Need help - can I match ophtho??

[wannabeDocinNYC]

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Ok - I need the real straight truth here. I'm sure this has been asked a gazillion times but I need some honest advice. I haven't really considered ophtho until this year (MS3) after some very fulfilling sightsaver volunteer experiences and several cataract surgeries. After much thought, I can envision myself going into ophtho and loving it. The problem is before this I've pretty much been prepping myself for radiology: I have tons of case reports in radiology and a poster presentation ( technology exhibit) at a rads conference. Not to mention I'm a pretty average candidate at a pretty average med school - 2 preclinical honors, no clerkship honors yet ( we only have P/F/H), and step 1 = 234. The only stand-out thing is I have tonnss of extracurricular/leadership activities.

So, my question: given the crazy competitiveness of ophtho and my rads research background, is it possible to get interviews and match ophtho? Thanks for the advice.

 

[7ontheline]

Yes.

 

[ZymarOUQID]

Agreed with above.

What you can do now to help yourself even more:
1. Get involved asap with ophtho research, especially with some cutting edge stuff that can make you sound interesting. Getting published per se isnt vital, but having meaningful research with abstracts out and submitted for publications at respectable journals is definitely do-able in a few months' time.

2. Do away rotations at institutions that you're interested at. It will help you get research contacts, personnel contacts, and even a great LOR along the way. The world of ophtho is amazingly small, and everyone knows everyone. In nearly all my interviews this year, the interviewers would casually flip through the application documents and hone in on the LORs. Try to get some LORs from big-wigs and it will go a long way in getting you interviews and also having something to talk about.

3. Try to honor whatever remaining courses you have in second semester of MS3 year... easier said than done, I know, cause that damn shelf can be brutal (bad, painful memories for me)

Good luck! And wish the rest of us (people like me) some luck and divine intervention come Jan 17th =)

 

[DOapplicant]

Ophtho is certainly competitive. However, the match rate for US seniors is about 90%. Of course, there are confounding variable which influence this statistic (eg, those that apply tend to have high scores/class rank).

Your step 1 score is three points above the average for those matching in ophthalmology in 2006, and should get you pass the initial screen for interviews at most programs. I also think the rad pubs will be more helpful than hurtful; IMO, interest in rsh as demonstrated with multiple publications translates well b/n clinical specialties. As suggested above, a strong LOR from someone well-known in academia would help considerably.

 

[MastahRiz]

Ophtho's a pretty small community. Like ZymarOUQID said, get involved with research, do away rotations, and make lasting impressions while you're there. This is one field where making friends in high places will definitely help you out. Everybody knows each other, and they listen when someone calls up to make recommendations.

 

[wannabeDocinNYC]

Thank you all for your help! The advice is excellent and I really appreciate it! Good luck in the match everyone!

 

[FutureOph123]

If you look at the match statistics, there is no clear "match rate" for ophthalmology. The 90% is just the percent of US seniors that are present of all new ophthalmology spots... for example, 100 spots for pgy2 total, 90 spots by us seniors, 5 spots for fmgs, 5 for us grads. You could try to estimate a match rate based on rank lists submitted, or applications, and total spots but it would be an estimate at best and it would not work to pick out us seniors.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

If you look at the match statistics, there is no clear "match rate" for ophthalmology. The 90% is just the percent of US seniors that are present of all new ophthalmology spots... for example, 100 spots for pgy2 total, 90 spots by us seniors, 5 spots for fmgs, 5 for us grads. You could try to estimate a match rate based on rank lists submitted, or applications, and total spots but it would be an estimate at best and it would not work to pick out us seniors.

http://www.sfmatch.org/residency/ophthalmology/about_match/match_report.pdf

Looks like 89% US senior match rate to me. 6% and 6% for us non seniors and for IMG's. By your interpretation these should add up to 100% but they do not.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

With your stats, yes. 🙂

 

[DOapplicant]

If you look at the match statistics, there is no clear "match rate" for ophthalmology. The 90% is just the percent of US seniors that are present of all new ophthalmology spots... for example, 100 spots for pgy2 total, 90 spots by us seniors, 5 spots for fmgs, 5 for us grads. You could try to estimate a match rate based on rank lists submitted, or applications, and total spots but it would be an estimate at best and it would not work to pick out us seniors.

Great observation! It's misleading how they have presented the data.

Unfortunately, this may mean that my chances of matching next week are lower than I perceived them to be! 😱

So for 2006...Of those who SUBMITTED a rank list, 69% matched. Of those 69%, 88.8 were US seniors, 5.5% US grads, and 5.5% IMGs (totaling approx 100%).

As FutureOphtho states, this is data is of little value w/o knowing the proportions of US seniors, grads, and IMGs that make up the application pool. Perhaps, the only data that is helpful to applicants is the overall match rate and the difference b/n USMLE stepI scores of those who match and those who do not.