not matching and not doing anything before reapplying

[sweetlenovo88]

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I did not match and do not expect for anything to happen in the scramble. If money is not an issue,

what are your thoughts about doing nothing for that year. by nothing I mean, something that is non relevant to medicine, such as attending business courses to better myself and trying to put my life back in order before I reapply.

I applied to only EM this year and think I was too picky with locations. Next year I will apply to every EM program out there and add psych to the mix.

Or, would it be crazy to do nothing but schedule a crapload of away rotations at programs I want to be at and spend the year that way?

thanks

 

[NotAProgDirector]

The farther away you are from clinical work, the more difficult it will be to get a spot. I highly suggest that you make sure you maintain some clinical exposure, if possible. Feel free to take some business courses, but make sure you're clinically productive as well. You will need new LOR's for next year -- you don't want your LOR's saying "I worked with this dude/dudette a year ago and he/she was pretty good, but I have no idea what he/she has done in the last year"

 

[psychotrope]

The farther away you are from clinical work, the more difficult it will be to get a spot. I highly suggest that you make sure you maintain some clinical exposure, if possible. Feel free to take some business courses, but make sure you're clinically productive as well. You will need new LOR's for next year -- you don't want your LOR's saying "I worked with this dude/dudette a year ago and he/she was pretty good, but I have no idea what he/she has done in the last year"

I think it depends on *why* a candidate didn't match.

also, if someone does their last rotation in may of 2010 and starts interviewing again in November of 2010.....well thats not bad. Heck a lot of US med students

I didn't match last year as an AMG. Didn't want to do a year of family medicine and get a scramble slot, and didn't do anything clinical this year, for a variety of reasons. It was never an issue during interviews this year, and I matched. It was more of case of just applying more broadly and targeting different less competitive programs. If I would have taken a family medicine slot or a prelim slot somewhere(which would have been harder to get anyways), I would have had less time off to interview at a variety of different places that better ensured I would match. It was a good decision for me.

Another important point- a lot of carrib grads are graduating "off cycle" under normal conditions. So if you're applying for family medicine, psychiatry, etc.....well a period of 6 months off between your interviews and your last clinical rotation won't be a big deal I wouldn't think.

Maybe some pd's had an issue with it and just never asked me about it. Anyways, Im not sure I would have a spot now in the field I matched if I would have gone hard for a family medicine or prelim spot and got one simply because I wouldnt have been able to apply as broadly or to the same number of programs.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Good points. A "pause" of 3-6 months without clinical experience is unlikely to raise any red flags.

 

[sweetlenovo88]

thanks for the response guys

 

[medicinesux]

Just be forewarned, if you take a gap year to do whatever it is you wish outside medicine, you might just find your world turning on it's head. Whether it be purposefully getting lost in some old medina in Marrakech, taking a cooking course in some quaint Italian village, or simply staying stateside and test driving another career entirely (which is what I did), you may be in for quite an eye opening discovery about yourself.

Oh, and being out of medicine during that timeframe was never an issue in returning to residency for myself. Internship was the worst year of my life and I was not going to do clinical B.S. during my reprieve to stay "clinically active". I said to myself that I wasn't going to put in anymore sweat into medicine unless it was to knock off one more day of a compulsory residency. Employers who are going to lay you this spiel you don't want to be working under anyway. Good luck and have fun! (Try scrambling though, you just may luck out)

 

[j48seconds]

I suggest doing some volunteer work abroad. I had some time off in my schedule and decided to do that (it wasn't medically related). I think its something a little different to help you stand out. During interview season, I was asked numerous times about it and it seemed to be a good topic to talk about myself.

 

[sweetlenovo88]

I suggest doing some volunteer work abroad. I had some time off in my schedule and decided to do that (it wasn't medically related). I think its something a little different to help you stand out. During interview season, I was asked numerous times about it and it seemed to be a good topic to talk about myself.

thanks for the input, I was considering volunteering teaching English in Puerto Rico.

 

[SukaNeNauka]

Also you may want to consider a clinical research somewhere you will enjoy being for a year. This could also be an eye opening experience and will likely yield awesome LORs in the process. Research people, while known for their turf wars, are at the same time very nice people, and may help you along the way.

 

[sweetlenovo88]

Also you may want to consider a clinical research somewhere you will enjoy being for a year. This could also be an eye opening experience and will likely yield awesome LORs in the process. Research people, while known for their turf wars, are at the same time very nice people, and may help you along the way.

thank you, but I do not like research and I doubt it would help much with EM.

 

[BlondeDocteur]

While meandering through ancient souks, holidays involving Tuscan cooking classes, and volunteering to teach English near the beach all sound like magnificent voyages of self-discovery, do you not need, you know, money? For, like, rent and gas and stuff? And loans?

 

[sweetlenovo88]

While meandering through ancient souks, holidays involving Tuscan cooking classes, and volunteering to teach English near the beach all sound like magnificent voyages of self-discovery, do you not need, you know, money? For, like, rent and gas and stuff? And loans?

I own a profitable business.

 

[ahd929]

I own a profitable business.

i should get one of those...

 

[greenbean]

DONT scramble, why? b'c you dont know what your getting and neither does your program

sure some ppl get good things, but the programs are there for a reason, they didnt fill for a REASON; and its an incredible ****ty process; i did it and i felt like a used car salesman

if i were you, i would take another year in med school, if u can afford it and it sounds like YOU can

do more rotations in EM and ICU and neuro and IM subspecialities like Cards, do a trauma elective, do an anesthesia elective, do psych, do ortho and plastics all of these are pertinent to an ER doc, do away rotations and work on getting strong LORs,
i know you dont like research, but maybe a more clinical project would appeal to you, talk to faculty in your schools dept, someone usually has something cooking ,whether its a project on improving ER turnover time or triaging , there gotta be something; if theres nothing in your school, try other med school in your state

apd is right, dont go away from clinical totally; its harder to get back in once your out

peace
green

 

[randomedstudent]

I did not match and do not expect for anything to happen in the scramble. If money is not an issue,

what are your thoughts about doing nothing for that year. by nothing I mean, something that is non relevant to medicine, such as attending business courses to better myself and trying to put my life back in order before I reapply.

I applied to only EM this year and think I was too picky with locations. Next year I will apply to every EM program out there and add psych to the mix.

Or, would it be crazy to do nothing but schedule a crapload of away rotations at programs I want to be at and spend the year that way?

thanks

I worked as a substitute teacher in local high schools. I matched the next year c no problem. Granted, no income wasn't really an option for me....but had it been I still wouldn't have done anything clinical, maybe just a lot of traveling.

 

[BlondeDocteur]

OK, I read through your past posts and it sounds like you've had a bumpy road.

1) You didn't take COMLEX 1 at all at the end of second year due to marital difficulties;

2) You passed it first attempt at the end of third year, after which your wife immediately announced she was leaving you (so sorry!); however the timing resulted in an incomplete grade in a basic, core clerkship (FM)

3) You failed COMLEX II first attempt

4) You failed COMLEX II second attempt and the CS portion first attempt

5) you never took the USMLEs but are interested only in allopathic residencies

While I think time to regroup and a respite for the soul might be very much in order as you've been through so much, I don't think "doing nothing" will be your ticket to a successful match next year. People will be seriously concerned about your medical knowledge. You need a solid-- hopefully excellent-- score on the COMLEX II. If eligible try to take Step 3 in your year off as well. You need to get something on your application to distinguish yourself-- remember, not all research has to be in the laboratory. Most EM research is clinical and outcomes-based-- see if you can find an interesting chart review or case report that needs writing up.

And please consider a trial of antidepressants, even if you think it's ridiculous. Depression can seriously affect your mental performance and might be contributing to the sense of hopelessness you've written about.

 

[sweetlenovo88]

I only failed comlex II once, not twice. I failed the PE and CK. I took both exams one after the other without a break apart, and was sick both days. And the medicine grade is now complete, there is no record of it being incomplete at some point anywhere. my clinical evals, lors and grades are excellent. the only black mark are the two comlex failures, literally one day apart from each other. Oh, I am not only interested in allo residencies, DO is fine. I have been on Lexapro for a couple months now. I just want to pass the comlex steps, graduate, reapply, and try to recuperate from the worst 1.5 years of my life.

OK, I read through your past posts and it sounds like you've had a bumpy road.

1) You didn't take COMLEX 1 at all at the end of second year due to marital difficulties;

2) You passed it first attempt at the end of third year, after which your wife immediately announced she was leaving you (so sorry!); however the timing resulted in an incomplete grade in a basic, core clerkship (FM)

3) You failed COMLEX II first attempt

4) You failed COMLEX II second attempt and the CS portion first attempt

5) you never took the USMLEs but are interested only in allopathic residencies

While I think time to regroup and a respite for the soul might be very much in order as you've been through so much, I don't think "doing nothing" will be your ticket to a successful match next year. People will be seriously concerned about your medical knowledge. You need a solid-- hopefully excellent-- score on the COMLEX II. If eligible try to take Step 3 in your year off as well. You need to get something on your application to distinguish yourself-- remember, not all research has to be in the laboratory. Most EM research is clinical and outcomes-based-- see if you can find an interesting chart review or case report that needs writing up.

And please consider a trial of antidepressants, even if you think it's ridiculous. Depression can seriously affect your mental performance and might be contributing to the sense of hopelessness you've written about.

 

[sweetlenovo88]

taking step 3 and doing well is an excellent idea though. I wonder if I would be eligible.

 

[medicinesux]

While meandering through ancient souks, holidays involving Tuscan cooking classes, and volunteering to teach English near the beach all sound like magnificent voyages of self-discovery, do you not need, you know, money? For, like, rent and gas and stuff? And loans?

If you don't entrap yourself by buying into the American way of living, you will be pleasantly surprised at what opportunities open up to you

 

[dragonfly99]

I think if you want to go hard for ER, you should try to distinguish yourself by doing something like ER research. I know you say you don't like research, but clinical research is different. Even if you just started something after graduation and worked on it for a few months, you would have something to talk about at your interviews. ER is a fairly competitive field and it seems like it would really help to have something to help you stand out. It's nice that you have enough money to survive...maybe you could volunteer abroad or something. Find medical mission trips that you could join, etc. Some surgeons who are going abroad to do surgeries, etc. might let you help out, even teach you some suturing.

 

[sweetlenovo88]

I think if you want to go hard for ER, you should try to distinguish yourself by doing something like ER research. I know you say you don't like research, but clinical research is different. Even if you just started something after graduation and worked on it for a few months, you would have something to talk about at your interviews. ER is a fairly competitive field and it seems like it would really help to have something to help you stand out. It's nice that you have enough money to survive...maybe you could volunteer abroad or something. Find medical mission trips that you could join, etc. Some surgeons who are going abroad to do surgeries, etc. might let you help out, even teach you some suturing.

I am planning on volunteering abroad, and about the suturing, I've spent 5 months last year doing EM electives, I know how to suture quite well, lol.

 

[sweetlenovo88]

just as an update, I got the results of my comlex II today and passed with an average score. a 155 point difference between the first attempt. Now waiting for the PE. Still not sure what I am doing next year, but at least this is done.

 

[sweetlenovo88]

just as an update, I got the results of my comlex II today and passed with an average score. a 155 point difference between the first attempt. Now waiting for the PE. Still not sure what I am doing next year, but at least this is done.

Another update, I passed my PE exam today. I am graduating in 3 weeks. I hope now, I can explain my one failure in CE and the other PE one day apart as flukes due to the divorce

 

[DrJosephKim]

If you have some spare time, I'd encourage you to contribute some writing pieces and get them published on some major medical blogs or other types of medical websites. This will show that you were still applying your medical knowledge and skills by staying current on the latest medical news.

 

[peppy]

Another update, I passed my PE exam today. I am graduating in 3 weeks. I hope now, I can explain my one failure in CE and the other PE one day apart as flukes due to the divorce

Congrats on getting past that setback. If you apply broadly this next cycle hopefully you will find a place that is understanding about the situation.