Can you guys help me out with any more tips?
4th year is approaching very fast. I actually took Step 2 last month and got my score back...I know it was a little early but I ended up doing pretty well. I'm not sure how much it matters in Anesthesia, b/c in surgery it didn't mean much at all.
Osteopathic student
Top 10%
Step 1: 246, Step 2: >260
Research: few published articles in surgical field.
Because I'm late in the game I don't know any anesthesiologists except the one's I met during my surgery rotations. Don't know them well enough for them to write me a letter of rec. I was interested in ortho and I'm kind of abandoning that idea now. I know it was all about doing Sub-I's and getting LOR from program directors, chairs etc. Is this true with anesthesia? Do I need three LOR from anesthesiologists? How important are the Sub-I's in anesthesia? I'm interested in Loma Linda, UCI and UCSD in particular. UCSD and UCI don't except DO's for sub-I's.
Thanks for all your help everyone.
Ok - so I think my experiences may be relevant to you - our bio's are similar - DO student, top 10% of the class, better than average test scores (250s on step I/II), research (I have a doctorate), pubs, and I, too, wished to return to my native southern california to train.
it is grim, my friend.
I applied to every west coast program - my DO school is East coast, so that probably didn't help.
I received 1 interview, extended to me in November, to Harbor. Thats it.
I did a SICU rotation at UCI, met and seemingly got along with the assistant director of the anesthesia program- Still, no dice and now it sounds like they're freezing us out of rotations. Rumor mill says that the new director is DO negative, but that's the rumor mill. My feeling is this - if they wont take you for a Sub-i, they wont take you as a resident. So, that means UCSD is probably out of the question too. (USC also, but again, I am not speaking from authority)
Cedars is open to DO students for rotations - I did a Sub-i there, but they received 1300 applications this year and they are still "newly established" as a separate residency (even though they having been teaching as part of UCLA forever). Dunno if that matters. Anyway, they rejected me before I came for my rotation. I didn't ask for a courtesy interview when I got there because A) they ALREADY didn't want me and B)once I got there, I knew it wouldn't have been a good fit anyway.
Loma Linda - again, I didn't get a chance to rotate there. And I didn't get an interview so...there.
equivocal result, really.
So...Harbor - I didn't rotate there (I tried, they filled up), and they offered me an interview. I think the fact that I made all efforts to rotate there may have weighed in my favor. I was not the only DO there on my interview day either. I think that speaks well to their openness. My life situation made moving away from california just so much more advantageous and the program I chose was a much better fit for me than Harbor
There is a DO who is a CA-1 or 2 at UCLA main campus, I spoke to him at WARC - he was from western (I think) and did Sub-i's at both UCLA and UCSF. He collaborated with a professor at UCLA on a research projects, rocked out his boards, and generally made his presence known at UCLA. UCSF didnt extend him an interview after his Sub-i, which he passed with honors. He was not very optimistic regarding UCLA's openness to DO's. He felt that any DO would have to rotate at UCLA to have a shot.
Earlier in this forum, someone mentioned East coast schools and prestigious programs that are DO friendly. I also believe this to be the case. One of my classmates was interviewed at Hopkins. I interviewed at Penn. I should have applied to the Cleveland Clinic. Hell, I should have applied at Hopkins or MGH. Texas and the big midwestern programs were very open to me and my friends. I ended up ranking one of those big midwestern programs as my number one and got it.
LOR - My letters were written by a PP anesthesiologist, a PP orthopedic surgeon, and a family practice doc who is a dean at my school and a clinical preceptor. All of your letters need not be from anesthesiologists - all you need is one. A letter from a surgeon is a good alternative second letter, and many programs are explicit - they require 1 anesthesia letter, and the second should either be anesthesia or surgery. The third letter (some require three) should probably also be either anesthesia or surgery, but I bet you IM would be good as well, particularly an intensivist. As I said, my third was a strong letter from a FP doc. And, again, I got my first choice training program.
You sound like a supremely competitive student. In your situation, I would make every effort to rotate at the west coast programs that will take DO MS 4's, and also be open to moving to cold weather. Get that anesthesia letter squared away before September. Be nice to everybody. Play smart. Be excellent.
Seriously, do your sub-I at Mayo.
