Reasons to do a preliminary year?

[Back34]

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Certain residencies require a preliminary year (gas, rads, etc.), but under what other circumstances would somebody choose to do a prelim? I ask because I'm a 4th year, having a really difficult time trying to decide which way I want my life to go. Thus, the idea of getting a broad overview of several fields is pretty appealing.

I assume this would also make me a more competitive applicant the following year for, let's say, emergency medicine. Does anybody have any advice/experiences to help enlighten me? Thanks.

Back34

 

[Back34]

One more thing: how competitive is it to land a prelim spot?

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Do a transitional year over a prelim year...doing a transitional year is easier than doing a prelim year in let's say IM.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

One more thing: how competitive is it to land a prelim spot?

Overall, it's not too hard to land a prelim spot. But landing an intern year at a really easy, cush place is going to be competitive because many folks would rather have a cush schedule during intern year if given the choice.

 

[Back34]

Thanks for the reply. Has anybody done a prelim year with the intention of becoming a more competitive applicant the following year; not necessarily for a specialty that actually requires a prelim year (gas, rads, pm&r), but for something like ER, IM, etc? I ask this because I'm currently doing my ER elective and am really taking to it. If I applied for ER this year, I'm pretty sure I'd match somewhere, but I'd much rather stay in the area. My application is average at best, with an ok step I score (224), but I'm realistic about my chances of staying here (major city). Like I said above, I'm sure the year of clinical experience would make me more competitive, but how would I go about seeing this through, e.g., would I apply for the match a second time, how exactly would ER programs feel about this, etc? Thanks again