Questions about Sub-Is/Applying

[Rhodes]

I wanted to ask about applying for Sub-Is and for residency. I go to an osteopathic school and don't have much in the way of career advice for such a specialized field. No faculty, nothing.

I am an above average student, 242 on Step 1. I have a few publications in ophthalmology.

1) Sub-Is? How many should I apply to? I understand that there isn't any guarantee on who will accept you for a Sub-I. Being a DO muddies the water. I don't want to apply to so many Sub-Is that I have to turn down a few and potentially lose interview invites in the future. I don't have a geographic preference.

2) I read on here that it is better to work with a single ophthalmologist on a Sub-I than to work with everyone at the same time. This might lead to a better LOR. Doesn't the LOR have to come from the chair, or PD? What's your advice on how to make the most out of a Sub-I?

3) What are recommendations in terms of LORs? All ophthalmologists, or can 1 be from internal medicine or general surgery?

4) I read in the Iowa Guide about apply for prelims via the NRMP. Are these 1 year programs places you have to rotate at first, or do you just apply to them in conjunction with the SF Match.

5) I can't see the programs on ERAS yet, but I believe 2 DO programs out of 13 or so have applied for ACGME pre-accreditation. My plan is to apply to those as well if possible. I have no idea what's happening to the other programs, and neither does the AOA. If anyone has any intel in this regard, please advise.

Thank you for your help!

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[Rhodes]

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

[eyeFone]

All of this info is available on the forums, but here are my quick thoughts:

1) Sub-Is? How many should I apply to? I understand that there isn't any guarantee on who will accept you for a Sub-I. Being a DO muddies the water. I don't want to apply to so many Sub-Is that I have to turn down a few and potentially lose interview invites in the future. I don't have a geographic preference.

- I applied to two. I had to cancel one, but they still invited me for an interview.

2) I read on here that it is better to work with a single ophthalmologist on a Sub-I than to work with everyone at the same time. This might lead to a better LOR. Doesn't the LOR have to come from the chair, or PD? What's your advice on how to make the most out of a Sub-I?

- Would be great to get a LOR from away rotation if you can work with the same person for 3-4 weeks. Luck of the draw, usually and unfortunately. If you don't have an ophtho department, then these probably become much more important.

3) What are recommendations in terms of LORs? All ophthalmologists, or can 1 be from internal medicine or general surgery?

- General advice is people who know you best, with two ophtho and one non-ophtho as a nice target. My third letter was from a peds attending.

4) I read in the Iowa Guide about apply for prelims via the NRMP. Are these 1 year programs places you have to rotate at first, or do you just apply to them in conjunction with the SF Match.

- You apply and interview for prelim year separate from SF Match and ophtho. A few ophtho programs have integrated PGY-1.

5) I can't see the programs on ERAS yet, but I believe 2 DO programs out of 13 or so have applied for ACGME pre-accreditation. My plan is to apply to those as well if possible. I have no idea what's happening to the other programs, and neither does the AOA. If anyone has any intel in this regard, please advise.

- No clue.

 

[Rhodes]

All of this info is available on the forums, but here are my quick thoughts:

1) Sub-Is? How many should I apply to? I understand that there isn't any guarantee on who will accept you for a Sub-I. Being a DO muddies the water. I don't want to apply to so many Sub-Is that I have to turn down a few and potentially lose interview invites in the future. I don't have a geographic preference.

- I applied to two. I had to cancel one, but they still invited me for an interview.

2) I read on here that it is better to work with a single ophthalmologist on a Sub-I than to work with everyone at the same time. This might lead to a better LOR. Doesn't the LOR have to come from the chair, or PD? What's your advice on how to make the most out of a Sub-I?

- Would be great to get a LOR from away rotation if you can work with the same person for 3-4 weeks. Luck of the draw, usually and unfortunately. If you don't have an ophtho department, then these probably become much more important.

3) What are recommendations in terms of LORs? All ophthalmologists, or can 1 be from internal medicine or general surgery?

- General advice is people who know you best, with two ophtho and one non-ophtho as a nice target. My third letter was from a peds attending.

4) I read in the Iowa Guide about apply for prelims via the NRMP. Are these 1 year programs places you have to rotate at first, or do you just apply to them in conjunction with the SF Match.

- You apply and interview for prelim year separate from SF Match and ophtho. A few ophtho programs have integrated PGY-1.

5) I can't see the programs on ERAS yet, but I believe 2 DO programs out of 13 or so have applied for ACGME pre-accreditation. My plan is to apply to those as well if possible. I have no idea what's happening to the other programs, and neither does the AOA. If anyone has any intel in this regard, please advise.

- No clue.

Thank you for your response eyeFone! This info is quite helpful.

Some follow-up questions.
1) I'm in the process of applying for SubI's, and coming from an osteopathic school, I was wondering if it is best to apply for 3-4 subinternships all at low to mid-tier ophthalmology programs (places where I may have a better chance), or should I shoot for at least one 'name brand' site (i.e. Will's Eye). Perhaps obtaining a good LOR from an attending over there would support my residency app. I have connections with an ophthalmologist mentor that could potentially land me one of these.

2) Should I do 2 or 4 weeks Sub-Is? I'm wondering if I should do some 2 week Sub-Is to connect with even more programs.

3) There is a suggested deadline on SFMatch of Sept 7. I think this is recommended. I can't find anything online that suggests whether to apply earlier than this? Is there a date you recommend or is it basically as soon as possible?

4) Should I avoid doing all my Sub-Is in one geographic area? I read this can be a red flag to other programs that you do not intend to rank programs outside this area highly. I'm willing to go anywhere, but I suspect regardless of what I do, some areas are out of my reach (California).

Thank you again!

 

[Feugmed]

Hope the information I provide helps. Take everything with a grain of salt! Good luck!

I am an above average student, 242 on Step 1. I have a few publications in ophthalmology.
- The average STEP 1 score for 2017 was 243, which puts you in the average student range for matched ophthalmology medical students.

1) Sub-Is? How many should I apply to? I understand that there isn't any guarantee on who will accept you for a Sub-I. Being a DO muddies the water. I don't want to apply to so many Sub-Is that I have to turn down a few and potentially lose interview invites in the future. I don't have a geographic preference.
- Depends on how many you can do and are willing to do. I met some wonderful DO students applying for ophthalmology. I've seen one that rotated through 8 different places while another that only went to 1.

2) I read on here that it is better to work with a single ophthalmologist on a Sub-I than to work with everyone at the same time. This might lead to a better LOR. Doesn't the LOR have to come from the chair, or PD? What's your advice on how to make the most out of a Sub-I?
- Again depends on how the rotation goes. If you met a wonderful ophthalmologist who can write you a strong letter go for it. Having a strong chair or PD letter will help but a weak one will not. A strong letter from a "non-chair/PD" will definitely help as well. In general, weak letters are not good.

3) What are recommendations in terms of LORs? All ophthalmologists, or can 1 be from internal medicine or general surgery?
- Again depends. Most people tend to do 2 ophthalmology, 1 medicine or surgery from my experience.

4) I read in the Iowa Guide about apply for prelims via the NRMP. Are these 1 year programs places you have to rotate at first, or do you just apply to them in conjunction with the SF Match.
- You apply in conjunction to SF match. Think about it as if you are just applying for prelim.

5) I can't see the programs on ERAS yet, but I believe 2 DO programs out of 13 or so have applied for ACGME pre-accreditation. My plan is to apply to those as well if possible. I have no idea what's happening to the other programs, and neither does the AOA. If anyone has any intel in this regard, please advise.
- I heard from the DO applicants that unfortunately the osteophatic ophtho programs are going through some rough times. Again, take everything with a grain of salt, would advise not to rely too heavily on the DO programs.

- If you look at the SF match ophthalmology statistics, 34 DO students registered -> 19 DO students participated in the full application process and ranked programs -> 5 matched. A backup plan may not be a bad idea to have as well. But again, take everything I say with a grain of salt. Its one persons opinion.