Prelim yr

[keforce]

Say you get matched into a rad onc PGY2 position but did not get matched for the prelim year. Are you screwed? Or is this something you can scramble into?

Say you are applying for an advanced position in rad onc and a prelim year at the same institution, will most programs accommodate you so that your interview for rad onc and for prelim are within the same proximity time wise so you don't have to make two trips?

Thank you for your help.

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[yeasterbunny]

Say you get matched into a rad onc PGY2 position but did not get matched for the prelim year. Are you screwed? Or is this something you can scramble into?

Say you are applying for an advanced position in rad onc and a prelim year at the same institution, will most programs accommodate you so that your interview for rad onc and for prelim are within the same proximity time wise so you don't have to make two trips?

Thank you for your help.

If you are competetive enough to match in a rad onc program you should have no problem scrambling into a prelim year.

 

[keforce]

What are some of things to taken into consideration when applying for a prelim yr for rad onc?

How many prelim programs would you generally apply to (more or less than the number of rad onc programs?)

 

[iradi8u]

What are some of things to taken into consideration when applying for a prelim yr for rad onc?

How many prelim programs would you generally apply to (more or less than the number of rad onc programs?)

I think the big things to take into account are program quality and location (not to mention call night frequency.) I chose to stay at my home program to delay moving for radonc a year (I have a family) and it's worked well for me. I know of others who chose a prelim program based on a place they'd love to call home for a year - i.e. Hawaii, NYC, Chicago, and their prelims were not near their radonc matches. I'm working pretty hard right now with Q4 call, but I'm also learning a lot and am confident in the basic medicine education I'm getting.

I only applied to 3 prelim and 1 transitional program - I interviewed at 3 of them. I applied to a lot more radonc programs. I'd apply to several prelim programs to make sure you get a first year somewhere, but don't sweat it too much.

 

[qwert]

Just be mindful that the most lucrative prelim spots are just as competetive as RadOnc. Apply wisely, you don't want to be working nasty hours in some forgotten community hospital for nothing.

Say you get matched into a rad onc PGY2 position but did not get matched for the prelim year. Are you screwed? Or is this something you can scramble into?

Say you are applying for an advanced position in rad onc and a prelim year at the same institution, will most programs accommodate you so that your interview for rad onc and for prelim are within the same proximity time wise so you don't have to make two trips?

Thank you for your help.

 

[IndyXRT]

Say you get matched into a rad onc PGY2 position but did not get matched for the prelim year. Are you screwed? Or is this something you can scramble into?

Say you are applying for an advanced position in rad onc and a prelim year at the same institution, will most programs accommodate you so that your interview for rad onc and for prelim are within the same proximity time wise so you don't have to make two trips?

Thank you for your help.

That's exactly what happened to me (matched rad onc but not prelim). I under-applied for TY programs (only 3). I had no trouble getting a spot in the scramble, though. My home program opened up a prelim medicine spot for me. I had the deal tied up within an hour of the scramble beginning. Lesson: don't underestimate the competitiveness of transitional years.

 

[LCK]

Don't get transitional years and prelim medicine/surgery years confused. Transitional years are indeed very competitive. If you look at that NRMP charting outcomes in the match thing, you will see that transitional years are right behind rad onc/ortho in terms of competitiveness. Prelim med/surg, on the other hand, this is not the case at all.

Now if you need to stay in one city/area for a particular reason (like me b/c I was couples matching), you may want to apply to more prelim places b/c it CAN be risky. But if you are willing to live one place and then move to another for rad onc, I don't think you need to apply to many prelim med programs if you are competitive for rad onc (I don't know, maybe like 5 with 10 at the absolute most). Also, it is likely your home school may unofficially pretty much guarantee you can stay a year with them.

And for your other ?, most medicine programs did switch my interview date to match rad onc (and I went on about 15 prelim interviews). Rad onc, you will have 2-4 dates to choose from period.

Good luck!

 

[SchwettieBalls]

I wouldnt recommend doing more than 5 prelim med/transitional year interviews. You will be so drained from travelling and interview days from radonc... On the plus side, prelim med/transitional year interviews are much easier than rad onc interviews. Instead of "why do you think we should let you in" (Rad onc), you get, "we'd love to have you!" (medicine)

 

[mikedc813]

I wouldnt recommend doing more than 5 prelim med/transitional year interviews. You will be so drained from travelling and interview days from radonc... On the plus side, prelim med/transitional year interviews are much easier than rad onc interviews. Instead of "why do you think we should let you in" (Rad onc), you get, "we'd love to have you!" (medicine)

I couples matched so I had to apply to many many more prelim/TY programs than 5. Had I not couples matched, however I think I would have stayed around 5 programs. And yes, it's nice to hear from medicine program directors "we'd love to have you!".

 

[Pewl]

How many of you applied only to transitional year programs? How many transitional year programs did you need to apply to?

 

[yeasterbunny]

How many of you applied only to transitional year programs? How many transitional year programs did you need to apply to?

In my town there were 2 TY programs and a PY that I was personally guaranteed by the chair, so I only seriously applied to those. However, since the first 10 apps cost the same as 2, I did apply to some others that were within driving distance, plus Mayo Jax because they interviewed me the same day as rad onc.

I got one of the TYs in town but not the one I ranked first.

I think it's also a reasonable strategy to apply to a TY or two in places you have a greater shot of interviewing because of multiple programs in town, i.e. Chicago, Philly, NYC, etc. where you stand a shot of getting at least 1 interview of the 4+ places you applied.

On the other hand I know Chicago (and probably Philly and NYC) TYs are pretty darn competetive. I didn't get any interviews from them.