Hi guys, I'm about finish up my first semester in the next two weeks. Currently taking three classes, Gross, Histo, and an Ethics/Intro to Med course. Didn't do really well at the beginning of the course so will most likely end the semester with 2 Passes and a HP. Anyways, I'm looking for some advice for what I should do this summer research/shadow and some reassurance that these grades won't hinder my residency chances greatly. I have improved greatly after the second test, just a little to late.
MS-1 Questions
- Thread starter jspier1
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Bad grade on histo? Probably won't be able to match to anything anymore
I honestly don't think class grades matter much especially since a good percentage of school only have pass/fail for the first 2 years. Step 1 scores are the most important surrogate for your performance over the first 2 years of medical school. As for this summer, I would contact your home ophtho program and see if you can get a research project set up. You could always shadow your mentor a day or 2 a week as well.
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6 hours after original post?
#1 - You gotta work on that neuroticism because you're not going to fit in with the laid-back-serious types that are so populous in Ophthalmology! Try to be a little weird too that will help you fit in better with us.
#2 - Don't worry about the grades. Nobody cares. You'll get screened out or in based mainly on Step 1 score and after that point the committee that decides who to interview will be looking at class ranking (grades helps here), AOA status, and the rest of your resume holistically. I'm an A and B student and I got something like 20 interview offers. Don't freak out. You're fine. Start studying for Step 1 a little bit along with your medical school classes and really ramp up that co-studying in M2 year. Do good on Step 1. You really kind of have to. It's way way more important than your class grades. After Step 1 your focus is getting great clinical evaluations during M3 year, because those go in your dean's letter and DO matter.
#3 - Try to contact the Ophthalmology department at your program to get involved with some 'research' if you can. I did not realize what this meant until pretty much my fourth year. For pretty much every applicant that I've met it doesn't mean trying to get some giant published thing completed. It's getting on a case report, helping write a chapter, assisting with some clinical research project that's going on, etc. You don't have time to complete any big research projects during medical school. Even the people who take a year off to do research often don't get a big thing published. Real basic science or long-term clinical research takes the sort of time that you just don't have as a medical student so don't think you have to have it - pretty much nobody else does either. But getting involved with the department will help you meet faculty for letters and contacts as well as supplying you with things to put on your CV showing ophthalmology interest and dedication.
#4 - Once again relax. You'll probably be fine. Ophthalmology is not impossible to get into and if you know you have interest as an M1 then you can get involved with your department early which is a huge benefit. I should often take my own advice and I can be prone to worrying about stupid things like this too! Looking back I would've been a lot less stressed as an M1/M2 and even M3 if I wouldn't have worried about grades so much.
#5 - You're young. Try to like derm. Everyone wishes they did. Medicare RVUs for cataracts just keep dropping but those dermatologists don't seem to be worried too much about reimbursement.
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This is the way I've felt about my ophtho dept. No one really seems to have a sense of humor and is very serious, but also no one is stressed out, impatient, angry, or malignant. They're very laid back, stress-free but also mostly only serious and kind of lack a fun personality. In that regard, I think I'll love the job itself since I am very laid back but would probably have no interest in ever hanging out with ophtho ppl outside of work. I hope this is not the case everywhere, but most ophtho personalities seem extremely dull to me haha. To be fair, though, the dullest personalities were the older physicians and the younger ones (in their 30s) were much better. The older ones have all the power in the department, so I tend to think of them more as typical ophtho than the ones who only been practicing for 5 years.
So, in conclusion, every single ophtho is laid back, but many seem to be only serious and not fun. Hopefully the dulls ones were just dull from the beginning rather than ophthalmology making them dull over time haha.
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I've found plenty of fun people in my home ophtho department and at aways. That said, we may have different definitions of 'fun' and we may be interviewing in completely different parts of the country. I'm in the South and people are generally pretty fun here, but I'm also not a partier/club-goer either. I've found people that like cars, beer, skiing, whatever - just interesting, fun people. But on the other hand I've also found that there are plenty of more straight-laced and less extroverted-interesting types in ophtho as well.
I guess I really meant laid-back-serious as in everyone seems laid back but still very serious about their work. Nobody is messing around about surgical technique, people want to make sure that the residents' differential on that K ulcer they just saw is sound and reasoned, etc. Just doing good, solid physician work but in a more jovial and lighthearted manner than say the OB/Gyns or Orthopods or even ENTs.
