same place as husband/wife

[jj2134]

i need to go to the same place as my husband. if i apply to other specialties besides anasthesia at the same place, will i be taken seriously as having interest in any of those fields? will those specialties talk to each other?

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[fadedrebel]

i need to go to the same place as my husband. if i apply to other specialties besides anasthesia at the same place, will i be taken seriously as having interest in any of those fields? will those specialties talk to each other?

I would say that this is a bad idea, especially in a competitive field. In the event that specialities do talk to one another it will show that you aren't really interested in either specialty and therefore obliterating ur chances of matching...

 

[jdubya]

First of all, know that by and large medical students are insecure jerks and that you should ignore any and all advice from them. Their own insecurity will not allow them to see you comfortable in a difficult situation. It is highly likely that things will work out well for you, especially if you are willing to apply to a couple of different specialties.
Second, know that it is exceedingly unlikely that two clinicians in different fields will randomly strike up a conversation about residency applications AND that your name will come up in that conversation AND that it will be seen as a negative that you want to train with your significant other. Students think that program directors etc. care a lot more about who trains there than they actually do. Simply put, no attending is going to lose sleep about a single candidate one way or the other. There are just too many other things to occupy their time (wages, malpractice, academic pressures and so on).
Third, if you are willing to consider more than one specialty your likelihood of matching may increase rather than decrease. Residency interview committees are made of people, people have difficult situations they deal with and most carry some empathy with them because of it. All you need to do is whatever you can do to ingratiate yourself with the people who will make the decisions in whatever field/fields you are considering, work as hard as you can in every rotation you do, be a good, caring, nice and considerate person and things will likely work out in your favor. It is much MUCH MUCH more likely that two attendings will discuss the pleasant hard working student on their service than they will discuss a person in a difficult situation who is trying to make the best of it.
Finally, to reiterate, DO NOT LISTEN TO MEDICAL STUDENTS ON MATTERS LIKE THIS, THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.
Best of luck,
jdubya

 

[VolatileAgent]

jj, assuming that your husband is already in residency, right?

this may limit your choice to one hospital and/or one anesthesia program, especially if it is in a relatively isolated area. otherwise, i'd apply to as many programs in that area as possible, including at other hospitals locally (or within short driving distance) that may have other residency programs. you guys could split the difference and leave between two cities if you got a program in one and he in the other (don't know if this is technically feasible for you).

point is, there may be other options you haven't considered. but, definitely apply wide and across different specialties if you are limited. if the hospital he is at has an FP program, you're almost assured that you'll at least get a spot in that. also, you can do a prelim medicine year and hope a spot opens up in pgy-2 for anesthesia while you're fulfilling your prelim requirements. it happens.

good luck.

 

[fadedrebel]

First of all, know that by and large medical students are insecure jerks and that you should ignore any and all advice from them. Their own insecurity will not allow them to see you comfortable in a difficult situation. It is highly likely that things will work out well for you, especially if you are willing to apply to a couple of different specialties.
Second, know that it is exceedingly unlikely that two clinicians in different fields will randomly strike up a conversation about residency applications AND that your name will come up in that conversation AND that it will be seen as a negative that you want to train with your significant other. Students think that program directors etc. care a lot more about who trains there than they actually do. Simply put, no attending is going to lose sleep about a single candidate one way or the other. There are just too many other things to occupy their time (wages, malpractice, academic pressures and so on).
Third, if you are willing to consider more than one specialty your likelihood of matching may increase rather than decrease. Residency interview committees are made of people, people have difficult situations they deal with and most carry some empathy with them because of it. All you need to do is whatever you can do to ingratiate yourself with the people who will make the decisions in whatever field/fields you are considering, work as hard as you can in every rotation you do, be a good, caring, nice and considerate person and things will likely work out in your favor. It is much MUCH MUCH more likely that two attendings will discuss the pleasant hard working student on their service than they will discuss a person in a difficult situation who is trying to make the best of it.
Finally, to reiterate, DO NOT LISTEN TO MEDICAL STUDENTS ON MATTERS LIKE THIS, THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.
Best of luck,
jdubya

Wow, I didn't know I came across as an insecure jerk...

 

[Gern Blansten]

DO NOT LISTEN TO MEDICAL STUDENTS ON MATTERS LIKE THIS, THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.
Best of luck,
jdubya

Pot, meet kettle.

What year of medical school are you in?

 

[Gern Blansten]

Wow, I didn't know I came across as an insecure jerk...

You didn't.

 

[jdubya]

I've graduated. You'll say the same thing when you're done if you work closely with medical students. It's not just one and it's not a product, in my opinion, of individual pathology. Medical school and the prospect of residency put too much pressure on students for most people to remain 100% altruistic. That, and you generally put too much weight on two falsehoods: 1. You think board scores mean a lot more about getting a residency spot than they actually do
and
2. Everyone thinks their specialty is all of the sudden exceedingly difficult to get into. You hear it from Anesth, Rad, Plastics, Gen Surg, ED, RadOnc, Derm, Urology, Ortho, ENT and so on. The truth is that the only specialties people don't think are competitive are FP, Med, Peds, Psyche and PMR. Even if those consumed 50% of the spots. . .and they don't, that means at least half of the people in medical school get into these "really competitive" fields. Then you assume that a fair number of the smarter people in the world are, in fact, going into these less competitive fields and it becomes obvious why 85% of people will match in their top three in their field of choice. But no matter how many times you and other students hear this, you'll still believe you are going into a difficult match with unreal competitiveness. That's because everyone from last year tells you how difficult it was to match so that they look more impressive and it scares the hell out of you. Then you take that fear that you won't match, turn it insecurity and hate it. To battle the insecurity you pass it on to your classmates in underhanded and, I hope, subconscious subverting maneuvers. Misery loves company.
Dubya

 

[stenosis]

Well said jdubya. I feel the anxiety associated with applying for residency as a student and I can almost sense my own insecurities and i truly feel that my attempt at anesthesia will be super hard, hence i am insecure.Well put, i agree with your hypothesis.

 

[jdubya]

Look on the bright side. It is exceedingly likely that you will end up matching in a program that you like in the specialty you choose. Don't let your anxiety subvert the good times and good travels you should have this year.