Unmatched Plans?

[clueless1]

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Hey guys/gals! I've always had good input from this board, so thanks in advance for any advice!

As is becoming increasingly apparent, not matching may be in my immediate future. No worries - I understood it was going to be tough from the get-go. I just need to know what my next step should be...

I've been weighing my options, and I've been giving some thought to taking a research position somewhere for a year following graduation, then re-applying in a year. I've also heard some people say just do your TY and re-apply, but it seems to me that just doing a TY/pre-lim med year doesn't necessarily better my CV or make me a better candidate in any way. I was hoping some people familiar with the process might clue me in to what they think I should do should I not match this March.

Thanks again, as always!

 

[Thaiger75]

Clueless,

I am/was in your position. People have told me that re-applying during your intern year will give you better chances, but I tend to disagree. I think that the smartest thing to do is to get a research position somewhere, which would both strengthen your CV and show that you're truly dedicated to the field. The biggest question is when to do it and when to re-apply. Few options. One is to go ahead and do your intern year and get it over with, then do your research. This would be the scenario if you didn't match in rad onc, but were able to match in an intern program. The other would be to do research 1st and doing your intern year later. However, this would require that you garner a research position now for next year since you would not be able to accept an intern position in the match. Throwing in a 3rd one...is to do it the 1st way, but waiting to re-apply until after your intern year...which would mean you need to have a research job for 2 years. There are pros and cons for each way and not sure which way is best...

Oh, you should also keep in mind that open spots arise during the year sometimes...

I personally did it the 1st way. I would tend to think, though, that in terms of CV-wise, the 2-way might be better, as you would have some research under your belt when you re-apply.

hope this helps!

 

[radonc]

i did it the 'first way', which was doing my medicine year and re-applying.

why? because i had several electives in my prelim med year, and i did away rotations (including one at my hospital which had a radonc residency) and was able to function as a resident and not a med student. also, during my 4th year, befoer my prelime year, i setup a research year for my 'year off' between the prelim and start of radiation oncology. people were impressed with where i did my prelim year (old school, traditional, tough program), i was able to make contacts at my institution, i took step 3, got my state licensure (so you can moonlight!), and reapplied and got into a program.

if you do your research year first, yaeh it looks good, but you dont have any results to talk about after 5-6 months. you move a step further away from medicine, and then when you re-apply to radonc, you also have to re-apply for prelim/transitionals.

do a search of old posts, we have beat this to death, and there are some good posts in the past year or so.

 

[clueless1]

Thanks for the info, guys. Follow-up question: how do I go about getting started finding research positions? Should I just find some lab I'm interested in and start cold-calling docs at universities, or are there programs available for people in my situation, etc?

Any/all advice is welcome, of course. Thanks again!

 

[Thaiger75]

There are no formal programs for Rad Onc research that I'm aware of. The best thing to do is ask the rad onc chairperson/PD at your school for advice and whether there are any position/opportunities they are aware of.

 

[Htowngsp]

This is another tack a buddy of mine considred (he later matched in another field). Several masters programs in radiobiology can be done in a year or two. Also, few programs are affiliated with residenc programs, so you don't have chances to get good clinical recommendations.


This is a last ditch idea, as it costs you a year or two... however, you can be sure the research is useful in terms of rad onc research, and if you do get in, you should be able to crank non-clinical board sections. Anyways it's an idea if you get desperate....


http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/erhs...cell_molec_rad_bio/cell_molec_course_reqs.htm
or
http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/radiation/
or

 

[clueless1]

Thanks for the advice, guys. Another follow-up question - if you're re-applying next year, does it matter where you do your TY/Intern Year? i.e. is it better to do it at a "name" place, or does it basically not matter at all?

 

[radonc]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81454

read above, there is some good info

if you want to go to an academic university program, go to a name place (if you can move around, etc). otherwise you will be working your butt off for a low-mid tier program on your resume. if you want to stay in academia, this is especially important to help make contacts, etc. just my opinion though