What makes a "good match"

[paumera]

I was wondering....
I am sorting out which school I should attend. When I look at residency placements as an indicator of a schools "goodness" (all rankings aside) I wonder...is it really necessary to attend a school that places 20% of its class at Hopkins or Mass General? Granted the training may be better at some of these top hospitals, but in general, how much does your placement effect your future as a physician? And what about all those stats that you see - "80% matched to their 1st choice?" Isn't that to be taken with a grain of salt because it depends on where the students are encouraged to apply? For instance, I will probably attend Stony Brook...if I have great step 1 scores, great letters, etc...am I precluded from attaining a top residency because of the school I went to? Or, should I even be so worried about all this, after all, I will be a physician - no matter where it may be.

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[ApacheIndian]

Originally posted by paumera
Or, should I even be so worried about all this, after all, I will be a physician - no matter where it may be.

...famous last words lol. Seriously, take it from me (Caribbean), where you go to school DOES matter, the name of your school DOES matter, every grade you make & every point on every board exam DOES matter. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful that I have the opporunity to earn an MD degree, but that doesn't mean I advocate titrating ones effort to do the least possible in order to achieve this. My opinion? Give it your BEST effort... now and from now on. After all, have you ever heard of someone thinking back and saying to themselves... "Gosh, I wish I hadn't have worked so hard back then..." Of course not, but you DO hear "Man, I WISH I'd given it more effort back then!" (trust me I hear this every day--in my head lol)!

Sorry, don't mean to belabor the point... I've done like a million step 2 mcqs today and my brain's fried.

Good luck to you .

 

[ny skindoc]

For the great majority of US med school graduates it wont make much of a difference where they went.Going to a highly prestigious med school such as Columbia,Duke,Penn,etc will be a big boost to a residency application if you want a very competitive type of program ie, Derm,Ortho or if you want an elite hospital.So if you have a chance to go to one of these type places and you are academically inclined it may be worth it.Otherwise StonyBrook versus most other med schools you may mention Mt Sinai,Tufts,Einstein,Jefferson etc wont matter much.I looked at the matchlists for the SUNY schools and their grads get into top residencies and no shortage of Derm,Radiology, Optho etc.If you do well at Stony Brook in terms of grades boards and possibly summer research fellowships you should have no problems.

 

[Winged Scapula]

In regards to looking at a school's residency match placement, you've touched on a cogent point, namely where students are encouraged (or discouraged) to match, or even more likely, where they prefer to match.

Students doing their undergrad at an Ivy/Top 10 school may be more likely to match at such an institution simply because they either prefer the namebrand, they are encouraged to do so because their undergrad school's name carries weight or they are familiar with the environment and prefer to stay (ie, those who stay at their undergrad for residency). I am not discounting that students who go to medical school at some big name places may very well have higher board scores, etc. and be more likely to match at prestigious places (even without the name brand of their undergrad school).

Just wanted to point out that it is perhaps more important to know what percentage matches to *their top choice(s)*; ie, if no one from Medical School X tries to match at Mass Gen, it shouldn't be seen as a failure of the school to do so. Perhaps the student wasn't interested, didn't think they would be competitive (whether true or not) or was discouraged (for whatever reason) from doing so (by family/friends/faculty).

 

[paumera]

Thank you Kimberli...I have been thinking about it, and for one, I want to stay in the NY metro area, so why even worry about which schools place at Mass Gen? Second, I really want to go to Stony Brook, so...it's not an A+ school like Columbia, however, they did place 10% of the class into the NYP hospital system - either at Cornell or Columbia - AND they matched into competitive specialities. Plus, others went to Hopkins, Duke, UPenn, etc..So, I am feeling alot less anxt.
I am doing my masters at Columbia now and feel the "Ivy Pride" oozing all around me, especially since the program I am in is housed in the medical school.

My next question is - I am 35 now...39 entering residency - will my age be of great concern to placement directors?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Depends on the PD and the specialty you choose. For more "rigorous" specialties (ie, generally the more time-consuming surgical ones), PDs look are askance at older candidates, thinking they may not be able to handle the long hours. Don't know if this will change with the new work hour restrictions.

Fact is, it doesn't really matter - does it? You'll be 39 when you finish, that's a fact and you can't change it. There will be plenty of PDs who will not care and will offer you a spot.

 

[paumera]

Fact is, it doesn't really matter - does it? You'll be 39 when you finish, that's a fact and you can't change it. There will be plenty of PDs who will not care and will offer you a spot.
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You are absolutely right...thank you!

 

[Diane L. Evans]

I'm applying OB/Gyn.
I'll be 39 when I finish and have 14 interviews.
If you are persistent and have a lot of good experiences you'll get interviews. Try setting up rotations at schools 4th yr during the interview season most will grant an interview.
Good luck
Diane