Top ranking program in noncompetitive specialty

[confuse]

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I see many posts about the most competitive specialties but what about top programs in noncompetitive specialties. How hard would be to get a position in internal medicine at a top ranking program like Duke or UNC? Would it be comparable to getting into any derm program or less competitive? 😕

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I see many posts about the most competitive specialties but what about top programs in noncompetitive specialties. How hard would be to get a position in internal medicine at a top ranking program like Duke or UNC? Would it be comparable to getting into any derm program or less competitive? 😕

In terms of IM - the top programs are very competitive. I don't know if they are "derm" competitive, but to get a spot at Duke/MGH/UCSF/etc you need to be like >230 step I and Honors in medicine (+ good clinical grades in the other rotations). Also for programs like Duke that are very research oriented you would probably need some of that.

 

[Taus]

This holds true in PM&R as well. There is a HUGE difference in competitiveness b/w the top programs and the average/low-end ones.

 

[Bartelby]

Does anyone know about the competitiveness of Psychiatry or EM at the best schools?

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Does anyone know about the competitiveness of Psychiatry or EM at the best schools?

Good EM programs are very competitive (EM is no cinch, period); I think psychiatry is much the same but I don't really know.

 

[had2piknowEM]

Does anyone know about the competitiveness of Psychiatry or EM at the best schools?

EM as a whole is increasingly becoming more competitive. And yes, it is competitive at the "best schools" ie. MGH, Stanford, etc. However, there are many big name EM residencies that are not associated with the best medical schools, (ie. Cincy, Denver, Carolinas, Indiana etc) where getting an EM spot is very competitive.

 

[medking]

This holds true in PM&R as well. There is a HUGE difference in competitiveness b/w the top programs and the average/low-end ones.

what are some of the top PM&R programs in the nation?

 

[Taus]

what are some of the top PM&R programs in the nation?

I would highly recommend that you check out the PM&R forum on this site. Anyway, most of the commonly cited "best" programs are as follows. I'm probably missing some, but there are roughly 15 or so programs that most people would put in their top 10. Keep in mind that isn't based on anything concrete, as the US World News ratings uses "reputation" as it's only criteria.

UWashington, Mayo, UMich, RIC (Northwestern), Baylor, Colorado, Ohio State, Temple, Jefferson, Kessler (UMDNJ), Spaulding (Harvard), MCV/VCU, Mt. Sinai, Columbia/Cornell.

 

[confuse]

Thanks for your replies. Man, it seems like nothing is easy. Too bad I'm interested in academic medicine, but from an unranked med school, it will be especially tough for me.
For Taus and others who are going on the interview process, do you feel like the reputation of your med school matters when trying to get into top programs? I heard from my friends who are interviewing said that reputation of med school can be very important especially locally since the interviewers and PDs will be alot more sympathetic to you if they're alumni or know your school well.

 

[deuist]

Being from a school that program directors are familiar with helps, but you still need grades, board scores, research, good rec letters... and the list goes on. Your ability to get into residency is largely based upon the effort you put in. And if you're trying to get into academic medicine, you need to do more than bank on getting into a non-competitive specialty like IM.

 

[dragonfly99]

Unless it has changed a lot in the past couple of years, psych and PM and R are easier to get than internal medicine.

IM at one of those very few "top" programs would be fairly comparable to trying to get a spot at any/random derm program, but probably a bit easier in the sense that they might accept someone with a slightly lower USMLE (like 220's) if the other required things were in line (i.e. the person has good grades and good research). For derm, there is more of a narrow scope of what is acceptable, even for a lower tier program, just because there are so few spots and so many people who want them. If someone applies broadly, and has average or better USMLE's and pretty good grades and honored the medicine subI, and maybe a little bit of research, and good LOR's then I think to get an IM spot at a very solid academic IM program (but not on the level of a UCSF/Harvard/Hopkins type of place) should be possible. I'm talking about the UAB/Baylor/Emory/U of Rochester/Vanderbilt type of places. And this is if you aren't totally married to having to go one particular place, and you interview well.

Psych, even at some of the mid upper tier academic type hospitals like I mentioned above, often will take IMG's, etc. with good USMLE scores, so it tends not to be hard to get for US grads. If you are talking about psych at whatever the top 5 most famous psych places are (I have no idea) that is in some popular/preferred city on the East or West coast, that might be different.