Top 10 most difficult residencies to get in to.

[lsuhockeyplayer]

Hey guys I was wondering what in your opinion is the top 10 most difficult/competitive residencies to get in to. I would assume dermatology, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery would be up there but what would things like oncology, cardiology, or cardio-thorasic surgery be. Those three I am most interested however I would still like to know some of the other ones.

Thanks

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[UCLAstudent]

Hey guys I was wondering what in your opinion is the top 10 most difficult/competitive residencies to get in to. I would assume dermatology, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery would be up there but what would things like oncology, cardiology, or cardio-thorasic surgery be. Those three I am most interested however I would still like to know some of the other ones.

Thanks

Well, things like oncology and cardiology are not residencies. They're fellowships. You don't match into cardiology or oncology right out of medical school --- you match into internal medicine and then apply for a fellowship in whatever specialty you want (GI, nephrology, etc.).

 

[8744]

Number one in difficulty:

Family Medicine at Duke.

 

[Callogician]

Well, things like oncology and cardiology are not residencies. They're fellowships. You don't match into cardiology or oncology right out of medical school --- you match into internal medicine and then apply for a fellowship in whatever specialty you want (GI, nephrology, etc.).

Cardiothoracic surgery is also a fellowship (after a general surgery residency). Cardiothoracic surgery is not a competitive fellowship because it requries two years of research and three years of clinical work. It's also viewed as a declining field. Cardiology and oncology are competitive fellowships.

The most competitive residencies are dermatology, diagnostic radiology, general surgery, neurosurgery, opthamology, otolaryngology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, and urology.

Source: http://residency.wustl.edu/medadmin/resweb.nsf/WV/62353A93C5C35CB186256F850071BD86?OpenDocument

I have heard that dermatology, plastic surgery, and radiation oncology are the most competitive.

 

[Pewl]

Cardiothoracic surgery is also a fellowship (after a general surgery residency). Cardiothoracic surgery is not a competitive fellowship because it requries two years of research and three years of clinical work. It's also viewed as a declining field. Cardiology and oncology are competitive fellowships.

The most competitive residencies are dermatology, diagnostic radiology, general surgery, neurosurgery, opthamology, otolaryngology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, and urology.

Source: http://residency.wustl.edu/medadmin/resweb.nsf/WV/62353A93C5C35CB186256F850071BD86?OpenDocument

I have heard that dermatology, plastic surgery, and radiation oncology are the most competitive.

freakin' rad onc, why can't it be less desirable so we ordinary folk can get into it?? =P

 

[ablumoon]

What someone told me, and I've heard before:
R.O.A.D. (presumably to a more comfortable, sought-after lifestyle): Radiation Oncology, opthamology, anesthesiology, and dermatology

 

[deleted87716]

What someone told me, and I've heard before:
R.O.A.D. (presumably to a more comfortable, sought-after lifestyle): Radiation Oncology [?], opthamology, anesthesiology, and dermatology

I always thought the "R" stood for "radiology?"

Now, how 'bout those PIMPF specialties?

 

[MarzMD]

................The most competitive residencies are dermatology, diagnostic radiology, general surgery, neurosurgery, opthamology, otolaryngology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, and urology...................

Was the general surgery supposed to be ortho?

 

[Margaritaville]

Number one in difficulty:

Family Medicine at Duke.

Especially now that it's closed.

 

[OB/GYN Sim]

Was the general surgery supposed to be ortho?

I thought this also.

 

[smrtmom1]

One of my good friends and former bosses used to be head of Ophthalmology at UTMB Galveston, and he told me the ROAD thing also..

 

[Margaritaville]

One of my good friends and former bosses used to be head of Ophthalmology at UTMB Galveston, and he told me the ROAD thing also..

Just remember that this sort of thing is cyclical. Today's "ROAD to a comfortable lifestyle" could be tomorrow's "road apple." Be sure you like what you're doing enough to be happy even if things change for the worse at some point. Because they probably will.

 

[MD2b20004]

Just remember that this sort of thing is cyclical. Today's "ROAD to a comfortable lifestyle" could be tomorrow's "road apple." Be sure you like what you're doing enough to be happy even if things change for the worse at some point. Because they probably will.

For Now:
1. Derm
2. Neurosurgery
3. Ortho
Other SDNers can fill the rest/contribute from their knowledge.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I always thought the "R" stood for "radiology?"

Yes, it does.

 

[Sean2tall]

Although I would prefer that Radiology weren't on there, it definitely is. I think, to a good extent, the easy lifestyle is an illusion. Sure, it is not as rough as some fields, but it is getting to be quite busy. A few nurses in the OR have had their eyes light up when I said I wanted to pursue Rad., saying something about how sweet it is and that I should definitely do it. Truth be told, I would think Anesthesia is actually lighter on the workload, although not easy by any means. (Nor any field)

Anyhow, the bottom line is that I wish it weren't so competitive because I actually love the nature of the field. As Margaritaville said, things (business-wise) are almost guaranteed to change.

If you wanted to "buy low" as they say in the stock market, FP might be a good choice . I can't say too much about the uber-competitive fields because Radiology is the only one I have paid a lot of attention to, but I think the ones named above are on target.

 

[the alchemist]

double post

 

[the alchemist]

there's also ADORE

anesthesiology
dermatology
ophthalmology/ortho
radiology
ENT (and sometimes emergency med)

but that doesn't mean that there rn't others like plastics, urology, etc - basically anything these days that gives u good hours and pay can b considered competitive...and then there r some specialties that 4 some reason r really popular 1 year and then less competitive the next

 

[docmd2010]

i know the op didn't ask for this directly, but don't forget about all the top programs in each respective specialty. For example, I'd be willing to bet that geting into medicine at MGH would probably harder to get into then getting into general surgery at a medium prestiged program.

 

[Callogician]

Was the general surgery supposed to be ortho?

Ortho is also supposed to be on that list (see link). General surgery is considered to be competitive as well.

 

[deleted87716]

If you wanted to "buy low" as they say in the stock market, FP might be a good choice .

You heard it here first, folks.

 

[Bojo]

Cardiothoracic surgery is also a fellowship (after a general surgery residency). Cardiothoracic surgery is not a competitive fellowship because it requries two years of research and three years of clinical work. It's also viewed as a declining field. Cardiology and oncology are competitive fellowships.

How is Cardiothoracic surgery a declining field?

 

[deleted87716]

How is Cardiothoracic surgery a declining field?

Well, that's a controversial opinion. This article (a few years old, but still relevant) sums it up nicely: http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/newsandviews/inmyopinion/articles/article-30.html

 

[DrDarwin]

I always thought the "R" stood for "radiology?"

Now, how 'bout those PIMPF specialties?

Rads it is.

 

[thinknofu3]

I'm not an expert on this by any means (I'm an incoming M1 this fall), but I read on the American College of Surgeon's website that there are more residency spots for people wanting to go into surgery than there are applicants to fill them. I know that doesn't say anything about the quality of the lower-tiered programs, but it's somewhat comforting to know since I want to go into surgery.

 

[amojan99]

I really dont think Neurosurgery should be on this list. Certainly it takes great numbers and LORs and research on top of that, but its got an 85% match rate! That doesnt compare to ortho, rads onc, derm, etc.

 

[Callogician]

I really dont think Neurosurgery should be on this list. Certainly it takes great numbers and LORs and research on top of that, but its got an 85% match rate! That doesnt compare to ortho, rads onc, derm, etc.

Match rates:

Neurosurg: 88%
Ortho: 84%
Derm: 75%
rad onc: 81%

Neurosurgery isn't too far off from the specialties you mentioned, and competitiveness is better measured by what it takes to get in than by the percentage who get in.

The problem with these statistics is that there is a lot of self-selection. Students realize that they aren't competitive and subconsciously alter their career goals. People see numbers like 88% and think, "oh...that shouldn't be a problem at all. Med school is 50%." I would imagine that it's worse for things like derm than surgical specialties because so many students go to medical school already confident that they want to become surgeons and won't self-select away from surgical specialties no matter what.

 

[gostudy]

I really dont think Neurosurgery should be on this list. Certainly it takes great numbers and LORs and research on top of that, but its got an 85% match rate! That doesnt compare to ortho, rads onc, derm, etc.

There's a little thing called self-selection.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Exactly. People won't bother applying for the most difficult specialties if they don't have the things necessary (board scores/grades/recommendations/research) to have a good shot at matching.