Is getteing a TY spot very difficult?

[Adalimumab]

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Hi guys,
First of all, is a TY OK before advanced neurology? (I think as long as it is compliant with ABPN requirements, It is fine).
Second, is it really so tough getting a TY spot for an IMG that it is not worth applying?? I am an IMG with scores in 270s and 280s.

 

[medsRus]

Hi guys,
First of all, is a TY OK before advanced neurology? (I think as long as it is compliant with ABPN requirements, It is fine).
Second, is it really so tough getting a TY spot for an IMG that it is not worth applying?? I am an IMG with scores in 270s and 280s.

Those are some pretty good scores. Go for derm!

 

[Adalimumab]

For Derm you have to be an extremely big shot with multiple! years of experience in derm research or extremely powerful connections. Last year only 7 IMGs got PGY2 derm spots!
even for that you need prelim or transitional year!

 

[medsRus]

For Derm you have to be an extremely big shot with multiple! years of experience in derm research or extremely powerful connections. Last year only 7 IMGs got PGY2 derm spots!
even for that you need prelim or transitional year!

Show me someone with "270s and 280s" board scores that applied and wasn't offered an interview...

 

[gutonc]

Hi guys,
First of all, is a TY OK before advanced neurology? (I think as long as it is compliant with ABPN requirements, It is fine).
Second, is it really so tough getting a TY spot for an IMG that it is not worth applying?? I am an IMG with scores in 270s and 280s.

From the ABPN:

1. Three-Year Neurology Residency Program
A full year of ACGME-accredited training in internal medicine or, as an acceptable alternative, a full year in an
ACGME-accredited program in which a minimum of six months of training must be in internal medicine, the
details of which must be documented by the training director. The composition of these six months may NOT
include rotations in neurology, family medicine, or emergency medicine. To ensure that these six months constitute
a high-quality experience, they should emphasize progressive responsibility for the resident. At least two of
the additional six months must be spent in internal medicine, pediatrics, and/or emergency medicine.

What does this mean to you? If you can find a TY that includes 6 months of IM, go for it. In general, TYs will not include that much IM but YMMV and you may be able to work it to get that much. Otherwise you'll need to do IM prelim.

 

[Adalimumab]

Thanks gutonc, it seems many TY programs are compliant with the above mentioned requirements. Otherwise I think I can work it to get enough exposure of medicine using electives.

 

[ShyFly]

Transitional years are harder to get into because you're competing with the specialties that require it which happen to be competitive specialties for the most part. Having said that, there appears to be easier and harder spots to get into depending on locatrion, quality, didactics, etc. With your scores, it shouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[humuhumu]

Hi guys,
First of all, is a TY OK before advanced neurology? (I think as long as it is compliant with ABPN requirements, It is fine).
Second, is it really so tough getting a TY spot for an IMG that it is not worth applying?? I am an IMG with scores in 270s and 280s.

Isn't the highest possible score a 280?

 

[Adalimumab]

Isn't the highest possible score a 280?

Apparently it is not. Putatively, the highest possible score is 300.

 

[smq123]

Isn't the highest possible score a 280?

I think the highest possible score is a 300. I don't think that anyone has ever scored over a 280, though. Something like that.

 

[Law2Doc]

...Having said that, there appears to be easier and harder spots to get into depending on locatrion, quality, didactics, etc. ...

Agree with location, disagree that quality or didactics factor in to which ones are more competitive. The folks who are looking for an cushy year before their rad onc, derm or optho residencies are looking for two things: something easy, akin to a vacation, and a decent location. Which is why the TYs in vacation destinations and those with a reputation for being a very relaxing mindless joke of a year tend to fill up first. Nobody cares about quality -- you already have matched into the residency that you are going to be known for. And certainly nobody cares about didactics on the applicant side -- it's something you are told to ask about, but seriously, are you going to turn down an easy TY in, say, Hawaii, because the lectures aren't known to be that impressive? And even if you did care, in most residencies, didactics are something thrown together haphazard so that programs can say they offer such, and more often than not are really just opportunities for other residents to practice presenting, so it's often a case of bad to worse, not bad vs good. As with med school, the non-clinical stuff you teach yourself, and the clinical stuff you learn by doing.

So no, nobody cares about a TY being top notch, and nobody cares if they teach you anything. The dude who matches into derm simply doesn't want to go someplace where they are actually going to work him 80 hours a week taking care of crashing gomers. So the TY programs that are 90% easy electives where you dabble in a variety of things but don't work particularly hard in any particular area are what gets snapped up first, and are the ones that require the highest scores. Because folks going into the most competitive fields need to do a one year stint someplace, these can end up the most competitive places in the match -- they get to interview the best of the most competitive fields. By contrast, the TY that really isn't any easier than an prelim surgery residency would fill up last, sometimes even in the scramble. There are only a few of these, and it probably pays to go IM or surg if the TY is just as bad -- at least you might learn something.