Matched General Surgery / Below Average - AMA

[Surgeon D.O.]

Enough reached out to me about this so here it goes:

For anonymity I will keep my stats private and this will be more of AMA opposed to a write up.

Available to answer any questions as time permits!

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[theoceanman]

How much research did you do and what other meaningful experiences do you think made you match? I also am interested in general surgery!

 

[Niwrad]

Is true that it’s ok if you literally answer every question wrong but as long as you put in the work and are nice you’ll be fine in residency?

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

How much research did you do and what other meaningful experiences do you think made you match? I also am interested in general surgery!

No pubs at all. Some projects that ended up going nowhere I was able to put down. I could have been more aggressive with this in retrospect but I was hoping each project would amount to something and then crickets.

Really no volunteer stuff or other real experiences at all because it all seemed too fluffy and unnecessary in grad school. If something sounded fun or interesting that's a different story but I don't like to do things just do to them if they don't have meaning.

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Is true that it’s ok if you literally answer every question wrong but as long as you put in the work and are nice you’ll be fine in residency?

I'm still a med student so hard to say - personally I don't care if you can answer the question right or wrong, often this is brute memorization. I care if you work hard and are teachable / look to improve.

 

[theoceanman]

No pubs at all. Some projects that ended up going nowhere I was able to put down. I could have been more aggressive with this in retrospect but I was hoping each project would amount to something and then crickets.

Really no volunteer stuff or other real experiences at all because it all seemed too fluffy and unnecessary in grad school. If something sounded fun or interesting that's a different story but I don't like to do things just to them if they don't have meaning.

Did you take both the COMLEX and USMLE? If so, did you do above average for both?

 

[MCAT-boy]

Any tips for scheduling away rotations like how many to apply, only historical DO programs or a mix of DO and MD, etc.?

Edit: rephrasing my question: How many away rotation did you apply to? Did you only apply to historical DO programs or also MD programs?

 

[DrStephenStrange]

OP how below average are we talking about? Can you give us a ballpark? Doesn’t have to be exact stats.

 

[Calizboosted76]

OP how below average are we talking about? Can you give us a ballpark? Doesn’t have to be exact stats.

+1 for this.

There was someone with below a 215 step 1 that matched GS. (Obviously an outlier and no longer important with pass/fail) but I am curious about how below average we are talking.

 

[LIFS7]

Were there any interview questions you encountered in multiple interviews outside of the common questions/statements (i.e. tell me about yourself, why surgery, etc.)?

What do you think allowed you to match being a “below average applicant?” Was there anything specific interviewers mentioned?

 

[scoopdaboop]

Were there any interview questions you encountered in multiple interviews outside of the common questions/statements (i.e. tell me about yourself, why surgery, etc.)?

What do you think allowed you to match being a “below average applicant?” Was there anything interviewers mentioned.

great auditions + letters, i imagine.

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Did you take both the COMLEX and USMLE? If so, did you do above average for both?

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

OP how below average are we talking about? Can you give us a ballpark? Doesn’t have to be exact stats.

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Were there any interview questions you encountered in multiple interviews outside of the common questions/statements (i.e. tell me about yourself, why surgery, etc.)?

What do you think allowed you to match being a “below average applicant?” Was there anything specific interviewers mentioned?

great auditions + letters, i imagine.

I would say auditions for sure. I also received positive feedback on my LORs throughout interview season and was not frugal or limited in geographic region.

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Any tips for scheduling away rotations like how many to apply, only historical DO programs or a mix of DO and MD, etc.?

Edit: rephrasing my question: How many away rotation did you apply to? Did you only apply to historical DO programs or also MD programs?

Historical DO was all I targeted. I would say apply for a good handful because there is absolutely a chance that dates won’t work or something.

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Were there any interview questions you encountered in multiple interviews outside of the common questions/statements (i.e. tell me about yourself, why surgery, etc.)?

What do you think allowed you to match being a “below average applicant?” Was there anything specific interviewers mentioned?

No questions really out of left field. Some of them were scenarios where you basically messed up or the nurse messed up your order and how you would handle it.

 

[Niwrad]

I would say auditions for sure. I also received positive feedback on my LORs throughout interview season and was not frugal or limited in geographic region.

What kind of feedback? I have a similar setup to my app as yours, but delayed by a few months. I too was not frugal or limited but was surprised how competitive the prelim match was this year

 

[LIFS7]

I would say auditions for sure. I also received positive feedback on my LORs throughout interview season and was not frugal or limited in geographic region.

How many auditions were you able to do? Were they all 4 wks long?

General tips on doing well on audition rotations?

 

[Mr.Red]

How was your med school gpa/rank? Did/does that play a role in a way when applying to GS?

 

[Schwifty]

Not a question, but I remember you making a post years ago about wanting to do GS with below average stats. Just wanted to say congrats!!!

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Not a question, but I remember you making a post years ago about wanting to do GS with below average stats. Just wanted to say congrats!!!

Thanks a ton! Congrats on your accomplishment as well, we made it!

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

How was your med school gpa/rank? Did/does that play a role in a way when applying to GS?

I would say my scores and lack of research held me back more than anything.

I struggled a bit in didactic med school years but wasn't at the bottom. Personally I think basing someone's ability to practice medicine based off years 1 and 2 is dumb and not relevant at all.

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

What kind of feedback? I have a similar setup to my app as yours, but delayed by a few months. I too was not frugal or limited but was surprised how competitive the prelim match was this year

I'll PM you when I have a bit more time.

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

How many auditions were you able to do? Were they all 4 wks long?

General tips on doing well on audition rotations?

I did 4 auditions that were all 4 weeks long.

I knew someone who did a bunch of 2 week rotations since they assumed each audition would result in an interview, I don't agree with that but I'm sure it worked for them.

Shining on interviews - man, this could be a novel:

My biggest piece of advice is going to be the hardest one for med students to swallow:

Most med students really have no awareness of when they're coming off annoying or talkative or saying the wrong thing. No one thinks this is them but it is. The excuses and humble bragging needs to stop too. I'm a bit older and I know some of this is a part of growing up but I cannot tell you how much I think this is holding a lot of medical students back.

 

[deleted1139416]

Do you think that having a letter from the OBGYN clerkship holds any value towards applying GS?

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Do you think that having a letter from the OBGYN clerkship holds any value towards applying GS?

I'm a believer in LORs from your specialty of interest.

With that said, I have absolutely heard of successfully matched GS applicants with LORS from other specialties.

If you can get a solid Ob-Gyn letter, I'd say get it and keep it in your back pocket in case something falls through with a GS letter and you're scrambling.