are good too, especially if you can get an oral presentation (vs poster). But having a project to answer a specific question that you are interested in will show initiative, and can demonstrate that you can finish a project while also doing all the med school things. It also gives you something to talk about during interviews (so pick something you would actually like to talk about!). Everyone will do some sort of research project in residency, so showing that you know something about research already can be helpful. And research can be anything - surveys, bench work, QI, etc. Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions.