MS3 With Newfound Interest in DR

[BillrothI]

Hey Everybody -

I'm about halfway through my third year and recently developed an interest in diagnostic radiology. Unfortunately, our school doesn't have a home radiology department, nor does it have any advisors who are familiar with DR programs.

I would appreciate any recommendations on how to get some exposure and/or research in DR over the next six months. Our school doesn't allow any electives during MS3, so the earliest I could do an away rotation/research elective would be July 2018. Any ideas on what I can do alongside rotations throughout the rest of third-year to get some more radiology experience and maximize my chances of a successful match would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

-Bill

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[Aurum]

Hey Everybody -

I'm about halfway through my third year and recently developed an interest in diagnostic radiology. Unfortunately, our school doesn't have a home radiology department, nor does it have any advisors who are familiar with DR programs.

I would appreciate any recommendations on how to get some exposure and/or research in DR over the next six months. Our school doesn't allow any electives during MS3, so the earliest I could do an away rotation/research elective would be July 2018. Any ideas on what I can do alongside rotations throughout the rest of third-year to get some more radiology experience and maximize my chances of a successful match would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

-Bill

July 2018 is totally fine for your first rads elective. Many people who do rads (myself included) don't discover it until late in the game, so you're already ahead of the curve by considering it halfway through third year.

Depending on where you are geographically, you might want to reach out to PDs at some neighboring departments to meet with them and discuss with them the application process and/or opportunities for research at their institutions. Check old match lists and see where med students at your school matched. Try to reach out to them to see how they fared/what their advice is. You may have to do a DR away since your home program doesn't have a rads department, so keep that in mind when scheduling fourth year. Keep in mind that if you have solid board scores and grades you might not need to specifically do DR research, and that any research bolsters your application. Good luck!

 

[TCOM12]

My school didn’t have a radiology program. I did 3 away rotations (you’re school may limit this number). I got a letter from my first rotation. I know a classmate/colleague who did an IR rotation with a private doc (she was committed to derm and changed her mind in sept of 4th year after that rotation). As said above, see where your predecessors matched.

The only way I would discourage an away is if you have an odd personality. You can hide weird for a one day interview. It’ll come out eventually on a 4 week interview.

Feel free to PM me with specific questions. Good luck.

 

[BillrothI]

Thank you both for the advice! I really appreciate it.

As per your suggestions, I took a look at the match lists from the past two years and there are a good handful of students who matched DR. That should serve as a great starting point.

It's encouraging to learn that I may not need radiology research to secure a residency spot. I do have some publications in other fields, so hopefully that will be helpful. We only get three away rotations as fourth-years, and I think it might be in my best interest to use that time to explore clinical radiology programs rather than work on research.

Thanks again.

-Bill

 

[sudo]

I think VSAS may be going down for the month of January, in case you want to get on there and see what different rotation sites (sub-Is) you're interested in!

 

[BillrothI]

I think VSAS may be going down for the month of January, in case you want to get on there and see what different rotation sites (sub-Is) you're interested in!

Thanks for the heads-up! I just read that VSAS will be transitioning to VSLO later this year, so I imagine now would be a good time to take a look at what's available while VSAS is still accessible.

-Bill