Hello all, I was hoping for some advice.
As some background, I graduated from an American medical school in 2009 with no failed classes or exams and no breaks in my medical education. I have passed all 3 Step exams, on the first try for each. I have just recently finished a General Surgery preliminary internship year. Going into that originally, I thought that I wanted to try and match for a categorical spot and become a general surgeon, but over the course of the year it became clear to me that that was not the right choice for me. After some introspection and examining my options, I decided on anesthesiology as a field. During the past year, I did do one month of anesthesia and greatly enjoyed it on many levels, confirming this choice for me.
Unfortunately, I "saw the light" a bit late in the process and was unable to secure a CA-1 (or PGY-1) spot for this year. Hence I have just finished up and now find myself trying to figure out what to do over the course of the next year. I do not have my full license yet, as I only passed step 3 a few months ago and the state is quite slow to process those applications (but it is in process). I know when that is complete I can "moonlight" at urgent care centers to make decent money, but I don't think this will help my anesthesia application for next year. While I will continue to circulate my application, I think that the chances of a spot opening at this point for this year are rather slim. The vague concept of "research" also has been in consideration, but at this point I am unsure where to begin in obtaining something of that sort and if it would even be truly beneficial.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much for taking the time to read and respond.
As some background, I graduated from an American medical school in 2009 with no failed classes or exams and no breaks in my medical education. I have passed all 3 Step exams, on the first try for each. I have just recently finished a General Surgery preliminary internship year. Going into that originally, I thought that I wanted to try and match for a categorical spot and become a general surgeon, but over the course of the year it became clear to me that that was not the right choice for me. After some introspection and examining my options, I decided on anesthesiology as a field. During the past year, I did do one month of anesthesia and greatly enjoyed it on many levels, confirming this choice for me.
Unfortunately, I "saw the light" a bit late in the process and was unable to secure a CA-1 (or PGY-1) spot for this year. Hence I have just finished up and now find myself trying to figure out what to do over the course of the next year. I do not have my full license yet, as I only passed step 3 a few months ago and the state is quite slow to process those applications (but it is in process). I know when that is complete I can "moonlight" at urgent care centers to make decent money, but I don't think this will help my anesthesia application for next year. While I will continue to circulate my application, I think that the chances of a spot opening at this point for this year are rather slim. The vague concept of "research" also has been in consideration, but at this point I am unsure where to begin in obtaining something of that sort and if it would even be truly beneficial.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much for taking the time to read and respond.
