Surgical residency requirements

[Stressed]

Hello. I am an MSI at an osteopathic school. I was wondering how important the first two years grades are in applying for a surgical residency. I am doing well but the problem is so are alot of other people in my class. It is not unusual for our averages to be in the upper 80s/lower 90s. I am above average in all classes, but how far above average do I need to be? The 75th percentile sometimes means getting 2 wrong out of 50 questions on a test. We have had at least two exams pretty much every week since the third week of school and our school has straight percentages (no pass/fail). Needless to say, its stressful. I would appreciate any information anyone has to offer. Thanks.

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[turtleboard]

General surgery residencies aren't as competitive as they were several years ago, but for the osteopathic medical student, general surgery can still be a challenge because of long-held biases on the part of the MD world.

Preclinical grades are pretty important for both MD and DO applicants to general surgery programs, but things that may be more important are: 1) grades in your general surgery rotation as an MS3, 2) grades in your surgical sub-I as an MS4, 3) board scores (not necessarily in that order).

MD General Surgery residencies are tough to come by for DO grads, so if you're looking into surgery, scout some of the better DO programs first and see how their residents did as med students. Go for an MD residency if you're looking for an academic career or looking for subspecialization in something like cardiothroacic, colorectal, and a whole host of other surgical subspecialties (not neuro, ortho, ENT, or optho).

By the way, I believe that some DO schools have better success in getting their kids into MD General Surgery residencies than others because of the large variability in the quality of affiliated hospitals between the osteopathic colleges.


Tim of New York City.

 

[kimberlicox]

As an MS-IV currently interviewing for Gen Surg positions, I'll second the good advice that Turtleboard has given (since I'm not a DO student I can speak to those concerns).

Here's what *seems* to be important to PDs, from my perspective:

great letters from people they know (obviously not always a possibility)

good grades in Core and Elective Surgical rotations; even better: doing an elective at their hospital (provided you do well, natch)

Step 1 and 2 (some programs are requiring Step 2 for application but not many)

research publications (if interested in academics)

at more competitive programs, AOA becomes important to weed out the er, "weeds"

and the rest is based on the interview:

are you personable? Despite protestations I hear from people that its expected that surgeons be jerks, its not well tolerated at the intern, resident level. So look like you can work well with others - your co-workers and patients.

reliable and responsible?

why this program?

Basically this comes down to "fit" which is a hard entity to quantify. Hope this helps and best of luck to you.

PS. Read the humor section on Medschool.com for some tips on dealing with the "gunners" in your class. The advice on self-cathing killed me!

 

[Meg33]

Hey-
I was just wondering if residencies favor an individual with a masters over one without or is it purely performance in medical school that they look at. Thank you for your help!

 

[cyclohexanol]

Hey-
I was just wondering if residencies favor an individual with a masters over one without or is it purely performance in medical school that they look at. Thank you for your help!

8 year bump, epic

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

8 year bump, epic

He's like freaking Indiana Jones or something.

But to answer your questions, additional degrees shy of a PhD are somewhat helpful, I guess, but no where near as important as Step grades, Clinical grades, and LORs.

 

[Blade28]

Hey-
I was just wondering if residencies favor an individual with a masters over one without or is it purely performance in medical school that they look at. Thank you for your help!

As stated above, Master's won't help much in residency applications. Pursue one if you're truly interested, NOT to boost your app.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Wow...8 years.

Fun to read my comments as a 4th year medical student. How times fly.

A Master's degree is of little interest to most surgical programs. Get one if it interests you but don't expect it to add anything significant to your application.

 

[jdh71]

Wow...8 years.

Fun to read my comments as a 4th year medical student. How times fly.

A Master's degree is of little interest to most surgical programs. Get one if it interests you but don't expect it to add anything significant to your application.

you guys truly are heartless monsters

 

[Winged Scapula]

you guys truly are heartless monsters

Huh?

We are IMPRESSED with an 8 year bump! That takes some work.

 

[Danbo1957]

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