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Prelim scramble last year
Started by EMbound08
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Plan on it being very hard.
Every phone and fax line at open programs will start ringing off the hook at noon on scramble day. PD's will be inundated, offers you get will likely be good for 30 seconds, etc.
I've seen people do this before - it's not pretty. They generally end up prelim surgery at their med school.
If you think you are going to end up with no prelim spot, then do all you can to have a plan in place BEFORE the scramble. For example, I would definitely go to your med school's career office, tell them what you fear is going to happen, and get their advice. If you are lucky, they might be able to prevail upon the medicine dept @your med school to create you a prelim spot. I don't know if that would work @your institution, but people did do that where I was a med student...I think it worked out b/c usually only maybe 1 person/year had to do that, and the medicine dept. needed some huge number of interns and had money, so making one more spot, or keeping one back for internal candidates, wasn't a big deal.
Well, that totally reinforced the whole "don't scramble unless you have to" sentiment.
Actually there were more spots than I would have expected-- it doesn't look like all hope is lost if you had to scramble.
No, but the scramble sucks. Ask anyone whose been through it.
The list looks long, but the list of unmatched candidates is longer. And they are all trying to call / fax / email at the same time. And each program has exactly one phone line and one fax machine. If you get through, and if someone likes you, then you might get offered a spot. You usually get around 3-5 minutes to make up your mind, or they offer it to the next person.
All hope is not lost, but the scramble is not a good plan if you can avoid it.
