need help with setting up 4th year electives/aud rotations -what are my chances?

[rennyk]

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I am a mediocre/below avg applicant in terms of numbers at a D.O. school in dire need of help for setting up my 4th year elective rotations and where I should audition (what programs I am realistically competitive for, if any)

My school does letter grades and I have never scored below a B-, but my 3.10 avg gpa puts me in the 3rd quartile in terms of class ranking.

Step 1 - 208
COMLEX - 440, completely bombed it

So far the lowest clerkship grade I've earned is a B, and the comments/evals have been very positive so far, and I have been working very hard during clinicals but I fear it may already be too late?

I am interested in an IM residency and want to subspecialize in geriatrics. There are no osteopathic fellowships in geriatrics so my first choice would be allopathic programs if possible. I really have my heart set on IM vs FM because I am also attracted to the possibility of being a hospitalist or establishing an out-patient IM practice catered to the elderly.

In terms of EC's (do residency programs even look at these??), I was the IM club president at my school, did research during my first two years resulting in 3 poster presentations and 2 submitted publications currently under review, and tons of volunteer experience...

I met with the dept chair of medicine at my school today, and he basically told me it's probably too late to improve my class rank/GPA with 175+ credits under my belt, but to really focus on getting an excellent Step 2 score. He thinks I may have over-extended myself with the extracurriculars and that I need better numbers to make it past the first screening for interviews. My issue is not the time or money I am willing to invest in obtaining solid level 2 scores (I am taking up to 8 weeks off to study for these exams and also considering a live prep course), but my poor test taking abilities producing additional below avg performances on these tests too... would these numbers completely put me out of the running for interviews, and should I then just depend on the scramble? Also, is the scramble really that terrible an option for somebody without a family or particular ties to any one location?

Finally, can anyone recommend which programs (if any) I would be a realistic candidate for? Is there a ranked list somewhere?

Sorry about all the Q's on my first post, but I am honestly terrified of not being able to pay back these massive student loans and very appreciative of all the help I can get!

 

[sylvanthus]

I think you will be fine for IM if you are able to step up your game and do well on step 2. You probably already know that doing an osteopathic residency and then doing an allopathic fellowship may be out as the ACGME changed the rules. So, it would be wise to aim for an allopathic IM residency. There are so many out there, that you should be able to match into something.

As far as a list of which ones are competitive? I imagine if you search through the IM specialty forum, you should be able to find some sort of a list. When in doubt, go nuts and apply to a **** ton of programs and see which ones offer interviews. Better to spend some extra cash on applications than sit out for a year.

 

[MossPoh]

People aren't exactly busting down the door for geriatrics fellowships, so any program will be fine I think.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

OP, I think you put yourself in a much better position by going ahead and taking the USMLE even though it probably didn't go as you had hoped. You opened yourself up to consideration by many more allo IM programs that way - a lot of allo progs will look at DOs only if they have a USMLE step 1 score. IM is also one of those specialties where PDs really do pay attention to step 2 scores, and indeed in your case a drastically improved step 2 performance could go a long way towards getting more interviews.

Really, though, with a 208 you're far from being hopeless for allo IM.

 

[rennyk]

Thanks guys. It looks like I am definitely going to have to do my best on step 2... my strategy is to do DIT and UWorld Qbank... I looked at the Kaplan review course and it's $2300 online or over $3k live (yikes!) Would it be worth the investment in my case, though?

In terms of worst case scenario, can anyone comment on the scramble for allo IM? Are there typically enough spots to cover mostly everyone, or is there a chance I might not match anywhere and lose a full year?

 

[bleeker10]

I am interested in an IM residency and want to subspecialize in geriatrics. There are no osteopathic fellowships in geriatrics so my first choice would be allopathic programs if possible. I really have my heart set on IM vs FM because I am also attracted to the possibility of being a hospitalist or establishing an out-patient IM practice catered to the elderly.

Actually there's at least one osteopathic geriatric fellowship I know of since it's affiliated with my school.

http://www.millcreekcommunityhospital.com/meded_fellowships.php

 

[rennyk]

Actually there's at least one osteopathic geriatric fellowship I know of since it's affiliated with my school.

http://www.millcreekcommunityhospital.com/meded_fellowships.php

Wow, that program looks excellent... would you happen to know if they allow non-LECOM med students to rotate there? The website doesn't specify, and also states they provide housing which leads me to think yes...

 

[bleeker10]

Wow, that program looks excellent... would you happen to know if they allow non-LECOM med students to rotate there? The website doesn't specify, and also states they provide housing which leads me to think yes...

Yea I'm positive they do, especially if you were interested in their residency program. If you PM Cochan, he will tell you more since he was on the geriatrics consult service there as part of his IM rotation.