This maybe a stupid question...but....

[Stasch@DMU]

Ok, so lets say that after four long years of medical school, a student tries for a
residency in surgery. He/She does NOT get matched. What happens then? Do they
do something else and then try to transfer? Do they have to choose a new specialty?
Will they be placed somewhere else in different specialty?
What I mean is, once accepted into medical school, are you guaranteed to be the kind
of doctor you want to be?

Any ideas?

Thanks
Stasch

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[Hawkeye]

Stasch:
I hate to ask such personal questions on the board, but I understand that you are attending DMU in the fall. I am currently a sophomore at the University of Iowa and would love to attend medical school there in the future. I am just worried that my numbers won't be high enough, if you don't mind me asking, what were your numbers. I am sorry for asking, but you seem to be a good person to ask since you just got accepted. Thank you in advance for any response.

Go Hawkeyes

 

[Stasch@DMU]

Sure thing Hawkeye,
As for me, my core numbers were double major with a GPA of 3.7 with an MCAT of 25. I REALLY hated the MCAT, and was not prepared for it as much as I should have been. I also did a ton outside of class which I feel helped me. Things such as studied in Edinburgh, Scotland for a semester, I was an RA, Residence Hall Director, in over 15 clubs and/or committees, a CNA, lecturer, and other stuff like that.
Numbers are one thing, and as important as they may be, a candidate also has to have something unique about them.
My girlfriend's sister went to U of I and now she in at Des Moines University too. It is a great school, as soon as I toured there I knew that was the one for me.

If you have any additional questions about ANYHTING, please let me know. You can e-mail at [email protected] anytime.

Hope to hear from you soon

Stasch

 

[turtleboard]

Well the NRMP match is kinda complicated, but let's take a look at the scenario.

Fourth-year med student decides that he'd like to go into general surgery, and so prepares his NRMP stuff for a career in general surgery. He interviews at various programs, and on 2/16/00, submits his rank order lists (his personal ranking of programs where he's been interviewed), and waits patiently for 3/16/00, the Match Day. On the Monday of the Match Day week, he'll get a call from the Dean of the Medical School telling him that he did NOT match to any of the programs on his rank order list. The student must now SCRAMBLE to find an open spot, whether it's in an IM program, Peds, FP, or even a General Surgery spot. Can he theoretically still continue his intended career as a General Surgeon? I guess so, but here's the problem.

Most competitive programs have filled up all their categorical spots, and what's left over are preliminary spots (which are only one year long) in non-competitive programs. Should the student decide that he'll go for a prelim spot, he'll be a surgical resident for one-year, after which he must find a program that will take him into a PGY2 (second-year of residency training) spot for the continuation of his training, or apply for other types of programs that start PGY2 (EM, Optho, PM&R, Derm, Uro, etc.). Generally this is very difficult to do if you didn't already match into those programs as a med student.

Not matching is kinda bad because you eventually end up in some place you never thoguht you'd end up, taking on work you didn't see yourself doing just a year ago.

I know one person who applied to Derm but didn't match. She then SCRAMBLED and found a prelim spot in IM at a great hospital. In some sense she's lucky to have found a good program at a great hospital, but she still didn't match what she wanted.

You have NO guarantee that you'll become the kind of doctor you want when you enter medical school. Tons of students apply to Ortho programs throught he NRMP match every year, yet a large percentage fail to match. Their options are 1) do something else (see above), 2) go into a prelim surgical spot and reapply to ortho programs, which start PGY2 anyway. BUT reapplication doesn't necessarily guarantee your acceptance. I know a guy who did exactly that last year: fail to match Ortho, went into a prelim program, tried for Ortho again, and failed to match a second time. He was lucky enough, however, to have been offered a spot in the surgical program where he'd been for the past year, so he's continuing life as a general surgeon.

Hope I haven't confused you too much. It's a complicated process -- almost as complicated as renal physiology -- but it works out for all involved.


Tim of New York City.

 

[turtleboard]

I should also mention that as an osteopathic student, you have the option of finding programs OUTSIDE the NRMP match (these days, most programs participate and only accept applications through the match) as well as looking into AOA-sponsored osteopathic residency programs.

Allopathic students, on the other hand, are restricted to finding residencies through the NRMP match.


Tim of New York City.

 

[Stasch@DMU]

Thanks Tim, you are a big help.
Are you a medical student or pre-med? Either way, you seem to have a firm grasp on the whole matching process.

Thanks again,
Stasch

 

[turtleboard]

First-year med student.


Tim of New York City.

 

[Fiona]

That seems like a really horrible way of getting your further training! In the UK you do a further training programme by making sure you do the right amount of time in various specialties. You mix and match until you get the right stuff, and to do that you just apply for jobs which cover those areas - unlimited applications allowed... I am so glad I'm not doing med in the US

 

[Stasch@DMU]

Fiona
If I understood your post correctly, I dont think you really understad American medical schools and how they work. The states have the same thing you were talking about. We have something called clinical years, which are year 3 and 4 of medical school. It is there that we have training in all specialties - surgery, peds, psych, FP, Radiology, EM, whatever. After a student gets his/her doctorate, they must decide what is right for them and get into a more specialized teaching program or post doc.

Sounds like you really dont like the medical system in the US. It may not be perfect, but I am happy and confident with the medical education I am about to recieve.

Stasch

------------------
DMU
Class of 2004

 

[Fiona]

True - I could get really confused about the American way of doing things. Then again I could confuse you by talking about doing an intergrated course with about 30% PBL and 6 SSMs a year, intercalating a BSc in my 3rd year, hating OSCEs with a vengance in the 4th year, ready to apply for the nicest PRHO post I could find after my 5th year, after which I'm fully registered with the GMC and can put MBChB after my name, and then become an SHO on a surgical rotation, before eventually becoming an SpR, and several years later becoming a consultant at the pinnacle of my career. If your not confused yet, I'll have to go and work on my 'confuse you all as much as poss' style!

I think you tend to like what you know - if I was to actually study med in the US I'd probably think it was the best system... Meanwhile I'll stick with what the UK has on offer!

Fiona

PS - When you are a resident are you still a med student or are you a doctor then? (really revealing my ignorance here)

[This message has been edited by Fiona (edited 03-24-2000).]

 

[Stasch@DMU]

Fiona,

Point Taken

When you are a resident, you are a doctor. (meaning you have earned the degree of MD or DO)

Stasch

 

[ADRIANSHOE]

Fiona i understood your post completely....just please stop typing with that gawdawful accent!