Matched in Dermatology! Happy to Share My Thoughts on the Experience with Anyone Who is Interested.

[medschoolappl]

Self-Explanatory. Down to talk about stats/applications/interviews etc. Figured I'd share my knowledge/experience with anyone who cares before moving on from medical school. AMA

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[samsunimomo]

Thanks! What were your stats, how many publications did you have by the time that you applied, and what # did you match on your list?

 

[750335]

Okay. Start from the very beginning. Step by step guide on how to be you in a few years.

Also, what/how did you study for step 1?

 

[medschoolappl]

Thanks! What were your stats, how many publications did you have by the time that you applied, and what # did you match on your list?

I graduated from a top 20 medical school, P/F pre-clinical, Half Honors/Half High Pass clinical grades, Step 1: 264, Step 2 CK: 256, not AOA.

I took a research year and got a Masters Degree in Translational Research. Over that year I presented 3 posters, gave 2 oral presentations, published 2 case reports, published 1 review paper in basic science, and had a first author basic science paper in a medium impact journal.

I matched at my number 3 spot

 

[medschoolappl]

Did you plan on pursuing Derm when you started school? If so, when did you start seeking out a lab to conduct research (was it derm related)? Anything that you did as an MS1 that you feel was vital to your success?

I decided late on derm, during my 3rd year of medical school. For that reason and given my average stats for derm, I took a research year. Matching dermatology is all about mentorship so I think if I had sought out mentors earlier in medical school and got involved with research/clinical shadowing, I maybe could have avoided the year. That being said, we had 9 apply to derm my year, 8 matched, 7 took a research year.

I did do a basic science year but the majority of my cohort did clinical research. I had no background in basic science but numerous advisors told me that doing some low impact chart review/clinical project would not really set me apart unless I had multiple publications. They emphasized that having 1 first author paper in a decent basic science journal gives you an edge. I had a derm mentor, who I identified early, who set me up in a wound healing lab. The PI already had a grant and preliminary work on the project had already been completed. So I spent a year duplicating those experiments and a few other minor things and then submitting it. It was published 1 week before ERAS was submitted which was just plain luck.

Matching derm, IMO, is about half your Step 1 and clinical grades and half research, publications, and letters. You should get a start on the latter part as early as possible.

 

[medschoolappl]

Okay. Start from the very beginning. Step by step guide on how to be you in a few years.

I've sort of answered this. Get a start on research and building mentorship relationships as early as possible. It goes without saying you need to crush Step 1 and clinicals. If you are exceptionally productive during your first 3 years, you can apply straight. Otherwise, you should take a research year and publish like your career depends on it. Which it does.

 

[750335]

I've sort of answered this. Get a start on research and building mentorship relationships as early as possible. It goes without saying you need to crush Step 1 and clinicals. If you are exceptionally productive during your first 3 years, you can apply straight. Otherwise, you should take a research year and publish like your career depends on it. Which it does.

So even with a 264 you needed a research year? :| Also, how did you study for step to get 264?

 

[medschoolappl]

So even with a 264 you needed a research year? :| Also, how did you study for step to get 264?

I had a mix of honors and high passes for clinical. My Step probably bolstered that a little but I did not feel comfortable applying without being AOA. Derm has the lowest match rate of all the specialities if I'm not mistaken. To not match or match something like IM would have been devastating for me. So I took the year and it paid off.

I'll defer talking about my Step 1 study approach. I studied really hard, did all of UWorld, read and annotated First Aid a couple times, and I've always been good at standardized test taking.

 

[intubesteak]

What made you interested in derm (other than lifestyle type stuff)? How did you explore the field? I have thought about it but it just does not seem as interesting as other areas of medicine...but then again I know very little about it.

 

[speedyxx626]

I had a mix of honors and high passes for clinical. My Step probably bolstered that a little but I did not feel comfortable applying without being AOA. Derm has the lowest match rate of all the specialities if I'm not mistaken. To not match or match something like IM would have been devastating for me. So I took the year and it paid off.

I'll defer talking about my Step 1 study approach. I studied really hard, did all of UWorld, read and annotated First Aid a couple times, and I've always been good at standardized test taking.

No, vascular has the current lowest match rate :/ Congrats on matching!

 

[CCmetal94]

Exactly how many goats did you have to sacrifice each week? Some say child sacrifices are preferred, your thoughts?

 

[medschoolappl]

What made you interested in derm (other than lifestyle type stuff)? How did you explore the field? I have thought about it but it just does not seem as interesting as other areas of medicine...but then again I know very little about it.

I have been waiting to be asked this question and I love explaining why derm to more junior medical students. To me, it came down to the following factors:

1) A wide variety of diseases with a wide variety of modalities to diagnose and treat them. There are infectious, autoimmune, oncologic, and genetic primary cutaneous conditions as well as a fascinating array of dermatologic manifestations of systemic illnesses like lupus, sarcoidosis, AIDS, and others. With the former you will be involved with both diagnosis and management and with the latter its a lot of fun to make a diagnosis and then have the nitty gritty managed by another specialist. You make a diagnosis by visual inspection and pattern recognition but also with dermatopathology. I think this clinical pathologic correlation is an interesting and underrated part of derm. With respect to treatments available, you have so much to offer your patients! A lot of the time you use topicals which are extremely effective and have very few systemic side effects but you also have a wide range of systemic immunomodulators, anti-infectives, and biologics available. Procedural derm allows you to practice surgery but in that awesome derm way: local or regional anesthesia, office based, most procedures are less than an hour, etc. You are trained in residency to do a wide range of excisions, flap and graft based reconstructions as well as gain expertise with injectables, lasers, and a variety of other modalities. Fortunately, our scope of practice overlaps with plastics, oculoplastics, and ENT so you can always refer the very complex cases out. If you elect to do a Mohs fellowship, let me tell you, that is hardcore surgery: I've seen them cut down to periosteum and do extremely complex closures. It's really amazing to watch and cool to know its an option.

2) The derm life style is second to none. No call, no weekends, no emergencies. You can probably make more in plastics, ENT, or ortho but they will work you like a dog during your 6+ years of residency. If you elect to do 1 more year of fellowship in Mohs you can easily match their salary if that's what you care about. I challenge anybody to show me a field with a better pay/work ratio. If instead of making 350k+ and working 40-50 hours a week in a busy private practice, you elect to take a 20% pay cut, you can easily work 35 hours and take a 1-2 half days off per week for academic time, research time, whatever you care about time. I personally love the "privademic" model which is super popular in derm. You work 3.5 days per week in a mixed gen derm/cosmetics private practice and you serve 1-1.5 days as part time faculty at an academic medical center involved in resident eduction, building out a speciality clinic in some niche interest, conducting clinical research, etc. It's awesome.

3) Patients care so much about their skin. You never have to worry about patient compliance, they will do what you say religiously, and fortunately you can treat most diseases to complete remission or cure. Patients will love you for it. People love dermatologists. You are providing a huge social good by treating skin disease and you affect these people's emotional and social wellbeing in unimaginable ways. You have huge social value wherever you go because everybody is obsessed with looking their best and anti-aging is your scope of practice. You will sometimes get flack from your colleagues in medicine but its mostly envy I think.

I hope that answers your question. More than anything derm gives you the opportunity to choose what kind of doctor you want to be. If you want to be a hardcore academic dermatologist involved in hospital consultation and management of graft versus host disease, cutaneous lymphoma, etc no one is going to stop you. In fact, you can literally go anywhere in the country and do that because there are so few dermatologists willing to take the opportunity cost of the pay cut. You want to be hardcore surgeon doing cutaneous oncology/dermatologic surgery do that. You want to make a million bucks a year injecting collagen and botox, do that. Your colleagues at AAD and other derm conferences will reflect that diversity and are a really fun, interesting group. Maybe your priorities change as you get older. Whatever you want, derm will have it. Good luck.

 

[JamaicanHerb]

How hot are you?

 

[intubesteak]

I have been waiting to be asked this question and I love explaining why derm to more junior medical students. To me, it came down to the following factors:

1) A wide variety of diseases with a wide variety of modalities to diagnose and treat them. There are infectious, autoimmune, oncologic, and genetic primary cutaneous conditions as well as a fascinating array of dermatologic manifestations of systemic illnesses like lupus, sarcoidosis, AIDS, and others. With the former you will be involved with both diagnosis and management and with the latter its a lot of fun to make a diagnosis and then have the nitty gritty managed by another specialist. You make a diagnosis by visual inspection and pattern recognition but also with dermatopathology. I think this clinical pathologic correlation is an interesting and underrated part of derm. With respect to treatments available, you have so much to offer your patients! A lot of the time you use topicals which are extremely effective and have very few systemic side effects but you also have a wide range of systemic immunomodulators, anti-infectives, and biologics available. Procedural derm allows you to practice surgery but in that awesome derm way: local or regional anesthesia, office based, most procedures are less than an hour, etc. You are trained in residency to do a wide range of excisions, flap and graft based reconstructions as well as gain expertise with injectables, lasers, and a variety of other modalities. Fortunately, our scope of practice overlaps with plastics, oculoplastics, and ENT so you can always refer the very complex cases out. If you elect to do a Mohs fellowship, let me tell you, that is hardcore surgery: I've seen them cut down to periosteum and do extremely complex closures. It's really amazing to watch and cool to know its an option.

2) The derm life style is second to none. No call, no weekends, no emergencies. You can probably make more in plastics, ENT, or ortho but they will work you like a dog during your 6+ years of residency. If you elect to do 1 more year of fellowship in Mohs you can easily match their salary if that's what you care about. I challenge anybody to show me a field with a better pay/work ratio. If instead of making 350k+ and working 40-50 hours a week in a busy private practice, you elect to take a 20% pay cut, you can easily work 35 hours and take a 1-2 half days off per week for academic time, research time, whatever you care about time. I personally love the "privademic" model which is super popular in derm. You work 3.5 days per week in a mixed gen derm/cosmetics private practice and you serve 1-1.5 days as part time faculty at an academic medical center involved in resident eduction, building out a speciality clinic in some niche interest, conducting clinical research, etc. It's awesome.

3) Patients care so much about their skin. You never have to worry about patient compliance, they will do what you say religiously, and fortunately you can treat most diseases to complete remission or cure. Patients will love you for it. People love dermatologists. You are providing a huge social good by treating skin disease and you affect these people's emotional and social wellbeing in unimaginable ways. You have huge social value wherever you go because everybody is obsessed with looking their best and anti-aging is your scope of practice. You will sometimes get flack from your colleagues in medicine but its mostly envy I think.

I hope that answers your question. More than anything derm gives you the opportunity to choose what kind of doctor you want to be. If you want to be a hardcore academic dermatologist involved in hospital consultation and management of graft versus host disease, cutaneous lymphoma, etc no one is going to stop you. In fact, you can literally go anywhere in the country and do that because there are so few dermatologists willing to take the opportunity cost of the pay cut. You want to be hardcore surgeon doing cutaneous oncology/dermatologic surgery do that. You want to make a million bucks a year injecting collagen and botox, do that. Your colleagues at AAD and other derm conferences will reflect that diversity and are a really fun, interesting group. Maybe your priorities change as you get older. Whatever you want, derm will have it. Good luck.

Thanks for the detailed reply. You have convinced me to pursue some shadowing...How rough/expensive/worth it was the research year? If I did decide to pursue derm I would probably need to go that route. It just sounds pretty scary to take an extra year (with compounding interest) with absolutely no guarantee of matching derm.

 

[medschoolappl]

How hot are you?

Hard 7

 

[Astra]

what was ur MCAT score?

How much more competitive do u see derm being in 4 years?

 

[Frogger27]

Bias against males in the field?

 

[Doctor-S]

I have been waiting to be asked this question and I love explaining why derm to more junior medical students. To me, it came down to the following factors:

1) A wide variety of diseases with a wide variety of modalities to diagnose and treat them. There are infectious, autoimmune, oncologic, and genetic primary cutaneous conditions as well as a fascinating array of dermatologic manifestations of systemic illnesses like lupus, sarcoidosis, AIDS, and others. With the former you will be involved with both diagnosis and management and with the latter its a lot of fun to make a diagnosis and then have the nitty gritty managed by another specialist. You make a diagnosis by visual inspection and pattern recognition but also with dermatopathology. I think this clinical pathologic correlation is an interesting and underrated part of derm. With respect to treatments available, you have so much to offer your patients! A lot of the time you use topicals which are extremely effective and have very few systemic side effects but you also have a wide range of systemic immunomodulators, anti-infectives, and biologics available. Procedural derm allows you to practice surgery but in that awesome derm way: local or regional anesthesia, office based, most procedures are less than an hour, etc. You are trained in residency to do a wide range of excisions, flap and graft based reconstructions as well as gain expertise with injectables, lasers, and a variety of other modalities. Fortunately, our scope of practice overlaps with plastics, oculoplastics, and ENT so you can always refer the very complex cases out. If you elect to do a Mohs fellowship, let me tell you, that is hardcore surgery: I've seen them cut down to periosteum and do extremely complex closures. It's really amazing to watch and cool to know its an option.

2) The derm life style is second to none. No call, no weekends, no emergencies. You can probably make more in plastics, ENT, or ortho but they will work you like a dog during your 6+ years of residency. If you elect to do 1 more year of fellowship in Mohs you can easily match their salary if that's what you care about. I challenge anybody to show me a field with a better pay/work ratio. If instead of making 350k+ and working 40-50 hours a week in a busy private practice, you elect to take a 20% pay cut, you can easily work 35 hours and take a 1-2 half days off per week for academic time, research time, whatever you care about time. I personally love the "privademic" model which is super popular in derm. You work 3.5 days per week in a mixed gen derm/cosmetics private practice and you serve 1-1.5 days as part time faculty at an academic medical center involved in resident eduction, building out a speciality clinic in some niche interest, conducting clinical research, etc. It's awesome.

3) Patients care so much about their skin. You never have to worry about patient compliance, they will do what you say religiously, and fortunately you can treat most diseases to complete remission or cure. Patients will love you for it. People love dermatologists. You are providing a huge social good by treating skin disease and you affect these people's emotional and social wellbeing in unimaginable ways. You have huge social value wherever you go because everybody is obsessed with looking their best and anti-aging is your scope of practice. You will sometimes get flack from your colleagues in medicine but its mostly envy I think.

I hope that answers your question. More than anything derm gives you the opportunity to choose what kind of doctor you want to be. If you want to be a hardcore academic dermatologist involved in hospital consultation and management of graft versus host disease, cutaneous lymphoma, etc no one is going to stop you. In fact, you can literally go anywhere in the country and do that because there are so few dermatologists willing to take the opportunity cost of the pay cut. You want to be hardcore surgeon doing cutaneous oncology/dermatologic surgery do that. You want to make a million bucks a year injecting collagen and botox, do that. Your colleagues at AAD and other derm conferences will reflect that diversity and are a really fun, interesting group. Maybe your priorities change as you get older. Whatever you want, derm will have it. Good luck.

Well-written @medschoolappl.

I am not a dermatologist but I know many dermatologists who fit this description. A good number of them also serve as part-time clinical faculty at the AMC.

 

[medschoolappl]

Bias against males in the field?

Actually a slight preference. It is such a female dominated field that males are encouraged to apply in the same way that women are encouraged to apply to ortho

 

[medschoolappl]

what was ur MCAT score?

How much more competitive do u see derm being in 4 years?

It has become more competitive in the past several years and the trend will likely continue. My first year of medical school it had a match rate in the mid 70% range this year it was 65%. There is an increase of about 5-10% spots per year for the last few years but it is greatly outpaced by the increased number of applicants.

 

[AlteredScale]

I decided late on derm, during my 3rd year of medical school. For that reason and given my average stats for derm, I took a research year. Matching dermatology is all about mentorship so I think if I had sought out mentors earlier in medical school and got involved with research/clinical shadowing, I maybe could have avoided the year. That being said, we had 9 apply to derm my year, 8 matched, 7 took a research year.

I did do a basic science year but the majority of my cohort did clinical research. I had no background in basic science but numerous advisors told me that doing some low impact chart review/clinical project would not really set me apart unless I had multiple publications. They emphasized that having 1 first author paper in a decent basic science journal gives you an edge. I had a derm mentor, who I identified early, who set me up in a wound healing lab. The PI already had a grant and preliminary work on the project had already been completed. So I spent a year duplicating those experiments and a few other minor things and then submitting it. It was published 1 week before ERAS was submitted which was just plain luck.

Matching derm, IMO, is about half your Step 1 and clinical grades and half research, publications, and letters. You should get a start on the latter part as early as possible.

When you took the research year was it a funded year meaning a formal fellowship or did you elect to do one with the school? If you do decide to do that with the school do they still help you with funding/loans for that year?

 

[medschoolappl]

When you took the research year was it a funded year meaning a formal fellowship or did you elect to do one with the school? If you do decide to do that with the school do they still help you with funding/loans for that year?

I continued to accrue interest on my loans at the unsubsidized ~6.5% rate and lived in student housing at the normal price. I did a Master's degree through the Clinical Research Institute at my medical center, which is partially NIH funded. The school gives a scholarship for this degree as well so I payed about $10,000 for the degree. It was costly but I don't regret it given the return on investment over a 30 year career.

 

[AlteredScale]

I continued to accrue interest on my loans at the unsubsidized ~6.5% rate and lived in student housing at the normal price. I did a Master's degree through the Clinical Research Institute at my medical center, which is partially NIH funded. The school gives a scholarship for this degree as well so I payed about $10,000 for the degree. It was costly but I don't regret it given the return on investment over a 30 year career.

Thanks a lot!

Did you just borrow the 10K then from Financial Aid?

 

[medschoolappl]

Thanks a lot!

Did you just borrow the 10K then from Financial Aid?

Yes, you get the same loan package to cover tuition, housing, fees. I just took what I needed to cover the year.

 

[AlteredScale]

Yes, you get the same loan package to cover tuition, housing, fees. I just took what I needed to cover the year.

That's good to know. I thought the schools leave you out to dry if you elect to do a research year haha.

 

[Astra]

What are some reasons a derm residency spot might remain unfilled? According to the match data, 7 PGy2 spots went unfilled.

Also, what factors make some derm residencies better than others?

 

[medschoolappl]

Did you apply to all tiers of residency programs, or just the top, considering your resume?

Aside: Are you single? Have you dated a younger man?

I applied to 75 programs, all the the top tier ones and many of the community programs in livable places.

I am a man and very happily dating my girlfriend of a year.

 

[medschoolappl]

What are some reasons a derm residency spot might remain unfilled? According to the match data, 7 PGy2 spots went unfilled.

Also, what factors make some derm residencies better than others?

I think the main reason for the couple of unfilled spots each year is that some programs chose to not rank individuals that they had very poor impressions of on interview day and try their luck with the SOAP. There will always be some all stars that fell off their list and have to SOAP so they will have no problem filling their spots in the second round. Also there are some third tier community programs in middle of nowhere places that may interview people and those people don't even rank them. It happens for sure.

The factors that make some programs better than other in no particular order are: geography, faculty productivity in terms of research and publications, a diverse enough patient population to see both bread and butter and more complex pathology in lots of different skin types, exposure and resident participation in procedures, quality of didactics, opportunities to interact with the wider regional and national dermatology community through invited lectures, dermatologic society meetings, etc.

That is a non exhaustive list but are some things I thought about.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Do you ever feel guilty knowing that you won't ever be as important as a cardiologist or a neurosurgeon when it actually comes to saving people's lives?

 

[medschoolappl]

Do you ever feel guilty knowing that you won't ever be as important as a cardiologist or a neurosurgeon when it actually comes to saving people's lives?

I love this question. I struggled with it a lot when I first decided on dermatology. That I was "selling out". That I would no longer be the "hero doc" that is popularized in media representations of medicine. That all my skills and talent could be applied towards saving lives.

Ultimately, the realities of contemporary medicine just didn't align with my expectations enough for me to make any additional sacrifice of my quality of life. There is too much administrative overreach, too much medical futility, too much bull**** for that occassional touchy feely moment of "I owe my life to you". I value high quality relationships with my loved ones, exercise, my hobbies, and having a rewarding, intellectually satisfying career improving quality of life on a day to day basis. I also wanted all of the aforementioned not in the future when I am middle aged with my best years behind me but during residency too.

And hey, every once in a while you'll catch that funny looking mole that could have turned into something far more ominous.

 

[Stagg737]

What's your go-to skin care product? How do you feel about serums? Is Dr. Pimple Popper one of your heroes?

 

[ERDOC555]

Self-Explanatory. Down to talk about stats/applications/interviews etc. Figured I'd share my knowledge/experience with anyone who cares before moving on from medical school. AMA

Fantastic thread so far!

I'm also scared of the increasing competition for Derm, especially from this new generation of medical students. I swear like 15-20% of my class thinks they're going to be dermatologists, and most seem dead set to apply regardless of step. Do you think we'll see absurd rates in the upcoming years? I wouldn't be surprised to see it hit 50% with this massive surge of interest.

Also, you said you applied to 75 programs, mostly mid to top tier, how many interviews did you get?

 

[holycrap]

If you had to pick another specialty which would it be and why. Thanks for this.

 

[medschoolappl]

If you had to pick another specialty which would it be and why. Thanks for this.

I was originally thinking rheum which I liked a lot but didn't want to do IM, also the return on investment for those extra 2 years of fellowship is minimal, so not a great investment. Was also thinking optho and ENT for some of the reasons described above but the residencies were much more intense and I don't really like the OR. Ultimately, derm was the best fit.

 

[medschoolappl]

Would you ever advise an applicant to postpone research during medical school until their research year, given that the majority of successful applicants have to take time off for research anyway? This way, the applicant can focus on obtaining the best grades and evaluations possible instead of having to balance lab time and getting publications.

Or, would you always advise getting involved with research the summer after MS1 and continuing on throughout school?

As I mentioned above, successfully matching is about half numbers and half the other stuff. I would never sacrifice getting top grades or scores for an extra case report or poster. Ideally you could start making connections in the department early on in medical school and building a mentorship network which will benefit you irrespective of your research productivity.

 

[Frogger27]

I know you decided late on derm, but hopefully you can still answer the following question. What is the best way in the pre-clinical years to show a genuine interest in dermatology (shadow, research, begin to build network, etc) without coming across as a typical gunner medical student?

 

[medschoolappl]

I know you decided late on derm, but hopefully you can still answer the following question. What is the best way in the pre-clinical years to show a genuine interest in dermatology (shadow, research, begin to build network, etc) without coming across as a typical gunner medical student?

You can do a lot of things to show interest: go to grand rounds, do a summer project in the department, reach out to faculty about shadowing opportunities, be active in the derm interest group, attend regional or national conferences like AAD.

Being a "gunner" means having an aire of superiority, actively undermining your classmates, and prioritizing grades to the detriment of other important aspects of your life. Working hard, demonstrating interest, and seeking out opportunities doesn't make you a gunner it makes you someone who wants to have a reasonable shot at matching.

 

[WildcatS11]

When someone asks "is there a doctor on the plane?" are you going to raise your hand?

 

[Merely]

When someone asks "is there a doctor on the plane?" are you going to raise your hand?

Not unless the person is dying of acne

 

[medschoolappl]

When someone asks "is there a doctor on the plane?" are you going to raise your hand?

"Daddy, you're a doctor!" "Shhh, sweetheart, we talked about this. Daddy's not that kind of doctor.."

In all seriousness, why would I not raise my hand? I've done 2 emergency medicine rotations in medical school and will have completed a full year of preliminary medicine. I know how to triage chest pain, SOB, headache, focal neurological deficit, and acute abdominal pain in my sleep. The determination on the airplane is sick or not sick which translates to "do we need to land this plane". I think I will feel comfortable doing this especially if there is no one else available to take the reigns. If there is, I welcome the opportunity to collaborate with another physician and work as a team, which is how medicine is practiced.

Of course if the patient needs management of their central diabetes inspidus or difficult to control hyperglycemia requiring two oral agents, i will defer and go back to sipping my cocktail in business class

 

[ShaolinMaster]

I saw you did basic science in wound healing and I can see the connection to derm. Opportunities to explore derm this summer weren't available and I picked up some interested research in an IM speciality. How important do you feel it is to have research in the field?

 

[medschoolappl]

I saw you did basic science in wound healing and I can see the connection to derm. Opportunities to explore derm this summer weren't available and I picked up some interested research in an IM speciality. How important do you feel it is to have research in the field?

I think research productivity is the most important thing. Ideally the field relates at least peripherally to derm but publishing and getting a great letter matter more.

 

[zhopv10]

I'm also planning on applying to dermatology and fairly recently switched to derm from another field, would love some advice. Would you mind answering some questions via PM?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[medschoolappl]

I'm also planning on applying to dermatology and fairly recently switched to derm from another field, would love some advice. Would you mind answering some questions via PM?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

Sure

 

[neuronerdrandomnumbers]

Question- How much does school matter for derm? I've been accepted to a top 10 school in the midwest and a state school in California. I think I would be happier at the California one (near where I'm working/living now), but I'm worried the reputation of and research I could do at the better school is too important to residency applications to turn down.

 

[ShaolinMaster]

Thanks for answering, follow up question:

The home department isn't robust in research at all, I believe I could find some case reports to construct later on but even this is up in the air giving their track record. I believe mostly everyone who has matched has taken a research year(may be related, may not be). Do you believe Case reports coupled with the Clinical Research from outside the field will be enough?

 

[medschoolappl]

Thanks for answering, follow up question:

The home department isn't robust in research at all, I believe I could find some case reports to construct later on but even this is up in the air giving their track record. I believe mostly everyone who has matched has taken a research year(may be related, may not be). Do you believe Case reports coupled with the Clinical Research from outside the field will be enough?

It's hard to say without knowing your particular case. I think many people match with strong clinical research in derm or a related field + case reports and posters. Many people don't though given the importance of pristine or near pristine scores and LORs.

 

[medschoolappl]

Question- How much does school matter for derm? I've been accepted to a top 10 school in the midwest and a state school in California. I think I would be happier at the California one (near where I'm working/living now), but I'm worried the reputation of and research I could do at the better school is too important to residency applications to turn down.

Derm is a very small field and everybody knows each other. The importance of the school is based mostly on having an active department with relationships to other departments nationally and the letter of recommendation you get from senior faculty and/or the chairman. I don't mean to dismay you but there are enough applicants at the top 20 schools to fill every spot in the country. It's not to say that people from second tier schools don't match, they frequently do, its just more of an uphill battle.

 

[neuronerdrandomnumbers]

Thanks! Honest feedback is good to have.

 

[sholamd]

This is a fun thread! Thanks for your openness.

Just want to jump in to dispel a myth: "No call, no weekends, no emergencies." This is not true. I thought it was, too - and I'm a derm resident on call right now so I can definitely say...don't go into derm thinking you'll be eating bonbons from Friday 4pm to Monday 9am. Even derm has life-threatening emergencies.