Matching into Diagnostic Radiology with low Step1

[mangobrz]

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate any insight/advice regarding my chances of matching into DR.

Undergrad: Engineering
Med School: Low tier MD
Step1 score: 208
Step2 score: still have to take
Preclinical grades: all pass (P/F system)
Clerkship grades so far: 1 HP, 3 P (H/HP/P/F system) - failed one shelf exam and had to retake
Research: 1 imaging report; non-radiology - mid-author on 2 papers, 1 first-author abstract, 1 presentation, another paper in the process
Extracurriculars: created a community service project, led student interest group (not radiology)

I realize my Step1 score and clinical grades thus far are low but I have been told that an engineering background can be seen as a unique skill set for radiology.
Do I have any shot at matching into DR if I significantly improve on Step2?
What else can I do in these next few months to improve my chances?
Which programs should I be looking into?

Thank you for your help!

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[Jesus1]

You have to super significantly improve on Step 2(250s), establish connections in your department, and get a lot more research in. Even with that, I would still have a backup plan if I were you. Your low step 1 makes things difficult.

 

[mangobrz]

Thank you Jesus1. How much additional research would you say I need? Do you think a research year is necessary?

 

[PENNYWISETHECLOWN]

Your low step 1 makes things difficult.

This is very true, and it's so sad how the system works. No one should be categorized according to a number. USMLE exams should be pass or fail. So many factors go into getting a good score, which don't determine an applicants competence to be an excellent radiologist. Although, I do understand usmle scores help programs determine the persons aptitude to pass radiology boards. Still, the system needs a significant overlook on how to identify and seriously consider applicants that are diverse, have stellar skills outside of medicine, creative minds, and pure passion for the field who get passed on because of 1 score on 1 test they took. Life is much more than that.

 

[Cognovi]

Learn some medicine and do well on Step 2.

 

[SeisK]

This is very true, and it's so sad how the system works. No one should be categorized according to a number. USMLE exams should be pass or fail. So many factors go into getting a good score, which don't determine an applicants competence to be an excellent radiologist. Although, I do understand usmle scores help programs determine the persons aptitude to pass radiology boards. Still, the system needs a significant overlook on how to identify and seriously consider applicants that are diverse, have stellar skills outside of medicine, creative minds, and pure passion for the field who get passed on because of 1 score on 1 test they took. Life is much more than that.

For the vast majority of the part, people only care about step 1 when there are more applicants than spots. When that’s the case, they only care because they have to rank their applicants somehow in order to select who to take and who not to. I agree with you step 1 is not ideal, but the fact of the matter is residencies NEED a way to rank applicants. The alternative is a lottery or a waitlist. You might argue Step 1 doesn’t have to be how we rank applicants... so let’s explore the alternatives.

Given that, how would you prefer to rank applicants? Based on perceived passion? Who perceives that passion, and how do they define it relative to some other person? What if I’m generally not an emotive person and don’t convey passion well, despite being passionate?

Evidence of passion other than what you express... okay, so that’s research and involvement with organizations. That’s easy to achieve, and essentially everyone already has that.

So what you have left is creating a rank list based on how fellowships generate their rank list which is essentially 1. Where you come from (hope you got into an Ivy League), 2. Who wrote your LORs which is a function of number 1, and 3. Your research, which everyone knows is highly variable depending on factors that have nothing to do with the applicant. This is far, far less ideal, and quite a bit more pigeonholing and limiting than a system that uses Step scores as a means of ranking applicants. If you go to a low ranked med school, without step 1 demonstrating high work ethic and intelligence, you have an enormously substantial decrease in odds of matching into a competitive specialty.

Step 1 is by no means ideal, but I honestly can’t think of a better metric. When something is 80% effective, it’s much easier to come up with an idea that sounds good that makes it so much worse, than it is to improve it to even 85% effective. Step 1 is an exam that is highly dependent on work ethic and intellectual acumen, which are the two most objective, most meritocratic measures you can come up with if you are FORCED to rank applicants, which programs are. When you only have bad decisions, you have to choose the least bad one.