Some advice

[kingkenny]

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Hey all,

I'm a FMG re-applying for this year's match asking for some advice on what I need to do for this year's match.

My stats:

Step 1-244, Step 2CK-261, Step 2 CS pass first time. Yet to take Step 3. Good scores in medical school. 8 weeks of clerkships at Mount Sinai in General and Plastic Surgery. 3 good(but definitely not stellar) letters of recommendation from US surgeons. Graduated in August 2011. ECFMG certified.

Basically I applied for 99 G Surg programs in last year's match and got 3 prelim invites from Community hospitals. I turned them down as I did not want to do a prelim year. I was not ECFMG certified last year and had my scores reported only in November and I think that these two played a major role in my lack of interviews.

After November 11, I applied for G Surg residency in my home country and subsequently started my residency in May 12. During this time, I've realized that I do not like G Surg and OR time as much as I thought and realized that I would be happy doing either Internal Med or G Surg and so plan to apply to both. (basically I'm not completely obsessed with any one specialty and would be happy in either)

Some questions I have are:

1) How do I explain this in my PS without sounding too defensive? In my PS for Internal Medicine, should I even address this issue and bring up the fact that I did my residency in another specialty.

2) Is it important to update letters to current dates? My letters are all dated in 2011 and I feel that I can explain in my interview that I received them at that time when I was still in medical school.

3) Is it important to get a letter from my current Program Director at the surgical residency I'm at? I am yet to inform them of my plans to switch residencies.


Thanks a lot.

 

[kingkenny]

Guys some help would be much appreciated.

I emailed by letter writers in the US and they told me that since they had not had any contact with me professionally, the letter from last year should suffice.

For me this makes sense as I got all my letters last year when I was a student. I intend to get one from my current residency though I doubt the value of this letter.

If by chance I can't get it updated, will it hurt my application big time?

Please let me know!

Thanks.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I agree that late scores was probably the problem last year. Your scores are great, and 8 weeks at Sinai is great experience. If your letters were not good, that would be a huge problem though.

1. In applying for IM, it's very important that you address this. If you don't, IM PD's are likely to think that you're applying to IM as a backup (which, since you are applying to GS also, perhaps you are...). You want to convince IM PD's that you're serious about IM.

In GS, this would be a terrible idea. Any suggestion that anything but the OR makes you happy, and you're a dead duck.

2. It's a moot point since your letter writers won't do so, but I don't think this is a big deal.

3. Yes. You should submit 3 US LOR's and 1 LOR from your current PD.