MD Incoming MS1, worried about matching into a residency program!!

[flashvoyger]

As an incoming MS1, I have gotten through my first obstacle in becoming a doctor. Now I have to prepare for matching into a residency program and would like to ask my SDN colleagues for some advice. After some research into the residency application process, it seems like it’s very similar to the medical school process. To be a good applicant you need to have good board scores, you need to volunteer, do research and have some academic achievements under your belt. The fact that I need to do all these things has me worried because I don’t know if I can accomplish them all. From everything I know about med school, the workload is on a whole another level than anything I have ever experienced. Because of that, I know that I’m going to be studying like crazy to get good grades and do well on my board exams. I am scared that I’m going to be too busy studying to have time for research and volunteering. I have seen SDN members saying that they were a part of multiple research labs and have had publication by the end of their first year and I just don't know how they could possibly have the time. While the residency matching process shares many qualities with the medical school application process, it seems so much more daunting because the medical school workload is so much more. I honestly don’t have any real questions for the sdn community, I just want some tips and hopefully some words of encouragement.

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[bananafish94]

While it's accurate that there are parts that mirror the medical school application process, the difference is that tiny little things could sink your medical school application. Bad MCAT, bad semester, bad essay, whatever. You've gotten through all of that! Whereas, in order to not match, my understanding is that you really have to spectacularly screw something up, probably a lot of things.

Of course, if you want to go into an extremely competitive residency like orthopedics or ENT, you have to be closer to perfect with the board scores, research, etc. The good news is that if you're going to a legitimate medical school, you are definitely capable of doing the work. They wouldn't have admitted you if you weren't. As for the other stuff, I think that if you add just a little bit at a time, you can manage your schedule to make room for it. Take my words with a grain of salt because I'm only a rising M2, but I took the first few months of medical school to just get adjusted to the workload and curriculum, and then started adding things like research and serious extracurricular stuff.

 

[bashwell]

As an incoming MS1, I have gotten through my first obstacle in becoming a doctor. Now I have to prepare for matching into a residency program and would like to ask my SDN colleagues for some advice. After some research into the residency application process, it seems like it’s very similar to the medical school process. To be a good applicant you need to have good board scores, you need to volunteer, do research and have some academic achievements under your belt. The fact that I need to do all these things has me worried because I don’t know if I can accomplish them all. From everything I know about med school, the workload is on a whole another level than anything I have ever experienced. Because of that, I know that I’m going to be studying like crazy to get good grades and do well on my board exams. I am scared that I’m going to be too busy studying to have time for research and volunteering. I have seen SDN members saying that they were a part of multiple research labs and have had publication by the end of their first year and I just don't know how they could possibly have the time. While the residency matching process shares many qualities with the medical school application process, it seems so much more daunting because the medical school workload is so much more. I honestly don’t have any real questions for the sdn community, I just want some tips and hopefully some words of encouragement.

1) Keep in mind there are tons of hyper-competitive people here on SDN. As a result, if you believe SDN, it seems like everyone has high Step 1 scores, has published multiple first author papers in reputable journals, perhaps is an MD/PhD, has volunteered as a medical missionary in Africa, has even taken Step 2 and also got a high score, and so on. Of course, there are truly some people who have such achievements, but the important thing to keep in mind is that is not representative of the average med student. In other words, don't use SDN as a reliable measure of the average med student. Not everyone is Jonny Kim!

2) If you are a US MD (allopathic), then you should have no problem matching into most specialties with average to slightly above average grades and scores as long as you are geographically flexible. The exceptions are competitive specialties (e.g., dermatology, plastics, ENT, other surgical subspecialties). See the NRMP match data for the most reliable data if you really want to know more at this stage (but I'd recommend not worrying about it for now).

3) However, even for competitive specialties, it's sometimes about who you know. There are sometimes people who match into competitive specialties (e.g., derm, ortho) with average grades and scores because they got to know the right person who could help them. So try to develop good relationships with people. Cultivate a relationship with a good mentor if you're really concerned. You never know who you will impress or who will help you. I'm not saying this will guarantee you a competitive specialty, there are no guarantees for anyone, and you should do your best regardless, but I'm just saying it doesn't hurt to develop good relationships with everyone around you, and you never know if one of these relationships will open doors for you later on. In short, relationships are important, be cool with people, and realize that oftentimes people will try to help you if they get along with you.

4) Overall, I wouldn't worry too much about any of this. Just do your best in med school, don't get caught up in all the SDN craziness, meet and get to know people at all levels especially in specialties you're interested in (e.g., your peers, residents, attendings), and just have fun and enjoy med school. It's so easy to forget that med school can sometimes be an enjoyable experience even with all the hard work and sometimes sleepless nights. Your overarching goal is simply to become the best doctor you can be. Just work and study hard, but also make time for yourself, and make time for others, that is, developing good relationships with others. Don't lose yourself in med school. Good luck!

 

[bashwell]

On the other hand, if the above is too optimistic for you, then read "101 Things I Wish I Knew About Med School." I don't agree with everything, but there's a lot of truth in here!

1. If I had known what it was going to be like, I would never have done it.
2. You’ll study more than you ever have in your life.
3. Only half of your class will be in the top 50%. You have a 50% chance of being in the top half of your class. Get used to it now.
4. You don’t need to know anatomy before school starts. Or pathology. Or physiology.
5. Third year rotations will suck the life out you.
6. Several people from your class will have sex with each other. You might be one of the lucky participants.
7. You may discover early on that medicine isn’t for you.
8. You don’t have to be AOA or have impeccable board scores to match somewhere – only if you’re matching into radiology.
9. Your social life may suffer some.
10. Pelvic exams are teh suck.
11. You won’t be a medical student on the surgery service. You’ll be the retractor bitch.
12. Residents will probably ask you to retrieve some type of nourishment for them.
13. Most of your time on rotations will be wasted. Thrown away. Down the drain.
14. You’ll work with at least one attending physician who you’ll want to beat the **** out of.
15. You’ll work with at least three residents who you’ll want to beat the **** out of.
16. You’ll ask a stranger about the quality of their stools.
17. You’ll ask post-op patients if they’ve farted within the last 24 hours.
18. At some point during your stay, a stranger’s bodily fluids will most likely come into contact with your exposed skin.
19. Somebody in your class will flunk out of medical school.
20. You’ll work 14 days straight without a single day off. Probably multiple times.
21. A student in your class will have sex with an attending or resident.
22. After the first two years are over, your summer breaks will no longer exist. Enjoy them as much as you can.
23. You’ll be sleep deprived.
24. There will be times on certain rotations where you won’t be allowed to eat.
25. You will be pimped.
26. You’ll wake up one day and ask yourself is this really what you want out of life.
27. You’ll party a lot during the first two years, but then that pretty much ends at the beginning of your junior year.
28. You’ll probably change your specialty of choice at least 4 times.
29. You’ll spend a good deal of your time playing social worker.
30. You’ll learn that medical insurance reimbursement is a huge problem, particularly for primary care physicians.
31. Nurses will treat you badly, simply because you are a medical student.
32. There will be times when you’ll be ignored by your attending or resident.
33. You will develop a thick skin. If you fail to do this, you’ll cry often.
34. Public humiliation is very commonplace in medical training.
35. Surgeons are *******s. Take my word for it now.
36. OB/GYN residents are treated like ****, and that **** runs downhill. Be ready to pick it up and sleep with it.
37. It’s always the medical student’s fault.
38. Gunner is a derogatory word. It’s almost as bad as racial slurs.
39. You’ll look forward to the weekend, not so you can relax and have a good time but so you can catch up on studying for the week.
40. Your house might go uncleaned for two weeks during an intensive exam block.
41. As a medical student on rotations, you don’t matter. In fact, you get in the way and impede productivity.
42. There’s a fair chance that you will be physically struck by a nurse, resident, or attending physician. This may include slapped on the hand or kicked on the shin in order to instruct you to “move” or “get out of the way.”
43. Any really bad procedures will be done by you. The residents don’t want to do them, and you’re the low man on the totem pole. This includes rectal examinations and digital disimpactions.
44. You’ll be competing against the best of the best, the cream of the crop. This isn’t college where half of your classmates are idiots. Everybody in medical school is smart.
45. Don’t think that you own the world because you just got accepted into medical school. That kind of attitude will humble you faster than anything else.
46. If you’re in it for the money, there are much better, more efficient ways to make a living. Medicine is not one of them.
47. Anatomy sucks. All of the bone names sound the same.
48. If there is anything at all that you’d rather do in life, do not go into medicine.
49. The competition doesn't end after getting accepted to medical school. You’ll have to compete for class rank, awards, and residency. If you want to do a fellowship, you’ll have to compete for that too.
50. You’ll never look at weekends the same again.
51. VA hospitals suck. Most of them are old, but the medical records system is good.
52. Your fourth year in medical school will be like a vacation compared to the first three years. It’s a good thing too, because you’ll need one.
53. Somebody in your class will be known as the “highlighter *****.” Most often a female, she’ll carry around a backpack full of every highlighter color known to man. She’ll actually use them, too.
54. Rumors surrounding members of your class will spread faster than they did in high school.
55. You’ll meet a lot of cool people, many new friends, and maybe your husband or wife.
56. No matter how bad your medical school experience was at times, you’ll still be able to think about the good times. Kind of like how I am doing right now.
57. Your first class get-together will be the most memorable. Cherish those times.
58. Long after medical school is over, you’ll still keep in contact with the friends you made. I do nearly every day.
59. Gunners always sit in the front row. This rule never fails. However, not everyone who sits in the front row is a gunner.
60. There will be one person in your class who’s the coolest, most laid back person you’ve ever met. This guy will sit in the back row and throw paper airplanes during class, and then blow up with 260+ Step I’s after second year. True story.
61. At the beginning of first year, everyone will talk about how cool it’s going to be to help patients. At the end of third year, everybody will talk about how cool it’s going to be to make a lot of money.
62. Students who start medical school wanting to do primary care end up in dermatology. Those students who start medical school wanting to do dermatology end up in family medicine.
63. Telling local girls at the bar that you’re a medical student doesn’t mean ****. They’ve been hearing that for years. Be more unique.
64. The money isn’t really that good in medicine. Not if you look at it in terms of hours worked.
65. Don’t wear your white coat into the gas station, or any other business that has nothing to do with you wearing a white coat. You look like an a**, and people do make fun of you.
66. Don’t round on patients that aren’t yours. If you round on another student’s patients, that will spread around your class like fire after a 10 year drought. Your team will think you’re an idiot too.
67. If you are on a rotation with other students, don’t bring in journal articles to share with the team “on the fly” without letting the other students know. This makes you look like a gunner, and nobody likes a gunner. Do it once, and you might as well bring in a new topic daily. Rest assured that your fellow students will just to show you up.
68. If you piss off your intern, he or she can make your life hell.
69. If your intern pisses you off, you can make his or her life hell.
70. Don’t try to work during medical school. Live life and enjoy the first two years.
71. Not participating in tons of ECs doesn’t hurt your chances for residency. Forget the weekend free clinic and play some Frisbee golf instead.
72. Don’t rent an apartment. If you can afford to, buy a small home instead. I saved $200 per month and had roughly $30,000 in equity by choosing to buy versus rent.
73. Your family members will ask you for medical advice, even after your first week of first year.
74. Many of your friends will go onto great jobs and fantastic lifestyles. You’ll be faced with 4 more years of debt and then at least 3 years of residency before you’ll see any real earning potential.
75. Pick a specialty based around what you like to do.
76. At least once during your 4 year stay, you’ll wonder if you should quit.
77. It’s amazing how fast time flies on your days off. It’s equally amazing at how slow the days are on a rotation you hate.
78. You’ll learn to be scared of asking for time off.
79. No matter what specialty you want to do, somebody on an unrelated rotation will hold it against you.
80. A great way to piss off attendings and residents are to tell them that you don’t plan to complete a residency.
81. Many of your rotations will require you to be the “vitals b****.” On surgery, you’ll be the “retractor b****.”
82. Sitting around in a group and talking about ethical issues involving patients is not fun.
83. If an attending or resident treats you badly, call them out on it. You can get away with far more than you think.
84. Going to class is generally a waste of time. Make your own schedule and enjoy the added free time.
85. Find new ways to study. The methods you used in college may or may not work. If something doesn’t work, adapt.
86. Hospitals smell bad.
87. Subjective evaluations are just that – subjective. They aren’t your end all, be all so don’t dwell on a poor evaluation. The person giving it was probably an *******, anyway.
88. Some physicians will tell you it’s better than it really is. Take what you hear (both positive and negative) with a grain of salt.
89. 90% of surgeons are *******s, and 63% of statistics are made up. The former falls in the lucky 37%.
90. The best time of your entire medical school career is between the times when you first get your acceptance letter and when you start school.
91. During the summer before medical school starts, do not attempt to study or read anything remotely related to medicine. Take this time to travel and do things for you.
92. The residents and faculty in OB/GYN will be some of the most malignant personalities you’ve ever come into contact with.
93. Vaginal deliveries are messy. So are c-sections. It’s just an all-around blood fest if you like that sort of thing.
94. Despite what the faculty tell you, you don’t need all of the fancy equipment that they suggest for you to buy. All you need is a stethoscope. The other equipment they say you “need” is standard in all clinic and hospital exam rooms. If it’s not standard, your training hospital and clinics suck.
95. If your school has a note taking service, it’s a good idea to pony up the cash for it. It saves time and gives you the option of not attending lecture.
96. Medicine is better than being a janitor, but there were times when I envied the people cleaning the hospital trash cans.
97. Avoid surgery like the plague.
98. See above and then apply it to OB/GYN as well.
99. The money is good in medicine, but it’s not all that great especially considering the amount of time that you’ll have to work.
100. One time an HIV+ patient ripped out his IV and then “slung” his blood at the staff in the room. Go, go infectious disease.
101. Read Med School Hell now, throughout medical school, and then after you’re done. Then come back and tell me how right I am.

 

[mvenus929]

Focus on studying during your M1 year. Do something during your summer between M1 and M2. Focus on Step 1 studying your second year. Focus on doing well on the ares during M3. Figure out what specialty you want to do, and form relationships there.

You can get into a residency without research, lots of volunteering, etc. you just need something other than academics on your application. Take part in some interest groups and figure out what you like. Join some clubs that seem interesting. Get involved in local volunteer activities. Just don't try to do it all until you figure out how to study.

 

[sloop]

I don't know what specialty you're looking to pursue but if you work hard you should be competitive for decent residency programs in most specialties. I wouldn't freak yourself out about everything too early in the game.

The most important thing is to get good grades and, though some others might disagree with me, I wouldn't get too caught up pursuing the other stuff until you're settled in and doing well in school. Some specialties value research more or less than others, but you probably won't have substantial time to commit to it until the summer. Volunteering might add something to your app but is generally not going to make or break it. Volunteering in med school is much more the type of thing where you should do it if you find it enjoyable, in my opinion.

 

[doyouhaveaflag]

As others have said, when you start just work on figuring out what study method suits your style and how to do well while not going crazy. Don't worry about all those other things until you've achieved that! This may take several months (or all of 1st year).

Once you've worked that out, you can add in other things. Don't do ECs/volunteering for the sake of checking boxes for residency though. It doesn't help your application in the way it did for med school. Do them because they're things you enjoy doing and they make you happy.

If you really want to do something that will help you residency application the most, add in research. However, I would also say don't do this unless it's something you're truly interested in. Feeling like you're obligated to do it is a recipe for hating life. You can successfully match to most specialties without it.

Good luck, the start of med school is an exciting time!

 

[masaraksh]

Med school sucks, enjoy the rat race

 

[Goro]

As an incoming MS1, I have gotten through my first obstacle in becoming a doctor. Now I have to prepare for matching into a residency program and would like to ask my SDN colleagues for some advice. After some research into the residency application process, it seems like it’s very similar to the medical school process. To be a good applicant you need to have good board scores, you need to volunteer, do research and have some academic achievements under your belt. The fact that I need to do all these things has me worried because I don’t know if I can accomplish them all. From everything I know about med school, the workload is on a whole another level than anything I have ever experienced. Because of that, I know that I’m going to be studying like crazy to get good grades and do well on my board exams. I am scared that I’m going to be too busy studying to have time for research and volunteering. I have seen SDN members saying that they were a part of multiple research labs and have had publication by the end of their first year and I just don't know how they could possibly have the time. While the residency matching process shares many qualities with the medical school application process, it seems so much more daunting because the medical school workload is so much more. I honestly don’t have any real questions for the sdn community, I just want some tips and hopefully some words of encouragement.

The best predictor of your Board scores will be your pre-clinical GPA. So do well.

Not all residencies are demanding of research. Read this as to what PDs want:
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NRMP-2016-Program-Director-Survey.pdf

As of right now, just worry about MS1. You're four years away from worrying about residency.

 

[flashvoyger]

Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback, I am so glad that the general consensus is that I should get acclimated to the first year workload before even trying to do research and volunteering. I am personally going to be going to Upstate medical university. While I haven't decided on a specialty, the two that stick out in my mind are oncology and emergency medicine. I do have one question though, were the people who didn't match surprised or did they know that their chances were bad? For upstate we currently have a match rate of 98%, I am trying to figure out why that 2% didn't match.

 

[sloop]

Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback, I am so glad that the general consensus is that I should get acclimated to the first year workload before even trying to do research and volunteering. I am personally going to be going to Upstate medical university. While I haven't decided on a specialty, the two that stick out in my mind are oncology and emergency medicine. I do have one question though, were the people who didn't match surprised or did they know that their chances were bad? For upstate we currently have a match rate of 98%, I am trying to figure out why that 2% didn't match.

The people who didn't match my year were generally people who could have matched somewhere in some specialty but decided to apply only into one specialty they knew they were marginal for without a backup. These people generally knew what they were doing was risky (and were advised against it by faculty).

 

[Saxappeal1]

OP, it is WAY too early to be worried about residency this much. That's like being a freshman in college and worry about medical school interviews. Envisioning the end goal is one thing, obsessing about it is not only totally unnecessary but quite deleterious. Don't do it. Enjoy the fact that you got into medical school, that you will be a doctor some day. Focus on M1. Focus on the present.

 

[Vain Brother]

i personally had been working on my ERAS for several years before starting medical school, but good luck OP, i'm sure not having your LORs lined up yet won't hurt you too much

 

[flashvoyger]

The people who didn't match my year were generally people who could have matched somewhere in some specialty but decided to apply only into one specialty they knew they were marginal for without a backup. These people generally knew what they were doing was risky (and were advised against it by faculty).

what was their reasoning for doing something so risky without having a backup?

 

[flashvoyger]

i personally had been working on my ERAS for several years before starting medical school, but good luck OP, i'm sure not having your LORs lined up yet won't hurt you too much

what do you mean you had your LORs lined up before med school, wouldn't those be the same LORs that you used to get into med school? if they are different LORs, what makes them different from any other LORs?

 

[TedCruz]

what do you mean you had your LORs lined up before med school, wouldn't those be the same LORs that you used to get into med school? if they are different LORs, what makes them different from any other LORs?

 

[flashvoyger]

wow, now I feel real stupid

 

[cellsaver]

As of right now, just worry about MS1. You're four years away from worrying about.....

Where were you when we needed ya?

Americans Just Broke a New Record for Stress and Anxiety | Psychology Today

 

[sinombre]

Med school sucks, enjoy the rat race

It doesn't suck for everyone. I had a pretty good time in med school.

The people who didn't match my year were generally people who could have matched somewhere in some specialty but decided to apply only into one specialty they knew they were marginal for without a backup. These people generally knew what they were doing was risky (and were advised against it by faculty).

This was my experience as well. My old classmate who didn't match almost definitely would have matched if he had applied to a broader range of programs and not just academic programs in competitive locations.

what was their reasoning for doing something so risky without having a backup?

Different people have different tolerances for how much they are willing to risk. People who go to medical school are generally risk averse people, but not everyone is.

The reality is that if you are a medical student in the US, and you play your cards right, you are almost guaranteed to match somewhere and into something. Once you have a med school acceptance, the amount of job security you have from that point forward is unparalleled by just about any other field.