Most Competitive Residencies

[poormansDO]

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I was wondering what the most competitive residencies are?

 

[Kuba]

Noncompetitive: IM, FP, Pediatrics, Psychiatry

In the middle: Emergency, Ob/Gyn, General Surgery

Competitive: Dermatology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, , Anesthesiology, Radiology

 

[the alchemist]

generally the competitive residencies can be remembered with the mneumonic ADORE

anesthesiology
dermatology
ophthalmology, orthopedics
radiology
ENT, (lesser degree, emergency med)

all of these residencies need very high board scores (>210 USMLE and most need higher than that) in addition to all the other stuff u need

 

[Bluemirage]

I was wondering what the most competitive residencies are?

Integrated Plastics Surgery, Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology, Dermatology, Orthopaedic Surgery, ENT, Ophthalmology

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

I think that about covers all of them!

 

[Kuba]

generally the competitive residencies can be remembered with the mneumonic ADORE

anesthesiology
dermatology
ophthalmology, orthopedics
radiology
ENT, (lesser degree, emergency med)

all of these residencies need very high board scores (>210 USMLE and most need higher than that) in addition to all the other stuff u need

I thought anesthesiology was not nearly as competitive as it used to be. am I wrong?

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

I thought anesthesiology was not nearly as competitive as it used to be. am I wrong?

Annoyingly enough for those of us interested in it, it's becoming more competitive lately 👎

but fortunately, people at each DO school seem to match into it, so it's doable as a DO. DMU had 15 people match into Anes, for instance.

 

[Orthodoc40]

Whoops. Never mind. 😀

 

[poormansDO]

so is anesthesiology considered middle competitive or highly competitive? what about neurology? also for the internal medicine subspecialties such as cardiology, rheumatology, etc..., we would have to do an internal medicine residency first before moving on to the subspecialties right? i mean we couldn't do those residencies right after graduating from 4 years of medical school, we would have to do an internal medicine residency right?

 

[NewNick]

so is anesthesiology considered middle competitive or highly competitive? what about neurology? also for the internal medicine subspecialties such as cardiology, rheumatology, etc..., we would have to do an internal medicine residency first before moving on to the subspecialties right? i mean we couldn't do those residencies right after graduating from 4 years of medical school, we would have to do an internal medicine residency right?

What happens to GI and Cardio ? I thought they're very competitive.

ppormansdoormd >>> For subspecialties of IM such as cardio, GI, endo, etc., we must go through general IM before applying fellowship. No direct route.

 

[HunterGatherer]

GI and Cardio are fellowship after your residency so should not be counted.

At the moment Anest seems to be between middle-highly competitive. There are a lot of spots so that helps in matching unlike other specialties where spots are limited. It is becoming increasingly competitive.

 

[poormansDO]

what about neurology? also are fellowships competitive like residencies and if so which IM fellowships are the most competitive?

 

[poormansDO]

what about neurology? also are fellowships competitive like residencies and if so which IM fellowships are the most competitive?

anybody?

 

[HunterGatherer]

what about neurology? also are fellowships competitive like residencies and if so which IM fellowships are the most competitive?

fellowships are competitive like residencies. Some more than others like in residency.

Neurology is not considered a competitive residency. Getting into the top 10 residency program in any specialty will always be competitive.

For IM fellowships you should check the IM forum. I think GI is the hottest fellowship for the moment.

 

[Claymore]

Neurology should be quite attainable, with all but the very top programs being pretty much wide open. Interviewing last year I was able to see pretty much all the top programs in the Midwest including Mayo, CCF, WashU. If you just want a strong university program you will have no problem. Good luck!

 

[Parietal Lobe]

What are the hours like in Neurology? I'm interested in it, but I'm wondering if there are many 80 hour weeks like in general surgery and other specialities. Do you have to do an IM internship or do you go right into a neurology internship/residency?

Also, what is the pay like? I'm not going into it for the money but it is a consideration since I want a big family.

 

[Claymore]

What are the hours like in Neurology? I'm interested in it, but I'm wondering if there are many 80 hour weeks like in general surgery and other specialities. Do you have to do an IM internship or do you go right into a neurology internship/residency?

Also, what is the pay like? I'm not going into it for the money but it is a consideration since I want a big family.

The hours as a neurology resident are going to be similar to those for IM, maybe slightly better depending on the program. I would certainly anticipate 70-80 hour weeks at least as a junior resident. As an attending the lifestyle can vary tremendously; those involved in vascular/stroke or neurocritical care will be very busy with hours similar to cardiologists; those specializing in most other areas of neuro will have more reasonable hours. Inpatient focused specialties tend to deal with sicker patients and thus will have more night call, etc. versus much more benign obligations in outpatient oriented specialties such as Sleep, Movement Disorders, or Neurophysiology. As with anything, hours worked and earnings are usually directly correlated. The average neurologist is compensated at a rate above that of primary care docs, but below most of the procedural-focused specialists.

And yes, you need to do a 1 year general Medicine internship prior to your 3 years of Neurology residency.

 

[Dr JPH]

Anesthesiology is becoming increasingly more competitive. A good way to think about the most competitive residencies is to this of post-training compensation.

The bigger the house the doc lives in, the tougher it was for him/her to match.

Not a rule but a guideline.

 

[Hardbody]

Anesthesiology is becoming increasingly more competitive. A good way to think about the most competitive residencies is to this of post-training compensation.

The bigger the house the doc lives in, the tougher it was for him/her to match.

Not a rule but a guideline.

Funny to read the many posts by people on this forum that talk about how "income doesn't matter", yet you can pretty much judge the competitiveness of a residency on what the average annual income is of docs in that particular specialty.

 

[ijcMD]

This is one of the best websites I have found on this subject matter courtesy of Washington School of Medicine.

Choosing a Specialty

It gives the numerical data of how many people matched each year, etc.

 

[HunterGatherer]

The hours as a neurology resident are going to be similar to those for IM, maybe slightly better depending on the program. I would certainly anticipate 70-80 hour weeks at least as a junior resident. As an attending the lifestyle can vary tremendously; those involved in vascular/stroke or neurocritical care will be very busy with hours similar to cardiologists; those specializing in most other areas of neuro will have more reasonable hours. Inpatient focused specialties tend to deal with sicker patients and thus will have more night call, etc. versus much more benign obligations in outpatient oriented specialties such as Sleep, Movement Disorders, or Neurophysiology. As with anything, hours worked and earnings are usually directly correlated. The average neurologist is compensated at a rate above that of primary care docs, but below most of the procedural-focused specialists.

And yes, you need to do a 1 year general Medicine internship prior to your 3 years of Neurology residency.

Neurology residencies tend to have heavy call schedules?

 

[Claymore]

Neurology residencies tend to have heavy call schedules?

Along the interview trail last year I tended to run into programs that had one of two ways of structuring call:

-very busy PGY-2 year (something like q4 or q5) and then home call or very little in house call after that

-pyramid type systems where PGY-2 was something like q6, PGY-3 was q8-10, PGY-4 q12-15

You tend to have at least a few months a year that are call-free

 

[DoctorPardi]

What's the hours like for an orthopedic surgery resident? Anyone know what an orthopod's hours are like once they become an attending, or start their own practice?

 

[azcomRob]

This is one of the best websites I have found on this subject matter courtesy of Washington School of Medicine.

Choosing a Specialty

It gives the numerical data of how many people matched each year, etc.

great site!

 

[Jack Swift]

the competitive residencies are the ones just above your scores

 

[erleichda]

does anyone except me have no idea what specialty they would like to go into?

if you do have an idea, can you tell us what it is and why?

 

[Packamylase]

does anyone except me have no idea what specialty they would like to go into?

if you do have an idea, can you tell us what it is and why?

I'm wide open right now. Family Med, Sports Med, Psych, PM&R, Neurology, maybe some kind of combination, possibly Anesthesiology as the only specialty that I MAY have interest in.

 

[CuttinEmUp]

does anyone except me have no idea what specialty they would like to go into?

if you do have an idea, can you tell us what it is and why?

Im interested in family practice, because I worked as a medical assistant for a couple years at an FP office, and I really enjoyed the range of cases, and the fact that you get to become closely involved with entire families.

The other speciality im interested in is surgery (general). I just think it would be a very satisfying and rewarding career to be able to fix health problems or deficiencies in such a direct and visceral way.

Those are just my personal thoughts, I probably would not tell adcoms that I DEFINETLY want to specialize in any particular area yet because the truth is we dont know what we are in for until clinical rotations.

 

[HunterGatherer]

anesthesiology - thinking I'll like pharmacology and physiology involved.
PM&R - I'm a personal trainer and interested in musculoskeletal system.
neurology - current Interests in neuropathology.

I don't see myself pursuing anything else but of course anything can happen in the next 3 years.