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Hey guys....I have recently finished my EM rotation and never thought I would like it so much as I did. I was hell bent on doing IM and thought that rounding was something that every IM resident just has to go through. In any case, I am realizing more and more than IM in not as good of a fit for me as I previously thought and that EM would be a better profession for me in terms of my personality, what I want out of life, what I want out of my patients, how much (and how long) I want to care for my patients, and a slew of other things (personality types, etc). In any case, I have read more and more about EM in the threads on this to get a better idea of what residency is like. I have visited Freida, ACEP, and other web sites to get a better idea as well. I am not being whimsical about this, especially as time approaches to make a decision as to what to do with my life, my priorities, etc. i have given it serious thought and "consulted" my fiance, my parents (mom is an MD), my cousins (2 are MDs), and lots of my med school friends, as well as the PD, with whom I had a very serious and long discussion.
I have a unique situation that I am hoping you guys could shed some light into. I am an 4th year osteopahtic student who has taken USMLE Step 1 and will be taking USMLE Step 2 EARLY because I did not do as hot as I wanted to on Step 1. I will be applying ONLY to NYC and north Jersey programs since my fiancee is in NYC for her residency. I have heard that NYC programs while not necessarily ANTI DO, are not the most receptive to DOs (programs like NYU, Columbia, Cornell ARE out no matter how good you are) which makes me even more nervous since I am geographically limited.
In any case, in addition to the DO, I also have a JD and have heard from ED docs that it is a very good thing to have. Do you guys think that my JD will help in the application process? I plan on doing above 235 on Step 2 and am studying rediculously hard for it to make up fpr my Step 1 screw up. I have already gotten a LOR from my PD here who is the immediate past president of the ACOEP. It was a very strong letter. I will be doing some of my electives (the first being in November...AHHH!!) in EM at various programs in NYC. I have TONS of extra-curicular activities, but they are apparently not as useful when applying to EM programs as per one of the closed threads that discussed the strenghts and weaknesses of an applicant. I did an EMTALA PP presentation for the residents and attendings which the PD was very impressed by and said it was "at the level of attendings." I can speak 3 languages aside from english (yes...that DID sound rediculous, but isn't that a good quality to have especially in an inner city place like NYC...especially NYC, the melting pot of America!?!). I had ALL HPs in my rotations except for surgery (H) and will most likely get an H in EM as well (was told by the PD, but grades aren't in until a month or so from now). I had 75% H, 20% HP, and 5% P in second year, and about half P and half HP first year, WITH THE EXCEPTION of freakin' Histo (yes...I failed that useless class!!!! ) Wow..I've never been SO honest with people I have never met before! I am NOT writing these things to boast about myself or to give you my CV; on the contrary, my intention in doing that is so you guys could have a better idea of what kind of an applicant I will be.
EM has gotten VERY tough these last 2 years and I see it being even more competitive when applications start this September. I am quite dejected by this because I do not know if I even have a chance (trust me...my step 1 score is SO bad that it's shameful to even put it...put another way, I would rather have wanted to fail than to have passed with the score I have). I had ALOT of family situations which I am sure you guys really don't want ot hear about it, and neither do the PDs care, but the truth is the truth. This is why I am taking my Step 2 early in hopes of doing REALLY well.
So, after the long winded stuff (alright...alright...no lawyer jokes, please) that i just wrote, here are the questions:
1) will a JD help?
2) how well do you think I need to do on Step 2 to even be competitive at programs like St. Lukes/Roosevelt, LIJ, Jacobi/Montefiore, Beth Israel (NY), Maimonides, Mt. Sinai, and Downstate. I have already kissed Columbia, Cornell, NYU goodbye. Should I kiss the programs that I listed good-bye as well? (be brutally honest please!)
3) have a LOR from PD here who was past president. Will that help?
4) anything else I should do or consider when applying?
Thanks alot for your input! Your advice is GREATLY appreciated. I take what you guys say seriously (which is why I am taking step 2 early, as someone else had previously suggested), and I am hoping you guys can be brutally honest with me (and serious as well)
Thanks again!!
I have a unique situation that I am hoping you guys could shed some light into. I am an 4th year osteopahtic student who has taken USMLE Step 1 and will be taking USMLE Step 2 EARLY because I did not do as hot as I wanted to on Step 1. I will be applying ONLY to NYC and north Jersey programs since my fiancee is in NYC for her residency. I have heard that NYC programs while not necessarily ANTI DO, are not the most receptive to DOs (programs like NYU, Columbia, Cornell ARE out no matter how good you are) which makes me even more nervous since I am geographically limited.
In any case, in addition to the DO, I also have a JD and have heard from ED docs that it is a very good thing to have. Do you guys think that my JD will help in the application process? I plan on doing above 235 on Step 2 and am studying rediculously hard for it to make up fpr my Step 1 screw up. I have already gotten a LOR from my PD here who is the immediate past president of the ACOEP. It was a very strong letter. I will be doing some of my electives (the first being in November...AHHH!!) in EM at various programs in NYC. I have TONS of extra-curicular activities, but they are apparently not as useful when applying to EM programs as per one of the closed threads that discussed the strenghts and weaknesses of an applicant. I did an EMTALA PP presentation for the residents and attendings which the PD was very impressed by and said it was "at the level of attendings." I can speak 3 languages aside from english (yes...that DID sound rediculous, but isn't that a good quality to have especially in an inner city place like NYC...especially NYC, the melting pot of America!?!). I had ALL HPs in my rotations except for surgery (H) and will most likely get an H in EM as well (was told by the PD, but grades aren't in until a month or so from now). I had 75% H, 20% HP, and 5% P in second year, and about half P and half HP first year, WITH THE EXCEPTION of freakin' Histo (yes...I failed that useless class!!!! ) Wow..I've never been SO honest with people I have never met before! I am NOT writing these things to boast about myself or to give you my CV; on the contrary, my intention in doing that is so you guys could have a better idea of what kind of an applicant I will be.
EM has gotten VERY tough these last 2 years and I see it being even more competitive when applications start this September. I am quite dejected by this because I do not know if I even have a chance (trust me...my step 1 score is SO bad that it's shameful to even put it...put another way, I would rather have wanted to fail than to have passed with the score I have). I had ALOT of family situations which I am sure you guys really don't want ot hear about it, and neither do the PDs care, but the truth is the truth. This is why I am taking my Step 2 early in hopes of doing REALLY well.
So, after the long winded stuff (alright...alright...no lawyer jokes, please) that i just wrote, here are the questions:
1) will a JD help?
2) how well do you think I need to do on Step 2 to even be competitive at programs like St. Lukes/Roosevelt, LIJ, Jacobi/Montefiore, Beth Israel (NY), Maimonides, Mt. Sinai, and Downstate. I have already kissed Columbia, Cornell, NYU goodbye. Should I kiss the programs that I listed good-bye as well? (be brutally honest please!)
3) have a LOR from PD here who was past president. Will that help?
4) anything else I should do or consider when applying?
Thanks alot for your input! Your advice is GREATLY appreciated. I take what you guys say seriously (which is why I am taking step 2 early, as someone else had previously suggested), and I am hoping you guys can be brutally honest with me (and serious as well)
Thanks again!!