USMLE & COMPETITIVE SPECIALTIES

[mystical man]

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Hello everyone,

I just need some advice on selecting a specialty, for instance I'm interested in psychiatry but would like to test the waters of surgery. Can someone help me with this? USMLE: if you score low, what are your chances are getting into a competitive specialty?

thanks in advance

 

[notbobtrustme]

between 0% and 100%

 

[sinombre]

...are you a medical student? If so, you're in luck, because MS3 exists.

What kind of answers were you expecting for your second question? It depends on your score, the specialty, which programs you apply to, the school you go to, the research you have, how personable you are, etc. That question is way too vague for any kind of useful answer.

 

[NickNaylor]

The higher your score the better your chances of matching in any specialty.

 

[mystical man]

...are you a medical student? If so, you're in luck, because MS3 exists.

What kind of answers were you expecting for your second question? It depends on your score, the specialty, which programs you apply to, the school you go to, the research you have, how personable you are, etc. That question is way too vague for any kind of useful answer.

I wanted to attend University of Vermont college of Medicine, but I might just go to the islands for Med School. I was not competitive for my undergrad, so I have to take whats left on the table. I'm just curious that's all. I never saw myself in surgery, but I have not cross the bridge of choosing specialty. Just wanted to know.

 

[Kahreek]

between 0% and 100%

i would like to be mathematically correct and say between tending to 0% to tending to 100%

 

[mystical man]

The higher your score the better your chances of matching in any specialty.

Thanks!!!

 

[NickNaylor]

I want to attend university of Vermont college of Medicine, but I might just go to the islands for Med School. I was not competitive for my undergrad, so I have to take whats left on the table. I'm just curious that's all. I never saw myself in surgery, but I have not cross the bridge of choosing specialty. Just wanted to know.

Your decision to go to the Caribbean will have a much more significant impact on your residency prospects than your step 1 score.

 

[mystical man]

Your decision to go to the Caribbean will have a much more significant impact on your residency prospects than your step 1 score.

Why?

 

[Baller MD]

Why?

TLDR: Cause it sucks.

 

[Mr.Zero]

You should do a bit of research using the search function on Caribbean vs US grads and residency here on sdn or even just google. You should be able to find just about everything you want to know about the subject

 

[Winged Scapula]

Hello everyone,

I just need some advice on selecting a specialty, for instance I'm interested in psychiatry but would like to test the waters of surgery. Can someone help me with this? USMLE: if you score low, what are your chances are getting into a competitive specialty?

thanks in advance

< 100% but > 1%

Honestly, no one can say. Most specialties do place some weight on the USMLE; the amount to which the test affects your application will depend on the program, the specialty and the rest of your application.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I wanted to attend University of Vermont college of Medicine, but I might just go to the islands for Med School. I was not competitive for my undergrad, so I have to take whats left on the table. I'm just curious that's all. I never saw myself in surgery, but I have not cross the bridge of choosing specialty. Just wanted to know.

Ok, so you're not a "medical student" as your status implies but rather a Pre-Med.

Please change your status to reduce confusion in the future.

Moving to Pre-Allo as the OP is not currently a medical student.

 

[DrEnderW]

Why?

He's correct. Applying as an international graduate can have greater impact on your ability to match surgery than your Step 1. This is especially true at more competitive programs and locations. For reasons you can find by searching on this forum and reasons no one wants to get into on this thread again, IMGs have a harder time matching competitive specialties compared to US grads.

Psych, in general, is one of the least competitive specialties and being an IMG would be less of a barrier than it would in surgery. Depending on your grades and MCAT score, I would suggest an SMP or class retakes and US DO before Carib schools. That's generally the advice you're going to get from most med students on here. With that said, obviously there are Carib grads that match surgery, but the price, attrition rate, lower match stats, lack of research opportunities, and stigma of attending an offshore school make it riskier.

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Main-Match-Results-and-Data-2014.pdf

Use that link to look up ACGME match data. If DO is something you want to consider, they have a protected surgical residencies via the AOA match (in addition to the 40-50 DOs that match ACGME general surgery per year).

Before you make your decision, you need to do more research.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Hello everyone,

I just need some advice on selecting a specialty, for instance I'm interested in psychiatry but would like to test the waters of surgery. Can someone help me with this? USMLE: if you score low, what are your chances are getting into a competitive specialty?

thanks in advance

Google charging outcomes in the match and look the info up that is readily avaliable.

 

[drcrispmd]

You need to worry about getting into medical school before worrying what you need to score on step 1.

 

[mystical man]

thanks everyone!!!