Thoughts on choosing Sub-I's

[Blunt Dissection]

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Hey everyone, I'm in the process of planning my sub-I's for 4th year and wanted to get some thoughts from the community. For those that haven't seen my posts, I'm interested in a career in academic reconstructive surgery. I've also done my homework enough to how difficult this ultimately is going to be and how long of a road it is going to be. Let's get the objective data out of the way:

Comlex: 558
Step: 233
Clinical grades: No honor system, all A's thus far, 95% avg. Great comments on mspr from preceptors.
Research: national society conference presentation + pubs

I hate that my Step score is what it is despite spending a year trying to prep for it, but it is what it is. I'm currently trying to get a research year to get better knowledge on developing clinical and translational projects, but it really has been tough. After getting to meet some MD students on the research fellowship interview trail, it's made me so much more aware of the disadvantage that we have in the area of research being DOs. My thoughts are that if I can end up with a research year and that year is productive, I'll do half of my sub-I's in plastics and half in gen surg. If I don't get a research year though, would it even be worth it to do any sub-I's in plastics? I'm leaning towards maybe doing just 1 in plastics and the rest in gen surg, but I don't want it to seem like I'm only doing gen surg as a back up.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I would put all my eggs in the GS-> plastics fellowship route honestly, meaning I wouldn't do any sub-i's at integrated plastics programs. You might want to do 1 or 2 rotations at initially accredited AOA programs, just to be safe.

How many pubs and what are they in?

 

[FourniersGreenGang]

I would put all my eggs in the GS-> plastics fellowship route honestly, meaning I wouldn't do any sub-i's at integrated plastics programs. You might want to do 1 or 2 rotations at initially accredited AOA programs, just to be safe.

How many pubs and what are they in?

Also what level of authorship? 1st vs middle matters a lot.

 

[DokterMom]

I'm inclined to agree with @AnatomyGrey12 about going all in for GS hoping for a plastics fellowship down the road. More specifically, I'd identify those programs that still do plastics fellowships and of those, which have been known to accept DOs, then try to get Sub-Is there if at all possible. I'd also suggest you fully work your network to make contacts at those programs and secure introductions at industry conferences, etc.

With a very average STEP 1 score and DO, you're already two strikes down for the Integrated PRS match. Your best way in -- still a long shot -- will be with a program that knows you.

 

[Blunt Dissection]

I would put all my eggs in the GS-> plastics fellowship route honestly, meaning I wouldn't do any sub-i's at integrated plastics programs. You might want to do 1 or 2 rotations at initially accredited AOA programs, just to be safe.

How many pubs and what are they in?

Also what level of authorship? 1st vs middle matters a lot.

3 current pubs. 1 first author in forensic path, 2 middle authors in derm and hepatology.
1 pending 1st author pub in derm.

I'm inclined to agree with @AnatomyGrey12 about going all in for GS hoping for a plastics fellowship down the road. More specifically, I'd identify those programs that still do plastics fellowships and of those, which have been known to accept DOs, then try to get Sub-Is there if at all possible. I'd also suggest you fully work your network to make contacts at those programs and secure introductions at industry conferences, etc.

With a very average STEP 1 score and DO, you're already two strikes down for the Integrated PRS match. Your best way in -- still a long shot -- will be with a program that knows you.

I was fortunate enough to have a mentor assigned to me through the plastic surgery research council and I have plans to meet up with him before the big annual meeting next year, so I'll ask to see if I can possibly arrange a GS sub-I at his home institution. I unfortunately don't have a whole lot of mentors in the GS realm asides from my surgery rotation preceptor.

Another thing I forgot to ask earlier - I met a 4th year MD student during one of the interviews that said she wasn't applying for the match in the hopes of doing a research year after 4th year. I've never heard of this and didn't know it was a thing. I was under the impression that if you were a 4th year, you had to apply for the match. It seems to me like a gamble because what happens if you don't end up with a research fellowship at the end of the year? We were interviewing for an ivy research position so she was clearly very qualified and talented, but should I consider looking into something similar if I can't get a research year between 3rd and 4th year?

 

[acapnial]

3 current pubs. 1 first author in forensic path, 2 middle authors in derm and hepatology.
1 pending 1st author pub in derm.



I was fortunate enough to have a mentor assigned to me through the plastic surgery research council and I have plans to meet up with him before the big annual meeting next year, so I'll ask to see if I can possibly arrange a GS sub-I at his home institution. I unfortunately don't have a whole lot of mentors in the GS realm asides from my surgery rotation preceptor.

Another thing I forgot to ask earlier - I met a 4th year MD student during one of the interviews that said she wasn't applying for the match in the hopes of doing a research year after 4th year. I've never heard of this and didn't know it was a thing. I was under the impression that if you were a 4th year, you had to apply for the match. It seems to me like a gamble because what happens if you don't end up with a research fellowship at the end of the year? We were interviewing for an ivy research position so she was clearly very qualified and talented, but should I consider looking into something similar if I can't get a research year between 3rd and 4th year?

You shouldn't. Applying a year out of med school will hurt your matchability quite a bit.

 

[FourniersGreenGang]

You shouldn't. Applying a year out of med school will hurt your matchability quite a bit.

I think if you delay graduation and don't apply to the match it doesn't necessarily hurt you. You just don't want to apply as a previous grad. Also I don't think you need a research year, I think gs -> plastics is your most realistic bet given your scores. Shoot for whatever you want though, just have a backup.