plastikos, i've been thinking about plastics vs. derm, and i wonder if i would face stiffer competition from the hypothetical 10 successful plastics applicants i talked about earlier, or if the 10 successful derm applicants would be a more formidable group when vying for those few precious residency positions.
let me play devils advocate: 1) male applicants outnumber female applicants in plastics 2-3 to 1. 2) many outstanding applicants interested in surgery opt for ortho or ent, rather than plastics. 3) in derm, female applicants outnumber male applicants 3 to 2. 4) PERHAPS outstanding female medical students choose derm vs. surgery because derm residency and practice are more family-friendly (my flame suit on, too) 5) i am not a caveman, thus i know that excellence and achievement in medical school are not gender biased.
so
putting these all together, as a derm applicant, i'd be up against outstanding male applicants who dont want to go through a surgical residency AND most of the outstanding female applicants that i wouldnt otherwise compete against, if i was a plastics applicant.
i'm proposing that the self-selection that goes on in plastics decreases the competitiveness of its applicant pool. thus, getting back to my previous post, who do you think would provide stiffer competition, 10 great plastics applicants (3/4 men) or 10 great derm applicants (60% female/40% male)?
very interested in your thoughts
dont mean to start a pissing contest.
and gyric, we must consider that these numbers represent matching AT ALL, i.e. either that specialty, or their next choice. if you look at derm in 2005, for example, 945 people submitted applications for dermatology, but only ~320 people got dermatology positions last year, making the true match rate around 34%!