Mean number of distinct specialties ranked?

[Heymann]

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I was perusing the Dermatology section of Charting the Outcomes 2011 and noticed a few things I was confused about, and would appreciate some knowledgeable insight:

- On page 32 (page 35 also) the Mean number of distinct specialties ranked for US seniors was 2.1/2.3 (matched/unmatched). I was wondering if this takes into consideration the intern/preliminary/transition year as it's own separate specialty ranked?

- If the above question is answered in the affirmative, exactly how would you suggest wisely ranking dermatology programs vs preliminary/transition year programs? Or are they separate rank lists?

- Despite how dermatology is regarded as very competitive, I was pretty surprised to notice you have a greater than 50% chance of matching with Step 1 scores in the 220s and 230s (heck even the 210s). While my score was in the 240s (of which I'm not even comfortable with), how do people with lower scores get past the "unstated" Step 1 cut-offs? Is it safe to assume these are those who took Step 2 earlier and got much better scores?

- And if Step 2 is such a booster for the lower step 1 scores, do board score filters/cut-offs consider Step 1 or Step 2?

- From the data (page 43), it appears AOA status is a practical shoo-in for matching. True?

I very much appreciate helpful responses to my first post on SDN.

 

[mayade]

I'm a little curious about the above issues as well, especially ranking specialties.
Please those who know better, help clarify the above.
Thanks.

 

[JDMD243.0]

Separate rank lists for Derm vs. Prelim/TY. I'm guessing based on that, Derm and Prelim/TY are considered as separate subspecialties but don't know. I was initially worried about the Prelim/TY match but its much less competitive than Derm. I applied to ~30 programs, got about 15 invites and interviewed at 8 programs.

For other questions, I don't have firm answers as I'm in the middle of applying now...Step 1 average for matched Derm applicants is around 245. Programs do have cut-offs for Step 1 but Step 2 can help if you're borderline. From what I remember from my last read-through of that document, the probability of matching levels off around 8-10 contiguously ranked derm programs, which is similar for all specialties. The challenge is getting at least 8-10 interviews so you can rank that many programs. I applied to ~90 programs and got 11 interviews so you can see the contrast with the prelim/TY match.

I think AOA helps and that about 50% of matched Derm applicants were AOA but I wouldn't say its a guarantee. Everyone applying to Derm is good. As a result there is a subgroup of Derm applicants who take a year off to focus on Derm or graduate from medical school, complete their intern year and then work as junior fellows at various Derm departments to get more clinical and research experience. I'm guessing that's where the bulk of the lower Step 1 scores come from.