Where do I go from here?

[AnotherMember]

I am just starting my M3 year at a respected US medical school. I have been interested in rad onc since I started and would like to know what else I can do to strengthen my application.

Academics:
- Step I: 260s
- M1-2 grades: All were pass because I go to a P/F school.
- My school has a large and well-known rad onc department
- Majored in engineering/physics, so I have a background fitting for rad onc

Research:
By match time: 2-3 posters presented (onc/radonc), 2-3 first author papers (onc/radonc), 1 second author paper (unrelated field), 1 third author paper from late in undergrad, 1 poster from undergrad.


What else can I do to improve my application? I am nervous about my chances right now because the only research I currently have published is the project from undergrad, and because the project I worked on for the past 18 months ended up producing negative findings. If I had put the same effort into clinical projects, I would have several papers by now...

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[hot sauce]

Summary: By match time: 2-3 posters presented (onc/radonc), 2-3 first author papers (onc/radonc), 1 second author paper (radiology), 1 third author paper from late in undergrad (bioengineering), 1 poster from undergrad (molecular biology).

Sounds like you have research pretty well covered and you have a great step I score. At this point just rock your clinical rotations and you will be golden.

 

[RadOncDoc21]

Are you really asking what else can you do? I think as long as you don't go to jail or quit med school, you should be fine. Save the worrying for the poor mortals out there.

-R

I am just starting my M3 year at a respected US medical school. I have been interested in rad onc since I started and would like to know what else I can do to strengthen my application.

Academics:
- Step I: 265/99
- M1-2 grades: All were pass because I go to a P/F school.
- My school has a large and well-known rad onc department
- Majored in engineering, so I have a background fitting for rad onc

Research:
- 1 basic science project (cancer cell biology) that I worked on for the last 18 months with no publishable results. The results were negative findings that are not publishable other than on a poster. I recieved a grant for this project.
- 1 new basic science project (rad onc) that should produce publishable results, hopefully in a decent journal. But it is hard to predict these things... I will be first author on anything I publish from this.
- 1 clinical rad onc project that should produce 1 poster (ASTRO) and 1 paper
- 1 more clinical rad onc project that should produce 1 poster and 1 paper
- 1 radiology project (2nd author on a paper)

Summary: By match time: 2-3 posters presented (onc/radonc), 2-3 first author papers (onc/radonc), 1 second author paper (radiology), 1 third author paper from late in undergrad (bioengineering), 1 poster from undergrad (molecular biology).


What else can I do to improve my application? I am nervous about my chances right now because the only research I currently have published is the project from undergrad, and because the project I worked on for the past 18 months ended up producing negative findings. If I had put the same effort into clinical projects, I would have several papers by now...

 

[Sheldor]

Are you really asking what else can you do? I think as long as you don't go to jail or quit med school, you should be fine. Save the worrying for the poor mortals out there.

-R

Seriously! Making me feel very unprepared...

 

[AnotherMember]

Are you really asking what else can you do? I think as long as you don't go to jail or quit med school, you should be fine. Save the worrying for the poor mortals out there.

-R

Haha thanks for the encouragement, but I am a little worried mostly because my long-appearing research list does not have a matching list of publications. I should have a bunch by the time I apply, but I feel like I am behind since I don't have any yet. According to the "charting outcomes" document from AAMC, the mean number of abstracts, publications and presentations is 8 for matched rad onc applicants. Seems crazy high to me!