Is anesthesiology REALLY getting that much harder to match into?

[SIGMACHIGUY]

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I saw ARCH DO's comment that he doesn't think anesthesiology residency is getting that much tougher to match into these days compared to prior years. However, all I've been hearing and reading about is that anesthesiology is getting harder and harder each year to match into. A major reason for this is of course, the large influx of medical students opting out of primary practice due to the paperwork, regulations, etc. and that the more competitive and wanted residencies are radiology, dermatology, anesthesiology, etc.

I'm not choosing anesthesiology for the so called "cush" lifestyle that some have claimed it to be compared to ther medical specialities, I've chosen to pursue anesthesia because it truly fascinates and interests me as well as my belief that I will be a skilled provider.

Medical school is tough enough to get into, but just how much pressure should I put on myself to match into anesthesiology residency once I'm in? Do you have to be the cream of the crop? Do you really have to have better than average Step 1 scores?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!! 😀

 

[pseudoknot]

There's no evidence that it is. See Charting Outcomes in the Match.

 

[frank51]

Several programs have said that they've had a record number of applicants this year, and the percentage of medical students applying for Anesthesia has been increasing for the past few year, having said that, as an average medical student, you should be able to match somewhere, as long as you don't care where you end up. Anesthesia is hot now, but who knows how it'll look in a few years, just look at what happened to field in the mid 1990s, you could practically walk into the residency of your choice.

 

[RxBoy]

You don't have to be top notch like Derm (240+, top 5% rank).

You don't have to be better than average like Radiology (225+, )

But you can't have too many deficiencies (<200 step 1, failed classes, lack of interpersonal skills, FMG). Any one of those factors will decrease your chances. But if you are quote on quote "average" (220, at 50% class rank, US MD) you'll be a shoe in to match at an "average" program.

 

[SIGMACHIGUY]

Thanks for the feedback guys, really appreciate it! It's hard enough to get into medical school let alone have to be top 5% just to get into anesthesia and I thought perhaps this is where it was heading...not to say that it won't be like this down the line, but with all the things I've been hearing and reading, I thought anesthesia was getting to the point where you have to be in the top of your medical school class just to stand a chance. 😱

 

[NFN]

sorry to thread jack with a "what are my chances" post, but it is somehwat related to the topic.

i am a 3rd year at a decent medschool (top40) but def not tier 1 (as been told by many attendings) with a step1 246. no grades from 1st/2nd year as it was P/F and the only clerkships ive done are ob and psych and i dont intend on taking step2 until after interviews 4th year. i dont have too much in the way of extracurrics or research. just did a summer of "research" data collection but nothing in terms of a letter or publication.

if i wanted to match into a more competitive university program (ie ucla, usc, cornell, columbia) with a realistic shot, do you think i shoudl take research time off? another factor is that i am pretty sick of med school at this point and am feeling more burnt out day by day. a research year would give me a chance to live a normal 9-5 for a while, hang out with my friends/family, and maybe even do some traveling.

any feedback would be great and much appreciated.

 

[lord_jeebus]

You're fine, don't do a research year. 4th year will undo your burn-out. Not worth losing a year of attending salary down the road.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

sorry to thread jack with a "what are my chances" post, but it is somehwat related to the topic.

i am a 3rd year at a decent medschool (top40) but def not tier 1 (as been told by many attendings) with a step1 246. no grades from 1st/2nd year as it was P/F and the only clerkships ive done are ob and psych and i dont intend on taking step2 until after interviews 4th year. i dont have too much in the way of extracurrics or research. just did a summer of "research" data collection but nothing in terms of a letter or publication.

if i wanted to match into a more competitive university program (ie ucla, usc, cornell, columbia) with a realistic shot, do you think i shoudl take research time off? another factor is that i am pretty sick of med school at this point and am feeling more burnt out day by day. a research year would give me a chance to live a normal 9-5 for a while, hang out with my friends/family, and maybe even do some traveling.

any feedback would be great and much appreciated.

🙄🙄🙄

WAMC alert!

Personally, I think you are nuts if you take time off to do research.

With your scores you should have no problem matching like you want to.

 

[NFN]

i appreciate the feedback. maybe its the patient population where im at but i just need to gtfo out the hospital for more than a weekend to reclaim my sanity. thanks yall

 

[UTKB]

Went on an interview yesterday in TX, one of my interviewers said last year they didn't invite anyone with Step 1 <210, but this year their cutoff was 220. He said the quality of applicants is improving. They rely heavily on step 1 scores bc so many schools don't have class rank/grades, everyone has good letters, so the only objective info they have is step 1. They also rely on the personal statement a lot as well, how, I have no idea.

 

[NFN]

its funny cause you hear about how x score is good and you are safe, but there are random postings in this subfourm about 'i had a 260 and got rejected at a-b-c programs' granted that maybe this person had a bad interview or something but seeing those types of posts always gives me some doubts

 

[akpete]

sorry to thread jack with a "what are my chances" post, but it is somehwat related to the topic.

i am a 3rd year at a decent medschool (top40) but def not tier 1 (as been told by many attendings) with a step1 246. no grades from 1st/2nd year as it was P/F and the only clerkships ive done are ob and psych and i dont intend on taking step2 until after interviews 4th year. i dont have too much in the way of extracurrics or research. just did a summer of "research" data collection but nothing in terms of a letter or publication.

if i wanted to match into a more competitive university program (ie ucla, usc, cornell, columbia) with a realistic shot, do you think i shoudl take research time off? another factor is that i am pretty sick of med school at this point and am feeling more burnt out day by day. a research year would give me a chance to live a normal 9-5 for a while, hang out with my friends/family, and maybe even do some traveling.

any feedback would be great and much appreciated.

I've gotten interviews at those places and I do not have any research. While I'm only an example of one, from what I've seen you don't have to worry about research. Your step 1 will open doors.

 

[JonnyG]

no one will no how competitive it is until the end of the year when you can find out how many unique applicants there are. The electronic application system has changed the way things are handled. Its only 10 bucks to applyt o another program so why not. I have talked with many great applicants who are holding 10+ interviews some even 20+. If enough people do this it will seem like it is harder to get a spot. There defintely are more people applying but if it is substantially over the total number of spots remains to be seen. Also to the OP if your not even in medical school yet this should be the least of your aorrieswho knows if youll even go for anesthesia or what the field will be like.

 

[fakin' the funk]

Personally, I think you are nuts if you take time off to do research.

Absolutely.

Even the East Coast "big name" places do not require research, or maybe even particularly pursue those who have done research.

You go to these interview days and the residents say "Research is there if you want to do it, but GODDAMN most of us do NOT" so that should give you a pretty good mindset of the type of people applying.

That being said...having a substantial anesthesia-related research project will set you apart from 99% of the other applicants. But if you're already "in the driver's seat" with a high Step 1 score then the cost/benefit ratio to you is pretty high.

 

[Csv321]

sorry to thread jack with a "what are my chances" post, but it is somehwat related to the topic.

i am a 3rd year at a decent medschool (top40) but def not tier 1 (as been told by many attendings) with a step1 246. no grades from 1st/2nd year as it was P/F and the only clerkships ive done are ob and psych and i dont intend on taking step2 until after interviews 4th year. i dont have too much in the way of extracurrics or research. just did a summer of "research" data collection but nothing in terms of a letter or publication.

if i wanted to match into a more competitive university program (ie ucla, usc, cornell, columbia) with a realistic shot, do you think i shoudl take research time off? another factor is that i am pretty sick of med school at this point and am feeling more burnt out day by day. a research year would give me a chance to live a normal 9-5 for a while, hang out with my friends/family, and maybe even do some traveling.

any feedback would be great and much appreciated.

I have no research at all on my application, clinical or lab and I received interviews to all those mentioned programs as well. I am definitely not at a top tier medical school and most people at my interviews have not heard of my medical school unless they're from the east coast. My board score is slightly lower than yours. However, I am interviewing at mostly California programs and only 3 programs outside of California. I was even able to cancel a few interviews at top programs on the east coast simply because I am looking to go back to California.

So I don't think you have anything to worry about....Just tough out 3rd year and 4th year will be awesome. It'll be stressful, but in a better way.

 

[Gern Blansten]

I think it is getting a little tougher to get into "competitive" programs. That may mean a well known program or it might mean a smaller program with an excellent reputation but not too many positions. Information that is not publicized, but might prove helpful, is how far down the rank list a program went to fill their positions in the match. If they didn't go far down the list, their positions will probably be competitive (even if they are not a well known program). As with everything else, this too can be manipulated.

So, my opinion is that it has gotten quite a bit tougher to get the competitive spots, a little bit harder to get all of the rest of the spots, and that if you have some major deficiencies in your application (failed courses or step scores, negative dean's letter comments), you have a chance of being disappointed on match day. The magic number appears to be 10 interviews. If you have 10 on your rank list, you are probably okay. If you don't have 10, it is most likely that you didn't get 10 offers.

 

[Nuriko]

Honestly, every year people say its become MUCH more competitive to match and every year most people end up doing just fine. Even if your scores arent the best, if you applied smartly you should be ok. Dont get scared off by all the people here who already have 20+ invites and 0 rejections.

 

[jumpingjax]

When I interviewed at my current program, the PD told me the cutoff was a 220 for an interview. I've learned over the years that more than half of the people in my class are <220, some significantly. Dont believe the hype.

 

[CambieMD]

Honestly, every year people say its become MUCH more competitive to match and every year most people end up doing just fine. Even if your scores arent the best, if you applied smartly you should be ok. Dont get scared off by all the people here who already have 20+ invites and 0 rejections.

Board scores may be important but applicants are more than their board scores. Other factors are considered as well.

Every year you hear, "this year is the most competitive yet." That is hogwash.

My board scores were nothing to write home about but I found a residency program. I did well . I easily passed part one of the ABA exam.

I would be interested in hearing any thoughts regarding the correlation between step one results and anesthesia residency performance.

Cambie

 

[CambieMD]

When I interviewed at my current program, the PD told me the cutoff was a 220 for an interview. I've learned over the years that more than half of the people in my class are <220, some significantly. Dont believe the hype.

When I give my thoughts on an applicant I never know what their board scores are. I base my opinions on how the applicants conduct themselves.
I look for people who are well adjusted and seem to really like the program and want to be in the area.

Cambie

 

[UTKB]

When I interviewed at my current program, the PD told me the cutoff was a 220 for an interview. I've learned over the years that more than half of the people in my class are <220, some significantly. Dont believe the hype.

Yeah I've noticed that too among the residents at my school. I think it's strange that the PD would say they don't interview ppl with <220 when I know students in my class who are getting interviews at that program with significantly less than 220. I don't know if it's mind games or flat out lying...someone isn't telling the truth, whether it's the PDs or the students not giving their true scores (why not just keep your score to yourself, I wonder?).

Anyway, people are finding out about anesthesia, and in my class of ~200 there are 30 who are applying. All I know is that one PD not at my school said the applicants are "improving in quality," but I don't think it would be difficult to match if you have >210 or so.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

When I interviewed at my current program, the PD told me the cutoff was a 220 for an interview. I've learned over the years that more than half of the people in my class are <220, some significantly. Dont believe the hype.

How do you find out what other peoples board scores are? Do you discuss these matters amongst yourselves or are you privy to a persons's file. I could not tell you what a single person I did my residency with scored.