Late to the surgery game

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Monster-Mormon

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2+ Year Member
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This seems to be a common theme/ thread on here. I am a 3rd year DO student in the midwest. I got out on rotations and absolutely loved being in the OR. This is a huge change for me as I was basically gung-ho about EM from the start.

I've done pretty well in medical school, being in top quarter of the class. I honored my OBGYN and FM rotations so far, haven't taken the Surg shelf. I have a single pub with the possibility of a second this year. I ended up taking both Step 1 and Comlex 1 and passed, for what that's worth. No red flags.

I know that I have to kill it on Step 2, but I really want some advice on what kinds of programs I should look at applying to and doing aways with. Should I focus on community-based programs that are majority DO, or more local university programs? How many aways should I look to do? Are there any red flags when looking at programs I should avoid or should I be in a "take what I can get" mentality? Really just looking for mentorship. Thanks.