Aiming for West Coast Med/Peds

[Haitch_Peetz]

I grew up in the Southwestern US and am currently an M1 at a very well-established but not super prestigious East Coast school. At this point I'd like to move back West, and I also feel very drawn to Med/Peds as a specialty. I know I have plenty of time left, but I can't ignore the reality that there are currently only 7 Med/Peds programs in the Western US: UCLA, USC, UCSD, Loma Linda, AZ Phoenix, Utah, and U Colorado. I'm not sure whether I'd choose location or specialty, but if I were to apply now I might apply to those 7 and then apply IM/Peds/FM in that region.

1. Any general advice? Doing well on Step 2 and honors rotations seem most obvious, but I'm just not sure where I should set my sights in terms of competitiveness (on a spectrum of FM to Neurosurgery). Unfortunately I don't have a home Med/Peds program or many alumni who matched Med/Peds, but a doc involved in Med/Peds admissions did a panel at here and told me research isn't super important based on the national PD survey, and the most important thing will be doing aways with some of these programs.
2. Would it make sense for me to contact some of these programs to ask what sorts of things they're looking for, and maybe even if I could shadow over summer, or would that be too preemptive?

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[TelemarketingEnigma]

tip number one is don’t apply only med peds if you’re not willing to go somewhere outside the west coast. It’s an unfortunate reality that the limited program geography means if you really want med peds specifically, you have to be willing to move for it. The good news is that med peds is generally very accepting of dual applying compared to other specialties. So your idea of also amplifying IM/peds/FM in the region is reasonable as long as location is more important to you than specialty.

Don’t try to shadow outside your home institution right now, that’s unlikely to be helpful. If you want outside program exposure many programs offer away rotations you can complete during your 4th year before/while you apply. However, you can absolutely match great programs without doing aways (I did not do any)

As far as general advice, do well in classes and rotations and exams, and find something you’re passionate about. “Soft” stuff like volunteering or extracurriculares can be big in med peds. Research if you like it but it’s not a requirement. I’m on SDN less these days but always happy to answer med peds questions

 

[Haitch_Peetz]

tip number one is don’t apply only med peds if you’re not willing to go somewhere outside the west coast. It’s an unfortunate reality that the limited program geography means if you really want med peds specifically, you have to be willing to move for it. The good news is that med peds is generally very accepting of dual applying compared to other specialties. So your idea of also amplifying IM/peds/FM in the region is reasonable as long as location is more important to you than specialty.

Don’t try to shadow outside your home institution right now, that’s unlikely to be helpful. If you want outside program exposure many programs offer away rotations you can complete during your 4th year before/while you apply. However, you can absolutely match great programs without doing aways (I did not do any)

As far as general advice, do well in classes and rotations and exams, and find something you’re passionate about. “Soft” stuff like volunteering or extracurriculares can be big in med peds. Research if you like it but it’s not a requirement. I’m on SDN less these days but always happy to answer med peds questions

Thanks, appreciate the input!