What comes next?

[vrazz]

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I'm a fourth year osteopathic student who just landed a Transitional Internship - aka, my backup plan. My heart was set on surgery, and despite working my butt off I am unfortunately without a surgical residency spot.

I know I have an entire year to worry about this, but I'm wondering how to go about re-applying to programs as an independent applicant (for example, who hangs on to my LOR? My school? Me? How do I find open PGY-2 positions?)

After a lot of soul-searching, I have realized that this may never happen for me (I didn't make it into the program where my mentor became PD and had written me a letter of rec, the place I had done the most sub-I's, where I knew everyone in the O.R, basically my best chance). I'm gonna give it my best shot next year, but with that said, I wonder what my back up for next year should be? Do I apply to a few different specialties that I could be content with (assuming I find one) and hope they don't hold it against me that they are my Plan B?

Thanks

 

[dragonfly99]

I think you apply to a backup specialty, yes. But you don't tell them they are your backup specialty.

You can still apply to surgery again next year, but as you said if you didn't get it this year your chances may be slim. You can sign up for Findaresident on the NRMP site...there are occasional surgery spots that open up.

I'm wondering why you didn't apply to surgical prelim years if your heart was set on surgery, but I really don't understand the osteopathic system of training and maybe you have to have the osteopathic internship?

 

[Doctor Bob]

I'm wondering why you didn't apply to surgical prelim years if your heart was set on surgery, but I really don't understand the osteopathic system of training and maybe you have to have the osteopathic internship?

I was also wondering the same thing about why he didn't go after a surgical internship.

DOs are not required to do an osteopathic internship. The postgrad system of training for DOs is the same for MDs. No difference at all.

Except... the the dreaded five states. If a DO wants to apply for licensure in FL, PA, OK, WV and MI, you have to show that you did an osteopathic internship, or at least its equivalent. Up until a few years ago the last 5 words of that sentence weren't there. But now there are so many ways around having to do that year that it's no longer really an issue. Nowadays you can apply for waivers, show equivalency of your program, etc, etc. But then again, if you never plan on practicing in one of those 5 states then it's a moot point. The other 45 states don't care a whit and have no special requirements for DOs.

 

[craigkes]

I would be interested in this as well with the match coming up.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

I'm a fourth year osteopathic student who just landed a Transitional Internship - aka, my backup plan. My heart was set on surgery, and despite working my butt off I am unfortunately without a surgical residency spot.

I know I have an entire year to worry about this, but I'm wondering how to go about re-applying to programs as an independent applicant (for example, who hangs on to my LOR? My school? Me? How do I find open PGY-2 positions?)

After a lot of soul-searching, I have realized that this may never happen for me (I didn't make it into the program where my mentor became PD and had written me a letter of rec, the place I had done the most sub-I's, where I knew everyone in the O.R, basically my best chance). I'm gonna give it my best shot next year, but with that said, I wonder what my back up for next year should be? Do I apply to a few different specialties that I could be content with (assuming I find one) and hope they don't hold it against me that they are my Plan B?

Thanks

Ok since you are posting this now, it tells me that you didn't apply to the ACGME match. Did you take the USMLE?

I would definitely reapply. I trust that you are doing your internship at a place that has a DO surgical residency? If you are, that has become your NEW best chance.

What was your COMLEX score? Not many people from my class tried for osteopathic gen sx this year so I've not heard of many not matching.

Trust me I know what you are feeling. I didn't think the match was going to work out for me and then it did, so I had my backup plan all ready to go. My backup plan was allopathic EM. I would strongly suggest that next year, you apply to BOTH matches, but in the allopathic match, pick a different specialty so that there are no conflicts between the two matches ie, emotional turmoil.

 

[Steiner]

Why not send out feeler emails to PDs at surgery programs you would like to go to and see if there are or will be any PGY2 positions open. I know someone who did that and got into their top choice for specialty outside the match during their PGY1 year. I would be sending emails out to my top choices pretty consistently and adding on any good evals I was getting. If they weren't biting I'd start sending out emails to any program that I was willing to go to.