Spend two minutes of your time to help recruit pre-pod students!

[PodCareers]

Hey all. I am a TUSPM podiatry student who is working directly with the AAPPM on a student recruitment project. The goal of this project is to educate undergraduates about podiatric medicine, so they can learn a bit about both what a podiatrist is and what our career path looks like. The AAPPM has created two informative videos marketed toward undergraduate pre-medical advisors which discuss podiatry as a career, and the benefits it provides.

The videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szHhfKpmN7s

We have created a template form which emails these videos, as well as a brief paragraph about podiatric medicine to pre-medical advisors. The form takes literally two minutes to fill out, and could be very beneficial to future pre-medical students.

http://www.tuspmtech.com/recruit/

We have already gotten great responses from several undergraduate advisors. If everyone could spend two minutes of their time to help us, and our profession out, it would be greatly appreciated!

Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will be glad to answer them.

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[apollofx]

Do the informative videos or emails detail the residency shortage and crushing debt burden for the unmatched? It would be nice if everyone would spend 2 minutes working on solving the crisis before we sell more innocent kinds on podiatry without a residency position for them.

I get what you are trying to do but I just think recruitment isn't where the professions focus should be at the moment....

 

[Pronation]

Do the informative videos or emails detail the residency shortage and crushing debt burden for the unmatched? It would be nice if everyone would spend 2 minutes working on solving the crisis before we sell more innocent kinds on podiatry without a residency position for them.

I get what you are trying to do but I just think recruitment isn't where the professions focus should be at the moment....

I see what you're saying. However, a larger applicant pool would raise the average matriculant GPA across the board.

 

[air bud]

The second it said "great hours" I was mentally done with this. Who thinks this is a good thing to brag about? What successful (non-academic/marketing person) podiatrist believes this? Is that who you want to attract to the profession - people who want to be treated as equals without doing the work? Who thinks this is a good way to "achieve parity" within the medical community?
What a joke, I can't believe this video was made. Grow up and make a video that reflects today's medical profession instead of one that maybe existed 10 years ago.

 

[PeaJay]

This is just another half ass made podiatry video. Anybody see what the AOFAS has been doing lately on Facebook? They are posting educational material about specific foot and ankle deformities and surgeries geared towards the general public. Always stating "this is how a foot and ankle orthopedist treats xyz condition". ACFAS needs to do the same if they consider themselves the preeminent foot and ankle surgeons. We need to fight fire with fire.

I could not agree more. The campaign by AOFAS seems to be one that is actually working.

The way to market a profession is through solid training and solid information. AOFAS is building a library of information for potential clients and sites that have libraries of understandable information have large amounts of traffic. Just take a look at Wikipedia. If ACFAS and podiatry would take the time to understand google algorithms they would understand that the initiative by AOFAS is the ideal way to build an effective campaign that will have heavy amounts of unique visitors for years to come.

 

[PodCareers]

Do the informative videos or emails detail the residency shortage and crushing debt burden for the unmatched? It would be nice if everyone would spend 2 minutes working on solving the crisis before we sell more innocent kinds on podiatry without a residency position for them.

I get what you are trying to do but I just think recruitment isn't where the professions focus should be at the moment....

Hey there. I understand your concern about the residency shortage. It certainly is a big issue no doubt about it. However the solution is not to simply stop accepting students to podiatry school until it is fixed.

The whole point of these videos were to inform undergraduates about the career so they can make informed decisions about whether or not podiatry is a career for them. I know that something like this would have helped me personally as an undergrad. I did not even know about podiatry until three years out of school.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will be glad to answer to the best of my ability.

 

[Zaiko]

I think that at the end of the day, people are driven by the money. If podiatry guaranteed students a minimum of 150k or more, the stats would increase to that of MD/DO/Dental. Not only that, there needs to be a better uniformed standard of what podiatry is. The rules and regulations vary quite a bit from state to state, with some states permitting up to the knee whereas some restrict basically to forefoot procedures. Now with that, the rise in tuition (more than or equivalent to some MD/DO schools), uncertainty of obtaining residencies, and lower average salaries/starting, its kindof hard to get people with the higher stats to jump on board.

 

[Madura]

This is just another half ass made podiatry video. Anybody see what the AOFAS has been doing lately on Facebook? They are posting educational material about specific foot and ankle deformities and surgeries geared towards the general public. Always stating "this is how a foot and ankle orthopedist treats xyz condition". ACFAS needs to do the same if they consider themselves the preeminent foot and ankle surgeons. We need to fight fire with fire.

Why can't we do both? What the AOFAS is doing is great, but we also need to increase our applicant pool. All the uncertainty with residencies is directly related to the quality of applicants. The ratio of applicants to seats available for podiatry is 1.5:1. Said ratio for allopathic medicine is 2.7:1. We could actually match that ratio by increasing the number of podiatry school applicants by 800, which can only be done by increasing awareness of the field at the undergraduate level. Because this ratio is low, our admission stats are low and attrition rates are high, so good luck convincing a business-minded hospital administrator to open a podiatric residency with such poor indicators of quality.

To those of you who don't like the video, I encourage you to make something better. But we should all be appreciative of the fact that students took the time out of their busy schedules to write code so that we can get podiatry some credit at the undergraduate level with the click of a button.

 

[heybrother]

The MCAT was administered 94,907 times in 2013. The mean was 25.3. Without exploring statistics or considering multiple retakes - there are no shortage of people on the wrong side of the MCAT curve. Maybe I'm crazy, but the only way to increase the matriculation MCAT is to set a minimum score and slowly increase it to 24/25. I don't think the significance of the MCAT should be the knowledge it takes to achieve a score. I think the importance is the preparation and the planning. My friends who are MDs and in residency now were locked and loaded to take the MCAT as juniors. They submitted their applications the day the servers opened during 4th year and already had their LORs ready to go. They were ready and they jumped through the hoops flawlessly and with determination. You can fall into podiatry school without lifting a finger. You can get an interview without an MCAT. You could probably shadow a podiatrist the day before your interview and show up with a note from his secretary in hand. The process is about as forgiving as you could ever imagine. And the result is a lot of people who don't care. That's the saddest part about the MCAT scores. Its not the knowledge deficiency - its that people know they don't have to try and therefore they don't. The attrition rates say that lack of effort doesn't stop when they walk through the door.

 

[Madura]

The MCAT was administered 94,907 times in 2013. The mean was 25.3. Without exploring statistics or considering multiple retakes - there are no shortage of people on the wrong side of the MCAT curve. Maybe I'm crazy, but the only way to increase the matriculation MCAT is to set a minimum score and slowly increase it to 24/25. I don't think the significance of the MCAT should be the knowledge it takes to achieve a score. I think the importance is the preparation and the planning. My friends who are MDs and in residency now were locked and loaded to take the MCAT as juniors. They submitted their applications the day the servers opened during 4th year and already had their LORs ready to go. They were ready and they jumped through the hoops flawlessly and with determination. You can fall into podiatry school without lifting a finger. You can get an interview without an MCAT. You could probably shadow a podiatrist the day before your interview and show up with a note from his secretary in hand. The process is about as forgiving as you could ever imagine. And the result is a lot of people who don't care. That's the saddest part about the MCAT scores. Its not the knowledge deficiency - its that people know they don't have to try and therefore they don't. The attrition rates say that lack of effort doesn't stop when they walk through the door.

It sounds like we are in agreement that the standards are too low. Whether it is the lack of effort like you say, the lack of knowledge, or a little of both, it is a sad reality of the profession today. That being said, there are plenty of students who are qualified for MD/DO school who choose podiatry because something attracts them to the field. The videos created by the AAPPM (getting back to the topic of this thread) highlight a few of those attractions, so why wouldn't we want these shown to undergraduate pre-med students? Most undergrads have no idea what podiatry even is, much less that we train to be surgeons. The videos may not be perfect, but they are a step in the right direction and not inaccurate by any means. If we can raise the number of applicants to reach the 2.7:1 ratio I discussed previously, then most of the problems with our profession will be solved including the residency crisis. Again, I encourage everyone to embrace this effort and not criticize it.

 

[sampler]

Hey there. I understand your concern about the residency shortage. It certainly is a big issue no doubt about it. However the solution is not to simply stop accepting students to podiatry school until it is fixed.

The whole point of these videos were to inform undergraduates about the career so they can make informed decisions about whether or not podiatry is a career for them. I know that something like this would have helped me personally as an undergrad. I did not even know about podiatry until three years out of school.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will be glad to answer to the best of my ability.

OK, so I am someone who is starting to consider pod after not knowing much about it most of my life and always expecting I would go to med school. I do have several questions about the field that you may be able to help me with.

First of all, do all pods perform surgery, or is there an option to be a non-surg pod who cares for ailments that do not require surgery? Would your income be well below the average pod if you limit the scope of your practice in this way?

Also, the video says the hours are great...I am by no means lazy but I am a non-trad student returning to school and changing careers at an older age and a health care field that has good hours and flexibility is appealing to me. I have read in another SDN forum that the residency hours for pods is just as bad as it is for MD's, like 60-80 hours per week; is that true?

How does it compare to med school as far as the rigor of the curriculum? As said on this thread, the matriculant profile of pod schools is well below MD schools in terms of GPA and MCAT scores, so is the curriculum also quite a bit easier to accommodate that fact? And I hear the attrition rate is quite high, approximately what is the attrition rate?

 

[dtrack22]

First of all, do all pods perform surgery, or is there an option to be a non-surg pod who cares for ailments that do not require surgery?

Yes. That would be an option. While you do not have the option of skipping surgical training in residency, there certainly are programs where surgical volume is rather low and you would get more experience doing palliative, non-surg wound care, minor office procedures, casting, etc.

Would your income be well below the average pod if you limit the scope of your practice in this way?

Not necessarily

I have read in another SDN forum that the residency hours for pods is just as bad as it is for MD's, like 60-80 hours per week; is that true?

Residency is residency. For the most part at a majority of programs that is true.

How does it compare to med school as far as the rigor of the curriculum?

The first 2 years is essentially the same (2nd year at most pod schools is probably a little easier). Third year at Western is the same, but everywhere else I'd imagine pod school is a little easier. 4th year at all of the school's may be easier only because our rotations are the same subject matter over and over again, but in terms of work load/hours it's the same. There is a difference (which some pod students won't admit) but that difference is very small (which most med students won't admit).

so is the curriculum also quite a bit easier to accommodate that fact?

No, and that is part of the answer to your next question.

And I hear the attrition rate is quite high, approximately what is the attrition rate?

Varies from year to year and from school to school. The class of 2015 has lost 14% of matriculants. Some schools have classes with a 7% attrition rate, others have lost 25% of their class. It is high for several reasons, two of the bigger reasons IMO being 1) low admission standards due to a small applicant pool and b) Podiatry being a "back-up" that often isn't thoroughly vetted by the applicant. That student does fine academically but drops out because they didn't really like podiatry (or medicine for that matter).

 

[sampler]

Yes. That would be an option. While you do not have the option of skipping surgical training in residency, there certainly are programs where surgical volume is rather low and you would get more experience doing palliative, non-surg wound care, minor office procedures, casting, etc.

Residency is residency. For the most part at a majority of programs that is true.

The first 2 years is essentially the same (2nd year at most pod schools is probably a little easier). Third year at Western is the same, but everywhere else I'd imagine pod school is a little easier. 4th year at all of the school's may be easier only because our rotations are the same subject matter over and over again, but in terms of work load/hours it's the same. There is a difference (which some pod students won't admit) but that difference is very small (which most med students won't admit).
.

Thanks for your responses to my questions. In the weeks since, I have really started to think seriously about pod and have decided to start shadowing soon. In looking over your responses again, I did have a couple of additional questions:

You say that pod school rotations are probably a little easier than med school because pod is the same subject matter over and over again, although workload/hours are the same (about how many do you estimate that is, by the way?) . You also say residency is just as time intensive as med residency (60-80 hrs), but would you say the same thing again...that since it is the same subject matter over and over it is probably a little easier than, say, an internal med residency? I think I would enjoy school rotations and residency more if I did not feel like I was being overloaded with ridiculous amounts of info about so many different body parts/systems. I think focusing on one body part, being a "foot specialist", would be more enjoyable because I would feel like I am becoming an expert at this particular area, instead of feeling spread too thin among many different areas. Repeated exposure over and over again to the same material (in varying contexts of course) probably makes for more competent and confident practitioners (I get the sense that many med residents feel overwhelmed, not confident)

You also mention that 3rd year at all schools except Western is easier. What's the deal with Western? Why is it different?
I ask because I am from CA and that was probably going to be one of my top choices, although I have not really researched the various schools in enough depth yet to say that for sure.

And the video at the beginning of this thread talks about pods having "great hours" once they are in practice. Another poster panned that, but is it true? If work-life balance is important to you, do you have the freedom and autonomy to design your own workweek, even one that is 30-40 hrs? I have seen published average pod incomes of about $190,000; is the average pod working a 40 hour week to reach this income, or significantly more hours?

 

[dtrack22]

You say that pod school rotations are probably a little easier than med school because pod is the same subject matter over and over again, although workload/hours are the same (about how many do you estimate that is, by the way?) . You also say residency is just as time intensive as med residency (60-80 hrs), but would you say the same thing again...that since it is the same subject matter over and over it is probably a little easier than, say, an internal med residency?

I had 4th year rotations that kept me at the hospital for 14-16 hours a day. Others were 7am-5pm. My first 4 months of residency are anesthesia, gen surg, IM, and ED. My 1st year is like any other intern year. 2nd and 3rd years obviously focus more heavily on podiatry and by 3rd year things should be "easier" for you. But any easier than general medicine is for a 3rd year family med resident? Probably not.

You also mention that 3rd year at all schools except Western is easier. What's the deal with Western? Why is it different? I ask because I am from CA and that was probably going to be one of my top choices, although I have not really researched the various schools in enough depth yet to say that for sure.

Western has their students on the same (or very close to the same) rotations as the DO students, where as every other school in the country is already doing a more podiatry heavy curriculum/training. With the way our boards are written and our externship/interview system work, I think it is largely unnecessary. But the best Western students are no different than the best AZPOD students who are no better than the best...etc. When I interviewed at Western they averaged 35-40 hours of lecture/lab time per week (in the first two years), whereas DMU averaged around 25. I preferred efficiency and more self-directed learning, but take a look at Western's match list(s) and you'll see that they placed students in some really great programs.

Another poster panned that, but is it true? If work-life balance is important to you, do you have the freedom and autonomy to design your own workweek, even one that is 30-40 hrs? I have seen published average pod incomes of about $190,000; is the average pod working a 40 hour week to reach this income, or significantly more hours?

I don't know why people get their panties in a bunch over this. A large majority of DPMs are in private practice. Therefore a large majority of DPMs have pretty normal hours. A majority are not doing trauma and if most are private practice then they aren't admitting patients regularly. So little to no call or rounding at the hospital. Of course "lifestyle" is a selling point. Don't ask me why people get mad about this, its a fact. I recently rotated with a doc who worked no more than 50 hours a week and made over $190k. The practice was run very efficiently and set up to maximize revenue. I doubt a majority of small private practices run that smoothly. So 40 hours does not get you the salary you want, but if you're happy with the pay cut podiatry is certainly a profession where you can work 30-40 hours a week. You just may find it hard to get hired somewhere because why on earth would I as a business owner hire someone who isn't going to work enough to make me money?

 

[podpal]

I want to do research and teach. Where are these opportunities mentioned in the video?

 

[ldsrmdude]

There are actually fellowships dedicated to doing research if you so desire and obviously some residencies around the country are more dedicated to research than others. Plenty of options if one desires to pursue research and ultimately teaching.

Several schools have DPM/PhD dual degrees for individuals who want to pursue a career in podiatric medicine education and research.

There is even a DPM/MPH degree through Dartmouth sponsored by the APMA. The first individual to go through that now participates in research and is a full time faculty member at Scholl.

If you bothered to research these things you would know they are out there. Instead you choose to come on here and complain about opportunities that already exist.

You're right in that all of these opportunities exist, but I think podpal is asking about opportunities that are available for her. The fellowships and dual-degree programs aren't really an option for her anymore.

@podpal You're in a tough situation. I think you'll have a hard time getting very involved in teaching at a residency program or school. I would think that it would be easier to get involved in research as a lot of it wouldn't require a residency. I can guess that there are some doctors out there that would welcome someone to conduct research for them. Now it may not be the position you're looking for, but I'm just saying that it probably exists. Like I said, you're in a tough situation.

 

[podpal]

There are actually fellowships dedicated to doing research if you so desire and obviously some residencies around the country are more dedicated to research than others. Plenty of options if one desires to pursue research and ultimately teaching.

Several schools have DPM/PhD dual degrees for individuals who want to pursue a career in podiatric medicine education and research.

There is even a DPM/MPH degree through Dartmouth sponsored by the APMA. The first individual to go through that now participates in research and is a full time faculty member at Scholl.

If you bothered to research these things you would know they are out there. Instead you choose to come on here and complain about opportunities that already exist.

So you're saying that I personally am eligible for a fellowship even though I have no completed residency training?
These residency programs that you mention, I've already applied to over 65 different programs. That's a pretty good number, and some of those had research opportunities, for "other people", not for me.

Plenty of options? OK, where? I already have 2 professional degrees, one of them being podiatry. I have prior research experience and have written a LOT of research papers over the years, simply out of boredom. Who wants them? Who do I present them to? I don't have any affiliations with any hospitals or colleges or surgical sites.

Is this complaining? OMG, GROW UP! This is REALITY! This is the crap that Podiatry handed me. I'm simply letting you know that it ain't all roses out there. These great opportunities exist. How likely is it that I, a candidate with 2 professional degrees, prior research and teaching experience at the professional level, near perfect exam scores, and dedication to the field of podiatry, will get one of these coveted spots? How likely is it that any candidate will get one of these coveted spots?

Before you go RECRUITING you should be honest in letting those you are getting into this field know what they are up against. Sure, 85% may get a residency, but what about the 15%, like me, who do not? Are we supposed to be satisfied with being swept under the rug, doomed to cut old peoples toenails for less than minimum wage? Those being recruited should be shown all sides of this profession, not just the side from the rose colored glasses. You need to let that potential candidate know that there is a 15% chance they will not match, regardless of how much they bust their A$$ to get perfect grades, excellent patient relation skills, strive to improve the field, and work well with others. You need to let that person know that it may be a crap shoot for them. Just be honest.

 

[newres64]

So you're saying that I personally am eligible for a fellowship even though I have no completed residency training?
These residency programs that you mention, I've already applied to over 65 different programs. That's a pretty good number, and some of those had research opportunities, for "other people", not for me.

Plenty of options? OK, where? I already have 2 professional degrees, one of them being podiatry. I have prior research experience and have written a LOT of research papers over the years, simply out of boredom. Who wants them? Who do I present them to? I don't have any affiliations with any hospitals or colleges or surgical sites.

Is this complaining? OMG, GROW UP! This is REALITY! This is the crap that Podiatry handed me. I'm simply letting you know that it ain't all roses out there. These great opportunities exist. How likely is it that I, a candidate with 2 professional degrees, prior research and teaching experience at the professional level, near perfect exam scores, and dedication to the field of podiatry, will get one of these coveted spots? How likely is it that any candidate will get one of these coveted spots?

Before you go RECRUITING you should be honest in letting those you are getting into this field know what they are up against. Sure, 85% may get a residency, but what about the 15%, like me, who do not? Are we supposed to be satisfied with being swept under the rug, doomed to cut old peoples toenails for less than minimum wage? Those being recruited should be shown all sides of this profession, not just the side from the rose colored glasses. You need to let that potential candidate know that there is a 15% chance they will not match, regardless of how much they bust their A$$ to get perfect grades, excellent patient relation skills, strive to improve the field, and work well with others. You need to let that person know that it may be a crap shoot for them. Just be honest.

I don't think anyone believes that success is guaranteed 100% of the time. There will always be a percentage of the population that fails whether it be from something they did or from circumstances out of their control. The truth is though that the overwhelming majority of podiatry graduates will find a residency their first time around. If you fail the first time around, you still have a 75% chance of getting one in your second attempt. Those are still odds that are greatly in your favor. You make it seem like matching is statically rare .

I don't know why you didn't match. On paper you sound like a great applicant which makes me believe there is something you aren't telling us. You can judge a lot about a person from how they handle failures.

 

[podpal]

I don't think anyone believes that success is guaranteed 100% of the time. There will always be a percentage of the population that fails whether it be from something they did or from circumstances out of their control. The truth is though that the overwhelming majority of podiatry graduates will find a residency their first time around. If you fail the first time around, you still have a 75% chance of getting one in your second attempt. Those are still odds that are greatly in your favor. You make it seem like matching is statically rare .

I don't know why you didn't match. On paper you sound like a great applicant which makes me believe there is something you aren't telling us. You can judge a lot about a person from how they handle failures.

Is that a joke? I was a humble little woman. No one took anything I said or did seriously. I didn't "fail" per se, I can say that podiatry totally failed me. And itself. It was a real eye opener to go from a medical profession that works diligently to assist it's own, to podiatry which eats it's young. In my other profession I had a reputation for being top notch. I had published research at the graduate level prior to entering podiatry school. During pod school I received feedback from the professors/doctors that my work was excellent, with the highest marks in clinical rotations. Honestly I believe that it's my small stature, coming across as a polite humble woman, that was my demise. The school totally let me down. CASPR failed me entirely, at least 3x. CPME failed me. Podiatry lost out. Podiatry loses out a lot. It's a shame. I was and still am a top notch candidate. And now I have a pile of research proposals that will go unpublished. Some of the proposals I've shared with MD colleagues but it's pointless to develop true problem solving research opportunities that could result in beneficial patient outcomes out of sheer boredom. The MD colleagues I've shared proposals with have been appreciative. This is a good way to develop positive relationships between podiatry and the other allopathic fields of study. Maybe others pods can try it sometime. We might come across as more than toenail clippers.

When you quote that statistically 75% of reapplicants get matched, where exactly are you getting these stats from? I did CASPR 3x and never matched. I went into podiatry to increase the level of knowledge of the profession, perform and develop research, enhance the work that older podiatrists have accomplished, and satisfy my personal interest in direct patient care with an emphasis on patient outcomes. Now I sit home and day trade. It's boring, but it's something to do to pass the time. Personally, I'm not a failure. For me podiatry, as a profession, is failing. It failed me.

 

[newres64]

Is that a joke? I was a humble little woman. No one took anything I said or did seriously. I didn't "fail" per se, I can say that podiatry totally failed me. And itself. It was a real eye opener to go from a medical profession that works diligently to assist it's own, to podiatry which eats it's young. In my other profession I had a reputation for being top notch. I had published research at the graduate level prior to entering podiatry school. During pod school I received feedback from the professors/doctors that my work was excellent, with the highest marks in clinical rotations. Honestly I believe that it's my small stature, coming across as a polite humble woman, that was my demise. The school totally let me down. CASPR failed me entirely, at least 3x. CPME failed me. Podiatry lost out. Podiatry loses out a lot. It's a shame. I was and still am a top notch candidate. And now I have a pile of research proposals that will go unpublished. Some of the proposals I've shared with MD colleagues but it's pointless to develop true problem solving research opportunities that could result in beneficial patient outcomes out of sheer boredom. The MD colleagues I've shared proposals with have been appreciative. This is a good way to develop positive relationships between podiatry and the other allopathic fields of study. Maybe others pods can try it sometime. We might come across as more than toenail clippers.

When you quote that statistically 75% of reapplicants get matched, where exactly are you getting these stats from? I did CASPR 3x and never matched. I went into podiatry to increase the level of knowledge of the profession, perform and develop research, enhance the work that older podiatrists have accomplished, and satisfy my personal interest in direct patient care with an emphasis on patient outcomes. Now I sit home and day trade. It's boring, but it's something to do to pass the time. Personally, I'm not a failure. For me podiatry, as a profession, is failing. It failed me.

It's not a joke- it's an observation that I've made through my life experiences. People are notoriously bad judges of their own character. I have a friend who will swear up and down that he is a good/safe driver, but the reality is hes been in 20+ accidents and totaled 3 cars in his 15 years of having a drivers license. Again, from what you post (about your qualifications/accomplishments) I can't see why any residency wouldn't take you- which means there must be something else at play. Something made other applicants more "attractive" than you. I find it hard to believe that it was because you are a "humble little woman". I've seen students who I personally believe are nothing more than "pretty little faces" land residency programs. In my opinion, you don't come off as a "humble little woman" from your more recent posts. I believe many others on this forum would agree.

as for where I got the 75%, I got it from PMnews when they released match statistics. There is actually a good chance that the number I quote may be lower than the actual number because at the time there were still about 22 positions to be filled.

 

[podpal]

It's not a joke- it's an observation that I've made through my life experiences. People are notoriously bad judges of their own character. I have a friend who will swear up and down that he is a good/safe driver, but the reality is hes been in 20+ accidents and totaled 3 cars in his 15 years of having a drivers license. Again, from what you post (about your qualifications/accomplishments) I can't see why any residency wouldn't take you- which means there must be something else at play. Something made other applicants more "attractive" than you. I find it hard to believe that it was because you are a "humble little woman". I've seen students who I personally believe are nothing more than "pretty little faces" land residency programs. In my opinion, you don't come off as a "humble little woman" from your more recent posts. I believe many others on this forum would agree.

as for where I got the 75%, I got it from PMnews when they released match statistics. There is actually a good chance that the number I quote may be lower than the actual number because at the time there were still about 22 positions to be filled.

I guarantee you that if I were to apply for those 22 spots I wouldn't get one.
I've never been in a car accident. Not sure how this applies to not matching?
Got to run, stock market about to open.

 

[newres64]

I guarantee you that if I were to apply for those 22 spots I wouldn't get one.
I've never been in a car accident. Not sure how this applies to not matching?
Got to run, stock market about to open.

I used the car accident analogy as an example of "delusional" self image. You keep saying that you were pretty much the "perfect candidate" but yet you don't have one. There has to be a reason for why that is and I just doubt it was because you were a "small, humble woman". A humble person doesn't go on rants about how "great" they are or how much smarter they are then everyone else- that's the complete opposite of what a humble person does. They certainly don't claim that the field "failed them"- that's egotistical.

You may actually be humble in person, I don't know. But from what I see in your recent posts it's a bit difficult to believe you are.

I would like to add that if what you say is all true, even if I might be right about your personality, I'd still want you to be a part of our field. One of the biggest shame with this residency shortage is that we lose out on people that could really advance our field for silly reasons like personality conflicts.

 

[podpal]

I used the car accident analogy as an example of "delusional" self image. You keep saying that you were pretty much the "perfect candidate" but yet you don't have one. There has to be a reason for why that is and I just doubt it was because you were a "small, humble woman". A humble person doesn't go on rants about how "great" they are or how much smarter they are then everyone else- that's the complete opposite of what a humble person does. They certainly don't claim that the field "failed them"- that's egotistical.

You may actually be humble in person, I don't know. But from what I see in your recent posts it's a bit difficult to believe you are.

I would like to add that if what you say is all true, even if I might be right about your personality, I'd still want you to be a part of our field. One of the biggest shame with this residency shortage is that we lose out on people that could really advance our field for silly reasons like personality conflicts.

Thank You!