M3 on LOA-Interested in Psychiatry

[coolcat7]

I really need all the advise and help I can use at this moment.

I am a med student at the top 30-40 med school in the U.S., have finished M1 and M2, low step 1 score of 206 and currently on LOA, starting M3 in 8 months. I am interested in applying for Psychiatry residency eventually.
First 2 years curriculum is P/F and I am a below average student in my class.

Currently, I am volunteering at free clinics and looking for some research in Psychiatry field. It is kind of late to apply for a research opportunity as most of the application deadlines have passed. I hope, I can find something at my university with opportunity to publish.

I have taken Clinical Research for credits during my undergraduate for 2 years in Psychiatry. No publication though. Between the summer of M1 and M2 I did basic research and did not like it. Please suggest how should I use the next 8 months to get the maximum benefit to boost my CV for Psychiatry residency application. I am worried as my Step 1 is only 206 and I have a gap year because of LOA.

Thank you!!!

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[MacDonaldTriad]

If you graduate from an allopathic school without failing anything, you will get in. If you are aiming at some of the most competitive places, your LOA is possibly more of a liability than a 206. LOAs can be fine, or they can look like trouble depending on the reason for them. "I took a year off to build housing in West Africa for the Peace Corps" is different than "I wasn't sure I wanted to become a doctor so hung out at the beach all summer and then went skiing all winter." No explanation isn't good as programs will imagine the worst. You should know what is said about it in your dean's letter because if your explanation doesn't match theirs, that isn't good. Good luck,

 

[coolcat7]

If you graduate from an allopathic school without failing anything, you will get in. If you are aiming at some of the most competitive places, your LOA is possibly more of a liability than a 206. LOAs can be fine, or they can look like trouble depending on the reason for them. "I took a year off to build housing in West Africa for the Peace Corps" is different than "I wasn't sure I wanted to become a doctor so hung out at the beach all summer and then went skiing all winter." No explanation isn't good as programs will imagine the worst. You should know what is said about it in your dean's letter because if your explanation doesn't match theirs, that isn't good. Good luck,

I am going to start as a research volunteer in Psychiatry Research through my Medical College. Do you think my personal LOA can be converted to Research LOA by my school? If I am able to publish, will PDs look at my LOA differently?

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

I really can not comment on your school's feelings about doing that. You will have to talk to them. I suspect many will, but some may feel required to use the original explanation for ethical reasons. We are made aware of things not included in dean's letters fairly regularly. I guess fear of litigation keeps dean's from being candid.