Intern year dilemma

[ChiSox]

DO student here.. I ended up going on 8 interviews, 6 advanced/2 categorical and 4 TRI interviews I spoke to my dean today about whether to enter the AOA match coming up for the intern year. My initial plan was to forgo AOA match entirely, do the ACGME and scramble in an osteo TRI afterwards since there are always spots left over.. that way I could rank all the programs I interviewed at. He suggested to do the AOA match and not to rank the 2 categorical programs (they would have been 7-8 regardless) then rank the other 6 in the ACGME and avoid scrambling being part of the plan because it's too much of a gamble and I would potentially have to move twice etc..

Statistically, the difference between ranking 6 vs 8 programs in PM&R is ~20% increase potential of matching according to the charting outcomes. I would feel way better ranking all 8 BUT I would also like to have some say in where I end for intern year as opposed being limited to only whatever spots are open.

Someone talk some sense into me.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DMBandFan86]

So you didn't interview at any ACGME TY or prelim programs?

Also, are you 100% sure the advanced programs will accept a TRI for preliminary year?

If you answered No to #1 and Yes to #2, then I would probably go with your dean's recommendations, especially since you don't seem to like the categorical programs very well. You could also try to scramble into an ACGME prelim surgery spot (not sure about the availability of these).

BTW, did you apply to ACGME prelims and just not get any interviews or was it your strategy to do TRI or scramble?

 

[ChiSox]

So you didn't interview at any ACGME TY or prelim programs?

Also, are you 100% sure the advanced programs will accept a TRI for preliminary year?

If you answered No to #1 and Yes to #2, then I would probably go with your dean's recommendations, especially since you don't seem to like the categorical programs very well. You could also try to scramble into an ACGME prelim surgery spot (not sure about the availability of these).

BTW, did you apply to ACGME prelims and just not get any interviews or was it your strategy to do TRI or scramble?

I applied to ACGME prelims/TY but only got an interview at one, it was a program that operates outside the match.. so that was a no go. Only options I'm left with is to scramble or do the AOA match for a TRI year. And yeah I talked to all the programs on my rank list and they accept the DO TRI for intern year.

 

[DMBandFan86]

Obviously your situation isn't what you were hoping for. The match is one hell of a difficult process to navigate through. You already know that only ranking 6 PM&R programs is below the average for DO students who match. I ranked ~10 programs for PM&R and ended up getting my first choice for both prelim and PM&R. I was also fairly confident when I made my rank list that I would match into my top 4 choices and the rest was just-in-case.

If you feel very comfortable with the advanced programs you ranked, I would think the best option for you would be to rank TRI and advanced programs. A good intern year is just as important as a good PM&R residency and you want to go somewhere that you enjoy and will get the best training from.

It might also be a good idea to start looking into a back up plan if this doesn't work out, if you haven't already done so.

 

[j4pac]

To how many programs did you apply? Any red flags? What are the reasons you are confident that you will make only applying to six advanced programs?

How many DO prelim programs didn't fill AFTER the scramble?

 

[ChiSox]

To how many programs did you apply? Any red flags? What are the reasons you are confident that you will make only applying to six advanced programs?

How many DO prelim programs didn't fill AFTER the scramble?

Applied to ~60 programs, had to expand a year due to grades. Confidence wise- of my top four, I have very strong family/location ties at one (won't be the reason I match there but dosent hurt) and rotated at the other three and received great feedback.

There were 200+ DO prelim spots open post AOA match and what looks ~40 available after the ACGME match. For what it's worth, the education coordinator at my school said they haven't had a student not find DO prelim spot after matching to an advanced position.

 

[j4pac]

Applied to ~60 programs, had to expand a year due to grades. Confidence wise- of my top four, I have very strong family/location ties at one (won't be the reason I match there but dosent hurt) and rotated at the other three and received great feedback.

There were 200+ DO prelim spots open post AOA match and what looks ~40 available after the ACGME match. For what it's worth, the education coordinator at my school said they haven't had a student not find DO prelim spot after matching to an advanced position.

If you are confident in your ability to match to a DO prelim AFTER the MD match, then I would use that as a back up plan. It would give you two more opportunities to match to MD PM&R which appears to be the bigger of the two obstacles.

 

[SpinALL]

.

 

[Ragnar8]

If you had to extend med school for a year due to grades, then you absolutely have to rank all 8 PM&R programs.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[ChiSox]

Where did you find the information that ~40 AOA TRIs were still open after the ACGME SOAP? I've been looking for that myself, but only found the immediate match results after the AOA completed.

It's not an exact number.. I went to the available positions search, clicked on TRI and came up with the number based on programs that posted openings.

If you had to extend med school for a year due to grades, then you absolutely have to rank all 8 PM&R programs.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I'm with you on this one. As J4pac said, PM&R is the tougher of the two to match into.