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- Aug 23, 2006
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Hello everybody, thanks for a nice forum here for radiology. I know there have been a lot of threads about "what my chances are" or "what to do to improve, etc." My thread will be a little different and I like to discuss how to improve my application.
I did a specific search for my topic on the radiology forum but I could not find an exact answer for my question. First of all I should say that I am an MS3 at a top 50 MD program and seriously considering radiology. I have already done both medicine and surgery. I did not like the OR very much and I also got bad headches during some parts of medicine. I have spent some time with radiologists and I have to say their job is amazing with all the new technology. They mostly deal with physicians only who are much easier to communicate with.
However, I also know that my application has flaws: Step I score of 224, mostly passes in my pre-clinical years and mostly passes in my rotations so far. I have to say I might get honors or at least a HP in surgery. I took my shelf yesterday and I think it went well and I also have had good evals. One good thing I have to say is that I recently was notified of a publication for some research in allergy I did back in summer after MSI year so that was nice. Also I worked on another allergy project with a student which might also get published while I am in med school.
However, over the last few weeks I have come to think that taking a year off for research will improve my application dramatically. I know I already have a publication, but that research was not very substantial because I mainly helped with the data analysis and editing of the paper. I posted the same thread in the medical students' clinical rotations forum and I got mixed answers. Some people said don't do it as it doesn't really add to my competitiveness (and that it will be a headache to have a gap in medical school and apply to these very competitive programs which I agree with) and some people said doing it will only help. I have already set up an appointment with my school's career planning advisor for this Monday. He and I have already exchanged several emails about this issue and he thinks that is a good idea. My school's Dean has also agreed to support my application. I am meeting with him this Tuesday. Since I was very busy during surgery all of these meetings had to wait until the winter break which for me began today.
I also emailed one of the radiology faculty at my school who is very involved with student education. I told her about my interest in the field and my step 1 score and how I think that taking a year off will help me. She reassured me that the programs will look for more things than a high step 1 score but taking a year off for research would be one way to improve my application. She told me she will be able to meet with me the week after Christmas. My radiology elective is in March and I will do some major reading now and in Feb. (my primary care month with no shelf). I don't really know what they expect of students in my elective but I am assuming I cannot contribute much but at least I should know the basics.
Anyway going back to the research question, I have briefly looked at Doris Duke and HHMI programs for year long research programs. As I said I will need to do a more extensive analysis about this issue now and prepare my applications since I am done with surgery. I am sure you guys know of the rankings of these programs. The good thing about HHMI is that I will be able to do the research at my school. This way I don't need to vacate my apartment for one year and then come back after the research is done. What I need to do for HHMI is I need to find someone at my school who can offer me a one year position. Also with HH I can take step II by the end of next July and then begin the research year.
I am hoping this long thread makes sense. Basically I liked to please get your feedback about whether a research year is a good idea to begin with and if so the different research programs which might be helpful to people like myself. Finally if you guys have any suggestions for the best plan for this process so that it is most beneficial and have the highest chance of success. Also do you guys know of any other programs which might be helpful?
Thank you and Happy Holidays!🙂
I did a specific search for my topic on the radiology forum but I could not find an exact answer for my question. First of all I should say that I am an MS3 at a top 50 MD program and seriously considering radiology. I have already done both medicine and surgery. I did not like the OR very much and I also got bad headches during some parts of medicine. I have spent some time with radiologists and I have to say their job is amazing with all the new technology. They mostly deal with physicians only who are much easier to communicate with.
However, I also know that my application has flaws: Step I score of 224, mostly passes in my pre-clinical years and mostly passes in my rotations so far. I have to say I might get honors or at least a HP in surgery. I took my shelf yesterday and I think it went well and I also have had good evals. One good thing I have to say is that I recently was notified of a publication for some research in allergy I did back in summer after MSI year so that was nice. Also I worked on another allergy project with a student which might also get published while I am in med school.
However, over the last few weeks I have come to think that taking a year off for research will improve my application dramatically. I know I already have a publication, but that research was not very substantial because I mainly helped with the data analysis and editing of the paper. I posted the same thread in the medical students' clinical rotations forum and I got mixed answers. Some people said don't do it as it doesn't really add to my competitiveness (and that it will be a headache to have a gap in medical school and apply to these very competitive programs which I agree with) and some people said doing it will only help. I have already set up an appointment with my school's career planning advisor for this Monday. He and I have already exchanged several emails about this issue and he thinks that is a good idea. My school's Dean has also agreed to support my application. I am meeting with him this Tuesday. Since I was very busy during surgery all of these meetings had to wait until the winter break which for me began today.
I also emailed one of the radiology faculty at my school who is very involved with student education. I told her about my interest in the field and my step 1 score and how I think that taking a year off will help me. She reassured me that the programs will look for more things than a high step 1 score but taking a year off for research would be one way to improve my application. She told me she will be able to meet with me the week after Christmas. My radiology elective is in March and I will do some major reading now and in Feb. (my primary care month with no shelf). I don't really know what they expect of students in my elective but I am assuming I cannot contribute much but at least I should know the basics.
Anyway going back to the research question, I have briefly looked at Doris Duke and HHMI programs for year long research programs. As I said I will need to do a more extensive analysis about this issue now and prepare my applications since I am done with surgery. I am sure you guys know of the rankings of these programs. The good thing about HHMI is that I will be able to do the research at my school. This way I don't need to vacate my apartment for one year and then come back after the research is done. What I need to do for HHMI is I need to find someone at my school who can offer me a one year position. Also with HH I can take step II by the end of next July and then begin the research year.
I am hoping this long thread makes sense. Basically I liked to please get your feedback about whether a research year is a good idea to begin with and if so the different research programs which might be helpful to people like myself. Finally if you guys have any suggestions for the best plan for this process so that it is most beneficial and have the highest chance of success. Also do you guys know of any other programs which might be helpful?
Thank you and Happy Holidays!🙂
