Just an MS3 wanting to do FM, looking for some advice...

[famhopes]

---

Members don't see this ad.

So I understand that getting into family medicine as a US allopathic student isn't the challenge, but what about the more competitive programs? How competitive do they get? What's the focus on being a desired applicant for those programs (grades? board scores? research? all of the above?)


-I'm a Texas medical student and would like to stay in Texas. Where can I find rankings for FM residencies in my state? Any programs known throughout the FM world to be highly respected? I'd like to see some of these programs during my away rotations 4th year.

-I don't feel I'm a very competitive student right now. A/B's 1st year of school. Then A/B/C's second year and the two C's (79.X) were in large credit hour subjects so it sunk my GPA/ranking (was helping a lot with my family regarding economic problems and foreclosures etc. same thing the rest of the country is dealing with I'm sure so I'm not making for excuses. I can however do better). 205 step 1 as a result. Not good 🙁

-How I'm trying to turn it around...
I'm now in 3rd year and have a B in IM, an A in psych, an A in peds, and am hopefully going to continue this trend. All of my attendings have offered, without prompting, to give me letters of recommendations. I'm getting strong evals and feedback for my clinical work. I feel like I came alive this year now that I'm out of the classroom. I am also studying my qbank already to hopefully be more competitive on step 2. And I did some research in Family Medicine, that I'm submitting to journals right now. Hopefully I could get something published before this year is out.



So what now? The further I get into, the more I realize how important my residency program is going to be in enjoying my training and being well trained. I would appreciate any advice you could offer me. Thanks! 🙂

 

[lowbudget]

I'll take first stab at this question, and then let others who know more guide you through.

So I understand that getting into family medicine as a US allopathic student isn't the challenge, but what about the more competitive programs? How competitive do they get? What's the focus on being a desired applicant for those programs (grades? board scores? research? all of the above?)

Yes, yes, and yes. There's a document through the NRMP that surveys PD's on what's important and what's the average Step 1, etc that you can find. It gives you a general big picture, but you're right, competitive programs are competitive programs.

The thing is you're competing *against* other applicants, and not against a minimum/average standard, for a seat. So, if a program has a lot of highly qualified applicants, all things equal, your chances are reduced. So grades/boards do matter at competitive programs. The question is what are the stats of the other applicants?

That being said, admission committees have different philosophies at different programs. Some places say hey let's go for the highest numbers; while other programs (most programs) look at an applicant's numbers, say that they're "good enough", and proceed to look at other things in the application. These philosophies shift from year to year depending on how strong/weak their applicant pool is that year. No one really knows what the focus will be and since it can't be predicted a priori, the name of the game is to be excellent in every category to be best of your ability.

-I'm a Texas medical student and would like to stay in Texas. Where can I find rankings for FM residencies in my state? Any programs known throughout the FM world to be highly respected? I'd like to see some of these programs during my away rotations 4th year.

The good news is that there are a lot of good programs in Texas but for a state as big as Texas, even family medicine has become competitive over the past couple of years. Texas medical schools have been increasing its size and new medical schools have opened new campuses. It has been highly publicized that many Texas medical students need to look elsewhere in other states because there aren't enough residency spots (that's, for all specialties) to accommodate the medical students the State trains in its own public medical school.

There are no rankings from what I understand, but back when I was a med student, JPS in Fort Worth and Memorial Southwest in Houston/Sugar Land were the Texas names that came up over and over that people say consistently graduate excellent resident and has a good reputation. That's hard to do considering they have 2 of the largest classes to fill. If you prefer smaller class sizes in smaller towns, people talk about Conroe, Waco, and Tyler.

-I don't feel I'm a very competitive student right now. A/B's 1st year of school. Then A/B/C's second year and the two C's (79.X) were in large credit hour subjects so it sunk my GPA/ranking (was helping a lot with my family regarding economic problems and foreclosures etc. same thing the rest of the country is dealing with I'm sure so I'm not making for excuses. I can however do better). 205 step 1 as a result. Not good 🙁

-How I'm trying to turn it around...
I'm now in 3rd year and have a B in IM, an A in psych, an A in peds, and am hopefully going to continue this trend. All of my attendings have offered, without prompting, to give me letters of recommendations. I'm getting strong evals and feedback for my clinical work. I feel like I came alive this year now that I'm out of the classroom. I am also studying my qbank already to hopefully be more competitive on step 2. And I did some research in Family Medicine, that I'm submitting to journals right now. Hopefully I could get something published before this year is out.

Oh well. Your grades/scores are what they are and you can't go back to change any of it now. What people care about is: Do you know your medicine? Will you be a good doctor? Are you easy to work with? Are you teachable? Everything ad-coms look at in the application/letters/interview etc goes towards answering these questions.

If you have weaknesses in your application, that's fine. What's more important is how do you compensate for your weaknesses. People don't really care for excuse-making. I think so long as you're doing all the things you can to strengthen your application, working hard, and maximizing your opportunities, you can't ask for anything more and it's out of your hands (so don't worry about it). And, if you think you can do better, do better.

Medical training to me is interesting because it's littered with stories about people's ups and downs. Sometimes, all it takes is for a small thing to work in your favor and it all opens up. All of a sudden, things seem to click. Sounds like you're on that upswing, so be confident, stay humble, and ride your wave of success.

So what now? The further I get into, the more I realize how important my residency program is going to be in enjoying my training and being well trained. I would appreciate any advice you could offer me. Thanks! 🙂

Absolutely. There are so many family medicine programs out there that represent the range/diversity of family doctors, trainees, and communities that they serve. You need to understand that there is no such thing as a #1 family medicine program in any state. You also have to realize that when people talk about "good" programs, that's an opinion, not a fact. One program doesn't fit all. You'll find one that meets your needs, and a program will pick you if you fit theirs.

What you do know is continue to work hard, continue to learn, and model yourself after the person you want to become. At this point in your 3rd year, you should be aiming on how to be a good 4th year; and as a 4th year, model yourself after the best intern you've ever met, and etc etc.

And, if this whole time, you think about the best doctor (family medicine or otherwise) that you've ever met and what skills they have that you wished you have, your next steps on what goals you should set for yourself and what skills you need to develop will become strikingly clear.

 

[famhopes]

Yes, yes, and yes. There's a document through the NRMP that surveys PD's on what's important and what's the average Step 1, etc that you can find

This is the kind of thing I am looking for to get some objective comparisons. I will track that down.

Absolutely. There are so many family medicine programs out there that represent the range/diversity of family doctors, trainees, and communities that they serve. You need to understand that there is no such thing as a #1 family medicine program in any state. You also have to realize that when people talk about "good" programs, that's an opinion, not a fact. One program doesn't fit all. You'll find one that meets your needs, and a program will pick you if you fit theirs.

What you do know is continue to work hard, continue to learn, and model yourself after the person you want to become. At this point in your 3rd year, you should be aiming on how to be a good 4th year; and as a 4th year, model yourself after the best intern you've ever met, and etc etc.

And, if this whole time, you think about the best doctor (family medicine or otherwise) that you've ever met and what skills they have that you wished you have, your next steps on what goals you should set for yourself and what skills you need to develop will become strikingly clear.

Thank you for this advice. REALLY that helps put things into perspective for me. I'm doing everything I possibly can to do as well as I can this year and it's paying off. I'll try to remember the moving horizon. I have a big fear of being a mediocre student (currently changing that) leaving me with mediocre residency options and onto a mediocre job situation.


So here's a possibly dense question. In your opinion, can I get a FM residency in Texas that would leave me poorly trained?
Or is poor training simply a matter of not fitting a program and a program not fitting you? Or not taking advantage of what the program is offering?

 

[lowbudget]

So here's a possibly dense question. In your opinion, can I get a FM residency in Texas that would leave me poorly trained?
Or is poor training simply a matter of not fitting a program and a program not fitting you? Or not taking advantage of what the program is offering?

Oh I don't know. I guess so.

Family medicine differs from all other specialties because it's relatively short and it covers an incredible amount of breadth. That means, every case you see needs to be a teaching case; you need to be a quick learner (see one, do one, teach one); and you need to have self-initiative to fill your own learning gaps and teach yourself.

So the program you pick needs to fit your learning style. Some programs are very lecture heavy while others are very patient-care heavy with little lecturing. You want a program that identifies what topic areas are more amenable to lecturing, while others are more amenable to teaching via patient-care. You want a curriculum that correctly identifies topic areas that are better taught through repetitition through patient care and topic areas that are pretty self-explanatory and can be learned on your own.

 

[famhopes]

Gotcha. Thanks again for the advice. Time to go get some rest. I've got to be up early tomorrow to be the best "4th year" I can be.




Anyone else who reads this, I would very much appreciate any advice for students planning on entering an FM residency.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Are you an MD or a DO student??? There are both types of residencies in Texas so you need to be specific please.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Are you an MD or a DO student??? There are both types of residencies in Texas so you need to be specific please.

I think the first sentence pretty well covered that....

"So I understand that getting into family medicine as a US allopathic student isn't the challenge"

 

[cabinbuilder]

I think the first sentence pretty well covered that....

"So I understand that getting into family medicine as a US allopathic student isn't the challenge"

Doesn't mean a thing since DO's can do both residencies. There are both types of residencies in Texas. Some take both, some take DO only, sometake MD only. Need specifics if you have a certain program you want to know about. I went to a DO only program in TX and could provide insight into the one I went too.

No need to be so nasty.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Doesn't mean a thing since DO's can do both residencies. There are both types of residencies in Texas. Some take both, some take DO only, sometake MD only. Need specifics if you have a certain program you want to know about. I went to a DO only program in TX and could provide insight into the one I went too.

No need to be so nasty.

Yeah, sorry about that. My only excuse was 3 borderlines back to back to back in clinic. My poor little intern soul can only take so much.

 

[famhopes]

Are you an MD or a DO student??? There are both types of residencies in Texas so you need to be specific please.

Sorry I didn't explicitly state it. I'm an MD student.

 

[Dwindlin]

This is the kind of thing I am looking for to get some objective comparisons. I will track that down.

I think this is what they were talking about in case you were still looking.


PD Survey 2010.

 

[simpler2]

I can only speak for my program but my impression of other (even the competitive) FM programs is that number still don't really matter. This is FM and the really great programs care more about who you are overall rather than your numbers.
That being said, some number issues can definitely lessen your possibilities. Failing any step even once, especially CK is a huge red flag. Also, having to repeat years or any other disruption in training can hold you up.
What your preceptors are saying about you, your personal statement, and the other (publications, research, volunteer opportunities, second languages, prior life experience) give you a lot more cred in the FM world in my mind.