Intern year question

[Lucylu123]

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I am a 3rd year applying to anesthesia programs in the fall. I am a DO applicant, and am trying to figure out the best way to go about this process. I have looked quite a bit into different programs and am interested in both categorical and advanced spots (allo only).

I have heard bits and pieces about the possibility of ACGME programs requiring an ACGME internship year. If I go this way and apply to all ACGME TYs and Prelim IMs, I'm worried about how competitive they are. I am married and currently long distance, and really hope to land a year somewhere in the vicinity of where I land a residency, and hopefully somewhere on the east coast. I have pretty good board scores and grades, but they probably aren't too impressive next to a somebody applying for Harvard ophtho, rad onc etc. 😱

The osteopathic intern years would by far be easier for me to match into, however I am worried both about the new rule, and also about the earlier match. I noticed quite a few DO applicants who matched into anesthesia this year are doing an osteopathic intern year. Does this mean they applied only to advanced programs? Wouldn't they be dropped from any categorical anesthesia programs if they matched into an osteopathic TY first?

I am feeling a little like I either have to apply only categorical, or take a big risk with the allo intern programs. Would I be an idiot to take that risk and possibly end up in a scramble position?

Any input or advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[PMPMD]

I am a 3rd year applying to anesthesia programs in the fall. I am a DO applicant, and am trying to figure out the best way to go about this process. I have looked quite a bit into different programs and am interested in both categorical and advanced spots (allo only).

I have heard bits and pieces about the possibility of ACGME programs requiring an ACGME internship year. If I go this way and apply to all ACGME TYs and Prelim IMs, I'm worried about how competitive they are. I am married and currently long distance, and really hope to land a year somewhere in the vicinity of where I land a residency, and hopefully somewhere on the east coast. I have pretty good board scores and grades, but they probably aren't too impressive next to a somebody applying for Harvard ophtho, rad onc etc. 😱

The osteopathic intern years would by far be easier for me to match into, however I am worried both about the new rule, and also about the earlier match. I noticed quite a few DO applicants who matched into anesthesia this year are doing an osteopathic intern year. Does this mean they applied only to advanced programs? Wouldn't they be dropped from any categorical anesthesia programs if they matched into an osteopathic TY first?

I am feeling a little like I either have to apply only categorical, or take a big risk with the allo intern programs. Would I be an idiot to take that risk and possibly end up in a scramble position?

Any input or advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Re: the competitiveness, you can get a prelim spot somewhere. The most desired locations and the most cush programs will be competitive. Not sure about the DO question.

 

[deleted9493]

When I was in your shoes, my biggest concern was matching into a residency program that was the best fit for me (the 3 years of residency being much more important to me than the 1 year of internship). Matching into an osteopathic internship automatically eliminates a majority percentage of the anesthesiology residency spots available to you, as the majority of positions are of the 4 year variety.

The only reason for you to apply to osteopathic internships, in my mind, is having an unavoidable reason for needing to stay in a specified location for an additional year. If you are competitive, as you suggest, finding an ACGME prelim. year will not be difficult. I interviewed at three hospitals for prelim. positions, in case I went down >6 positions on my rank list. What I mean is that all of the advanced spots that I applied for were in the 7 slot or higher. You could very easily interview at enough categorical programs to obviate the need for concern re: internship.

 

[kazuma]

Apply straight ACGME, then if by chance you match to an advanced program but not an intern year, you can always scramble into a DO TR year. I'm not sure what that status is on the AOA internship and ACGME proposed rule, but IIRC, it doen't take place until 2014 for advanced residency positions (2015 for fellowships-which shouldn't matter as long as you do an ACGME residency).