PM&R Applicant in need of Serious Help

[francheezy]

I am currently a 4th year D.O. student in the middle of the interviewing process for residencies. I am in a very tricky position as an applicant. During my 3rd year I had academic struggles (failed COMLEX 1 with a not so decent retake score). Also, I have not yet taken COMLEX 2 CE (scheduled for Dec 10th) due to continuous family problems (mom recently diagnosed with breast CA, father lost his job and as oldest of 4 i've been supporting them financially, close family member passing away). I understand all of this does not look good to residency programs and it has shown through my interview invites (granted I applied late as in early November).

I have applied to both M.D. and D.O. programs and have only received 1 PM&R interview invite from a relatively new D.O. program at Larkin Community Hospital in Miami. I also have multiple transitional year interviews for which I could use for my 1st year of PM&R. My problem is, without getting invited for any Advanced PM&R spots (PGY2-PGY4), I feel like I would waste an entire year after my transitional year since we have to apply for PGY-2 spots now (is this completely true?)

If I don't get any invites and hence do not match into any Advanced PM&R spots this upcoming match, do I have any chance of doing so next year for 2014? Would I have to essentially wait out a year to hope I match into the 2015 cycle? Are there any programs that show leeway to students who are in their transitional year but were not able to get any Advanced PM&R spots to allow them to obtain that PGY-2 position for 2014 instead? What are my overall chances of even landing a PM&R residency?

Unfortunately I wasn't able to do any audition rotations in PM&R until now (I have one scheduled at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore starting mid-December) and have the flexibility to do 2 more audition rotations at the end of this academic year (April & May). I am thinking about doing these rotations at solid hospitals/programs that I actually have a somewhat higher chance of getting into eventually. Any recommendations would help.

As you can tell, I am in a very hectic position and am just hoping everything works out with the right planning and execution. Through my exposure in non-audition rotations and with talking to current residents and physiatrists, I fell in love with PM&R and hope to eventually get accepted into a good program. Thanks in advance for ANY helpful advice.

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[Jitter Bug]

Sounds like a stressful year! Take a step back from your daily struggle and things will become clearer. Programs want one thing of you: that you will be a good resident, work hard and keep the patients safe. Which means you need to keep your personal life at home and keep work at work. Be prepared to explain the reasons for your poor academics calmly and without defensiveness in your interview, but be prepared to say how you will keep from making the same mistake again in the future.

You just submitted your application 3 weeks ago, be patient, if you applied widely and are willing to leave your state, the interviews will come. If you didn't apply out of your city, I assume you'd rather go without a residency than leave your home. It may come to that and you'd better have a plan B.

I recommend going forward with your transitional year regardless. The reason I say this is that with an internship completed you can work in most states doing moonlighting: urgent care, occ med clinics, work physicals, etc, which is a way to make doctor money in case you need a year off until you match into year 2. If you don't get an internship, you can go work at McDonalds, try paying your bills with that. Your MD doesn't qualify you for ANYTHING except an internship. Yes people still match into PM&R but the choices will be limited to slots that went unfilled from this years match. You will need to be very flexible about location and program attributes to land a PGY-2 spot during your intern year.

Good Luck

 

[100YardDash]

^^^ this^^

I agree and would go ahead and try to get into a preliminary year. I'm very sorry about your family my friend. In terms of your grades and scores in school, whats done is done. That is in the past and there is nothing you can do about that... but what you can do is work hard from here on out.

I did not have family problems and am in NO WAY trying to compare my situation to yours but I did have some big hurdles that popped up my senior year due to problems w/ my school. Lots of my classmates got depressed at tanked. I held my ground and tried my best to continue to work hard my senior year. Actually the only way of getting my mind off all the s***, at least for me, was to bury my face in the books so that it would keep my mind off the stress overload. Jitter bug mentioned that residencies want to see that you work hard and, as sad as this sounds, able to separate the stress at home from work. This must be a big hurdle for you and your family. You have also had to step up and support your family on top of your loans adding up... that is tough! In my opinion, over coming big/stressful hurdles in life shapes who you become. Move forward, keep doing what you are doing and step up for your family. I hate to come off as dramatic as this post sounds. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions or need someone to lean on.. we are all in this together. take care and good luck

 

[francheezy]

Thank you both very much for your reply! I will definitely go ahead with the transitional year internship and hope I can eventually land a spot as a PGY-2. I will PM you guys with any specific questions regarding programs later. I did apply broadly to a decent amount of PM&R programs (didn't apply to "high-end"/out of reach ones due to finances so I ended up applying to 35 M.D. programs and all 4 D.O. programs that participate through ERAS). I am definitely not opposed to moving to any region of the country, just as long as it has a solid PM&R program that will help me obtain a possible fellowship in the future. Thanks once again for your advice! First hand experience from you is invaluable.

 

[Jitter Bug]

It sounds like you have a good strategy. I think people who didn't match often were very limited geographically or ended up thinking they had a "sure bet" for one program, so didn't rank very many. I would rank every single program you interview at and work on your interview skills so you can present yourself positively in person. If you really love PM&R that enthusiasm will show in your interview and that is deifinitely a quality that programs are looking for.

 

[hashtag]

Hey,

just came across your post. it is a tough place to be in for sure. I'm currently a 3rd year student who is trying to figure out more about PM&R myself. Regarding the setbacks and obstacles that have come your way, it's cheesy but honestly, you have only two options: to let them hold you back, or to not. I can't pretend like I know how stressed out you must be, but for sure if you keep strong and work hard and control the things you can control, that things will have a better chance of working out. Yes, loans are serious and your options are limited, but I'm pretty sure when, not if, you get into residency and finish your training, all of these obstacles you have to go through will give you an angle to relate to your patients that many of us other doctors will not have. Your patients will be more like you than others, because they have outside struggles too, and in this field of rehabilitation, the main goal is to overcome loss and to make the most of it. Maybe there is a silver lining- you have not been dealt friendly cards, but when you get through this, you will be an inspiration to your patients and a role model for success and perseverance for medical students. Good luck, and never hesitate to reach out- I actually registered for SDN a few moments ago just to reply to you because I felt very strongly that you should know people are listening and are with you during the struggle!

 

[sumdood]

Hashtag, that was very inspiring. Although you meant it for the OP, I took those words to heart as well since I've been through similar struggles.