med school then residency question

[uclahopeful]

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I have a quick question: I probably won't get into the med school around where I live, so I will have to go to one away from home. My question is, once you graduate, can you request to have your residency closer to home, or is the hospital you go to during your residency tied to the school you graduate from? thanks for any answers.

 

[Cmercury1]

Residency is separate from med school. You have to separately apply to programs, which can be wherever you want to be. It's like the next step and is unrelated to where you went to med school.

 

[lilold3chordme]

I have a quick question: I probably won't get into the med school around where I live, so I will have to go to one away from home. My question is, once you graduate, can you request to have your residency closer to home, or is the hospital you go to during your residency tied to the school you graduate from? thanks for any answers.

during your 4th year of medical school, you will apply to and interview at residency programs for the specialty you decide to pursue. residency is not tied to what medical school you attend. theoretically, you can go anywhere for residency regardless of what medical school you attend (translation: you can find your way closer to home), but this depends on your performance in school, your board scores, your specialty of interest, etc.

basically, after you interview at programs during 4th year, you will participate in the match. you rank the programs you checked out, and the programs rank the students that they interviewed. then, on one magical thursday in march of your 4th year, you will open an envelope that will tell you where you will spend the next 3 or more (depending on specialty) years of your life. you have to go wherever you match to, it's a bound contract more or less. or, if you prefer, you can rank only a few choices and if you don't get them, risk participating in the Scramble, where you try to get into whatever open spots are available in residency programs that didn't fill up.

just go to medical school, work hard, find out what you are interested in, and hopefully things will take care of themselves. good luck...

if anyone wishes to correct me on any parts of this, feel free. this is merely a lowly applicant's perspective on the residency match.

 

[psipsina]

during your 4th year of medical school, you will apply to and interview at residency programs for the specialty you decide to pursue. residency is not tied to what medical school you attend. theoretically, you can go anywhere for residency regardless of what medical school you attend (translation: you can find your way closer to home), but this depends on your performance in school, your board scores, your specialty of interest, etc.

basically, after you interview at programs during 4th year, you will participate in the match. you rank the programs you checked out, and the programs rank the students that they interviewed. then, on one magical thursday in march of your 4th year, you will open an envelope that will tell you where you will spend the next 3 or more (depending on specialty) years of your life. you have to go wherever you match to, it's a bound contract more or less. or, if you prefer, you can rank only a few choices and if you don't get them, risk participating in the Scramble, where you try to get into whatever open spots are available in residency programs that didn't fill up.

just go to medical school, work hard, find out what you are interested in, and hopefully things will take care of themselves. good luck...

if anyone wishes to correct me on any parts of this, feel free. this is merely a lowly applicant's perspective on the residency match.

The only thing I would add is that there is a slight connection between what medschool you attend and your future residency in that you will make connections within your institution and therefore have a higher chance of getting a residency at your home institution. Many, many people go to new and different places, but a significant amount of people stay put because connections they have made may allow them to get into a type of residency they were less competitive for without the connections. This is also why many fourth years do away rotations, to make connections at other institutions which have a program they are interested in.

 

[Law2Doc]

or, if you prefer, you can rank only a few choices and if you don't get them, risk participating in the Scramble,

I agree with the above except that the scramble is something you ideally want to avoid if at all possible -- you don't gamble in the match with the assumption that you have an easy backup. While you can scramble into decent places sometimes, using the above strategy is likely also a good way to end up in a malignant program you wouldn't have otherwise selected.

 

[Cmercury1]

How does the scramble work?

 

[LabMonster]

How does the scramble work?

Left over, or open positions which people didn't match into. Schools want these positions filled because they need the "workers."

Sometimes, if people don't match, they can elect a year in IM or family medicine before trying to get into the residency of their choice the next year.

I don't want to speak for him, but Panda had a situation like this. You can read about it here for clarity: http://pandabearmd.blogspot.com/

 

[Chizwheel]

I have a quick question: I probably won't get into the med school around where I live, so I will have to go to one away from home. My question is, once you graduate, can you request to have your residency closer to home, or is the hospital you go to during your residency tied to the school you graduate from? thanks for any answers.

During your residency interviews, I would definitely let them know that you want to be close to home. Residency program directors know that happy residents are productive residents and they look for people who want to be at their program and who will work well at their program. Again, the match will ultimately decide in where you will end up, but your rank list will pull a lot of sway. You have the best chance of matching at the program you rank 1st but again, the more competitive the applicant you are, the better chance of getting your top choice pick so work hard the next 4 years...it will pay off 🙂

Oh yeah...the scramble is a nightmare...I've witnessed it the last 2 years with the upper classmen. Now its my turn to match and hopefully I wont be in their shoes 😳

 

[degoo_]

I'm sure this has been discussed at length, but what is required to have a 'good' standing for residency? Is it just test scores and grades, or are there other measures?
edit: how does it compare to getting into med schools? same essays, interviews, pains, anxiety.. ?

 

[psipsina]

I'm sure this has been discussed at length, but what is required to have a 'good' standing for residency? Is it just test scores and grades, or are there other measures?
edit: how does it compare to getting into med schools? same essays, interviews, pains, anxiety.. ?

My understanding (going from most important to least important): USMLE scores, Clinical rotations (years 3&4 of medschool) grades and letters, connections, deans letter (kindof like a pre-med comittee letter), AOA status, research, extracurriculars/teaching experience, pre-clinical grades, undergrad stats. Of course somewhere in this mix are interview once you get invited to them. Anyone out there correct me if I'm wrong, cause alot of this is hearsay.

 

[LabMonster]

I'm sure this has been discussed at length, but what is required to have a 'good' standing for residency? Is it just test scores and grades, or are there other measures?
edit: how does it compare to getting into med schools? same essays, interviews, pains, anxiety.. ?

It's a repeat. It is a different level, but the whole thing seems to break down to a similar anxiety level 😉

 

[PhotoMD]

My understanding (going from most important to least important): USMLE scores, Clinical rotations (years 3&4 of medschool) grades and letters, connections, deans letter (kindof like a pre-med comittee letter), AOA status, research, extracurriculars/teaching experience, pre-clinical grades, undergrad stats. Of course somewhere in this mix are interview once you get invited to them. Anyone out there correct me if I'm wrong, cause alot of this is hearsay.

The AAMC recently quantified this on a study posted somewhere on their website. If you don't have any apparent deficiencies on your residency application, you can go to any city you want. Whether you end up at the best hospital in that city is a different question and depends on all of the factors listed above. One factor that wasn't listed is the particular specialty you're going into; clearly some are more difficult than others.

 

[Law2Doc]

My understanding (going from most important to least important): USMLE scores, Clinical rotations (years 3&4 of medschool) grades and letters, connections, deans letter (kindof like a pre-med comittee letter), AOA status, research, extracurriculars/teaching experience, pre-clinical grades, undergrad stats. Of course somewhere in this mix are interview once you get invited to them. Anyone out there correct me if I'm wrong, cause alot of this is hearsay.

Agree with this, although the undergrad stats probably have negligible impact if any. Step 1 scores are huge, and after that, good word of mouth and recommendations can play a much larger role than they did in undergrad.

 

[Law2Doc]

One factor that wasn't listed is the particular specialty you're going into; clearly some are more difficult than others.

Agree, although the order psipsina listed should be close to the same for any specialty -- it's just the step 1 number that will need to be different. Also research may sometimes be more important for some specialties.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

My understanding (going from most important to least important): USMLE scores, Clinical rotations (years 3&4 of medschool) grades and letters, connections, deans letter (kindof like a pre-med comittee letter), AOA status, research, extracurriculars/teaching experience, pre-clinical grades, undergrad stats. Of course somewhere in this mix are interview once you get invited to them. Anyone out there correct me if I'm wrong, cause alot of this is hearsay.

That's not a bad list, but I would say that USMLE, letters of rec, and performance on rotations at that institution are equally important with clinical grades a small step behind.

Also, keep in mind that different fields weigh some things differently. Many programs in IM might not care too much about a Step1 score unless it is over 230 or under 200, while Ortho programs might not even accept an app from a student who doesn't score 230+.

To the OP, for most fields residency selection is more like applying for a job. The discussions tend to be more candid, with applicants sharing realistic expectations and PDs often being very upfront about their interest in a particular person. Not everyone is all that suprised on Match Day. Med school is more like interviewing for an award, you want to win as many as possible and so you play the game like the one for which you are interviewing is your ultimate dream.

 

[LabMonster]

Also, keep in mind that different fields weigh some things differently. Many programs in IM might not care too much about a Step1 score unless it is over 230 or under 200, while Ortho programs might not even accept an app from a student who doesn't score 230+.

Your Deans or advisor will help you in this process. For example, if you decide you love plastics, but your USMLE and class rank aren't considered "competitive" for that match then they should let you know. But it's a bit like applying to med-school! You may apply to some programs just out of you reach, and also at some within your grasp - as long as these are within the bounds of reality, you're fine - and this is what your advisor or deans should help you with.

 

[Law2Doc]

Your Deans or advisor will help you in this process. For example, if you decide you love plastics, but your USMLE and class rank aren't considered "competitive" for that match then they should let you know. But it's a bit like applying to med-school! You may apply to some programs just out of you reach, and also at some within your grasp - as long as these are within the bounds of reality, you're fine - and this is what your advisor or deans should help you with.

From what I've heard, deans and advisors/mentors won't exactly be subtle about what is out of your reach. Most places will do you the courtesy of being brutally honest. You thus don't see too many people taking big gambles/longshots on match day. It's in everyone's interest that you match into one of your top selections. When schools boast that X% matched into their first choice, you can bet that there weren't all that many "hail mary" plays going on.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

From what I've heard, deans and advisors/mentors won't exactly be subtle about what is out of your reach. Most places will do you the courtesy of being brutally honest. You thus don't see too many people taking big gambles/longshots on match day. It's in everyone's interest that you match into one of your top selections. When schools boast that X% matched into their first choice, you can bet that there weren't all that many "hail mary" plays going on.

I've heard this too. There was a somewhat notorious story going around my school a few years back about an applicant to ENT. Apparently this guy was just dense, low grades, Step1 around 200, mediocre performance on the wards. I guess everyone and their mom told him not to apply for ENT but he ignored the advice. I think he got like 3 interviews and obviously failed to match, scrambled into a prelim GenSurg spot. I think at one point the Dean was specifically setting up meetings with this guy to remind him he probably wasn't going to match.

 

[LabMonster]

I've heard this too. There was a somewhat notorious story going around my school a few years back about an applicant to ENT. Apparently this guy was just dense, low grades, Step1 around 200, mediocre performance on the wards. I guess everyone and their mom told him not to apply for ENT but he ignored the advice. I think he got like 3 interviews and obviously failed to match, scrambled into a prelim GenSurg spot. I think at one point the Dean was specifically setting up meetings with this guy to remind him he probably wasn't going to match.

Indeed this is what I meant in my post - they will tell you what is or isn't within your reach. Again, you could always have "reach" programs but it's even more competitive at this level.