unmatched AMG and advice for next year?

[BostonDowns]

Hi everyone,

So I graduated in 2010, did research for the year and applied for the match for my first time this round and went unmatched for IM....after getting 5 interviews ( mostly academic places, a few competitive community programs). I had some major issues of my step 2 ck. Everything else about my application though is decent, besides my step 2ck.

I am thinking of reapplying again. Any thoughts on how I can improve my application or apply more strategically? I plan on applying to FM and peds next year as well. Thanks.

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[NOsquid]

If you believe step 2 is the issue, you might try knocking step 3 out of the park. What exactly was your issue with step 2? If you did decent on shelf exams I'm guessing content wasn't the issue. Inadequate prep time?

In any case, apply more widely, go to as many interviews as you can, and make sure you have something new on your CV for the coming year (besides step 3)

 

[BostonDowns]

My step 2ck is definitely the issue. I didn't prepare for it adequately, I need more time than most to get through material because I get easily distracted. I did a board review course to prepare for step 2ck and my score was still quite modest. How long would you take to prepare for step 3? What else can one add to a CV ?? I have many co-authors, but no first author yet, would that make a difference? Would being an author on a patent be helpful?

 

[NOsquid]

I can't tell you how long you should study for step 3, but longer/more efficiently than step 2 obviously Take practice tests to see if you're ready after you're done studying. The NBME offers one, and USMLEworld has one. If you don't think you're going to do well don't take a chance. If you're sure that step 2 is definitely your problem then I would think a good step 3 score is your ticket.

For the other stuff I'm punting to people with more experience. More pubs would be good, but if you already have several I'm not sure that will make the difference, it's not usually considered necessary in Internal Medicine. I also don't know what difference first author would make. You just don't want to send out the same exact application, you want to show you're doing something medically-related in your time off.

And definitely apply more widely - more and more med school graduates but no more residency spots. An AMG with no red flags who passes (even modestly) the boards should be able to find something in primary care, especially Family Medicine if you don't have any personal restrictions on location etc..

You might PM aprogdirector and ask him to kindly take a look at your thread, he's the one on the inside.

 

[greenbottleblue]

Not entirely sure if this is possible, but did you consider trying to still find a position for this year, esp if you're now considering fam med? It sounds like you registered for the match and went unmatched, so you would be able to see the list of unfilled programs (of which it's likely some FM spots remain). Though I think that list is now public and published online? See if any would appeal to you, and go from there. I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet.

Since you already took a year out after graduation, it only gets harder to convince programs that you're not too far removed from clinical practice, esp if you're just doing research (I'm speaking from the position of having done exactly this for the past year, both for reasons of wanting to finish some long-term projects and also illness in my family). Not necessarily a red flag, but also not ideal if you a) can still match this year and b) are only doing research as a year-filler.

What were you planning to do this year? Would you continue with your current research?

 

[braluk]

To really broaden your chances, you will likely need to apply to more community programs and lesser known academic programs. Step 3 is a helpful foot forward as it proves to residencies you're at least licensable. Getting a good score probably won't hurt although it most likely won't hold much weight since no one else is really trying to aim to score high on it unlike Step 1 or an inservice exam (if you were doing a prelim). Additionally keep an eye out for spots opening up, as very shortly from now will you start seeing programs begin to advertise open spots due to matched applicants not being able to graduate on time, failing Step 2CS/CK if they took it late and will be unable to have scores in on time, visa issues with foreign grads, etc.. Take advantage of Murphy's Law. Additionally I think it would be helpful to sit down with a faculty mentor/program director and also to contact some connections you may have made at places you interviewed at to see where you fall short. Sometimes it could simply be because you didn't have CS scores in before rank lists were due, or others could be because you didn't have the scores. If you were to consider a different specialty altogether for next year's match if you feel that the odds are stacked against you to pursue IM, I would suggest using the little remaining time you have before graduation and seeing if you could still schedule a rotation in that field (once you graduate you no longer can do this, as you are no longer covered by malpractice and thus cannot see patients, or have it added to your transcript)- that way you cover your backup options by getting a letter out of it, and have it shown on your transcript.

 

[BostonDowns]

hi greenbottleblue,

Now that things blew up in my face, I am unsure what to do this year...still thinking about my options. I am not planning on continuing doing academic research but I might consider an biotech job. Maybe get a job selling health insurance or a consulting job or a pharma rep or pharma lobbyist?

 

[Law2Doc]

... Step 3 ... Getting a good score probably won't hurt although it most likely won't hold much weight since no one else is really trying to aim to score high on it unlike Step 1 ...

Agree with this. Step 3 isn't going to matter the same way the first two steps might. For most specialties you only need to pass this thing, so the competition for a high score is really an apples oranges thing most places won't focus on. Also I would suggest that Step 3 is probably easier for most people at the end of intern year anyhow since a lot of the things you would have to "study" at this juncture are things you will know in your sleep by later in intern year because you are living those decisions.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

To really broaden your chances, you will likely need to apply to more community programs and lesser known academic programs. Step 3 is a helpful foot forward as it proves to residencies you're at least licensable. Getting a good score probably won't hurt although it most likely won't hold much weight since no one else is really trying to aim to score high on it unlike Step 1 or an inservice exam (if you were doing a prelim). Additionally keep an eye out for spots opening up, as very shortly from now will you start seeing programs begin to advertise open spots due to matched applicants not being able to graduate on time, failing Step 2CS/CK if they took it late and will be unable to have scores in on time, visa issues with foreign grads, etc.. Take advantage of Murphy's Law. Additionally I think it would be helpful to sit down with a faculty mentor/program director and also to contact some connections you may have made at places you interviewed at to see where you fall short. Sometimes it could simply be because you didn't have CS scores in before rank lists were due, or others could be because you didn't have the scores. If you were to consider a different specialty altogether for next year's match if you feel that the odds are stacked against you to pursue IM, I would suggest using the little remaining time you have before graduation and seeing if you could still schedule a rotation in that field (once you graduate you no longer can do this, as you are no longer covered by malpractice and thus cannot see patients, or have it added to your transcript)- that way you cover your backup options by getting a letter out of it, and have it shown on your transcript.

Where do they advertise these spots?