Application process for OB

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Diane L. Evans

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Below is a list of suggestions on applying and ways to increase your chances of admission. Please feel free to respond and I will cut and paste your responses in my list:
[1] FIRST apply early JULY!!!!
AACOM:www.aacom.org osteopathic (DO)
AMCAS: www.aamc.org/students/amcas allopathic (MD)

[2] Get honors on your OB rotation and plan on doing a sub-I in OB reproductive endocrinology, perinatology, gyn/oncology, urology.. To get honors make sure to come early and stay late help out the residents, volunteer to come in on weekends to do cases or stay late to help out. Get to rounding early and get all the labs and write notes before the residents. Ask who will be writing your evaluations and make a point to meet with this physician and let them know your interest in OB and ask if it is possible to meet with them in 2 weeks to see if you can improve your chances of getting honors. Volunteer to present a case or topic

[3] Personal statement Do this early
Make it personal, start with a story. Get the assistant Dean or Dean of your medical school plus an influential Obstetrician to review it.

[4] Get letters of recommendation early one from OB one from sub-I OB and one from a surgical subspecialty or ICU.. Give writers a resume and any additional information that can help them. I gave my writers a page from Eriksons guide to getting into residency on buzzwords to include in a personal statement. For example is detailed information gather, applied laboratory analysis sufficiently.

[5] Interviews
Take a month off to interview Dec/Jan are favorites. The later you apply the better, as recall is better for the panelist that is chosen to rank you. Always ask if you can observe a night call or watch a surgery. This will give you insight into how residents work and help your decision-making. If you really enjoyed your interview let them know and write a letter to every program thanking them for the opportunity to see the program. Ask for second-look (a time you get to come back and re-meet as well as shadow)

[6] Prior to the Interview:
Figure out who you will be meeting with and research them on www.pubmed.org by placing doctor name and school name. Or just school name and obstetrics or gynecology or gynecological oncology. Also read an up to date topic and use it as one of your questions to the interviewer to see what their opinion is. Favorites: One layer or two layer uterine closure, closing the peritoneum, use of amnioinfusion for meconium, role of fetal lung maturity in premature rupture of membranes between 32-34 weeks, delivery method of non vertex second twin (providing it is smaller), use of tocolysis methods indocin versus procardia versus magnesium.

[7] Good luck feel free to email me personally with questions
 Diane

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Hi,

I'm curious - you say apply early July but ERAS opens only on sept 1? I'm not sure what you mean . . .
 
You can start to gather information you need Deans letter, letters of reccommendation, transcripts, update your cv, write your personal statement these all go to ERAS through your school. So preparation 2-3 months in advance is critcal .
 
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How many programs is an adequate number for applying to?
 
How many programs is an adequate number for applying to?

I am just a MS4, but my residency program director advised us to apply anwhere from 15-25 programs depending on where you are applying and your stats. Then, you can likely interview at 1/2 of those. Supposedly it is not safe to apply to 10 programs only like in the past unless you are sure this won't hinder you in anyway.
 
Hi,

I've been offered a choice of interviews for this program that I'm very interested in. One is a traditional interview the other is an observational day. since I haven't done an away at this program, I'd really like to do the observational day rather than the traditional. However, the traditional days have choices later in the year than the observational days (and I was told it was better to interview later cause that gives a better chance of being remembered). Plus, how much will they remember you if you are just hanging out on L&D with the residents? Which one do you think is a better choice? I want to be very careful about doing this correctly.

Thanks!
 
Below is a list of suggestions on applying and ways to increase your chances of admission. Please feel free to respond and I will cut and paste your responses in my list:
[1] FIRST apply early JULY!!!!
AACOM:www.aacom.org osteopathic (DO)
AMCAS: www.aamc.org/students/amcas allopathic (MD)

[2] Get honors on your OB rotation and plan on doing a sub-I in OB reproductive endocrinology, perinatology, gyn/oncology, urology.. To get honors make sure to come early and stay late help out the residents, volunteer to come in on weekends to do cases or stay late to help out. Get to rounding early and get all the labs and write notes before the residents. Ask who will be writing your evaluations and make a point to meet with this physician and let them know your interest in OB and ask if it is possible to meet with them in 2 weeks to see if you can improve your chances of getting honors. Volunteer to present a case or topic

[3] Personal statement Do this early
Make it personal, start with a story. Get the assistant Dean or Dean of your medical school plus an influential Obstetrician to review it.

[4] Get letters of recommendation early one from OB one from sub-I OB and one from a surgical subspecialty or ICU.. Give writers a resume and any additional information that can help them. I gave my writers a page from Eriksons guide to getting into residency on buzzwords to include in a personal statement. For example is detailed information gather, applied laboratory analysis sufficiently.

[5] Interviews
Take a month off to interview Dec/Jan are favorites. The later you apply the better, as recall is better for the panelist that is chosen to rank you. Always ask if you can observe a night call or watch a surgery. This will give you insight into how residents work and help your decision-making. If you really enjoyed your interview let them know and write a letter to every program thanking them for the opportunity to see the program. Ask for second-look (a time you get to come back and re-meet as well as shadow)

[6] Prior to the Interview:
Figure out who you will be meeting with and research them on www.pubmed.org by placing doctor name and school name. Or just school name and obstetrics or gynecology or gynecological oncology. Also read an up to date topic and use it as one of your questions to the interviewer to see what their opinion is. Favorites: One layer or two layer uterine closure, closing the peritoneum, use of amnioinfusion for meconium, role of fetal lung maturity in premature rupture of membranes between 32-34 weeks, delivery method of non vertex second twin (providing it is smaller), use of tocolysis methods indocin versus procardia versus magnesium.

[7] Good luck feel free to email me personally with questions
 Diane

Just wanted to say thanks for the post...really really helpful.
 
"[5] Interviews
Take a month off to interview Dec/Jan are favorites. The later you apply the better, as recall is better for the panelist that is chosen to rank you."

Sorry, but this is just not good advice. APPLY EARLY, not late. Many of the interview spots will be gone if you are a late applicant.

And it doesn't matter if you interview early or late. You will be remembered and have the same chances as late interviewers.
 
"[5] Interviews
Take a month off to interview Dec/Jan are favorites. The later you apply the better, as recall is better for the panelist that is chosen to rank you."

Sorry, but this is just not good advice. APPLY EARLY, not late. Many of the interview spots will be gone if you are a late applicant.

And it doesn't matter if you interview early or late. You will be remembered and have the same chances as late interviewers.
Apply early and try to book interviews as soon as you get an invite, b/c waiting might give your interview slot to someone else. if you are worried about not being remembered you can send personal thank you notes and/or letter of interests later in the season.
 
Dear Quink. Thanks for your input!!!!

I didn't mean do not apply early this you should definitely do! However as a group I tended to remember the applicants who interviewed in Dec and Jan better... just better recall.

I have found from experience (talking w/ candidate over the last 10 yrs) that those interviewing at a program they liked and wanted to match who either interviewed early and then did a second look late or interviewed late most often
were successful in getting this match...

What are your thoughts?
 
Dear Dr. Evans

I am a 30 year old IMG from Peru , just got my step 1 score 97/226, year of graduation:2005, Ob gyn residency completed 2006-2009 (home country) then 6 months working as an ob gyn attending (home country), green card holder,research 01 thesis to obtain my Ob gyn diploma (published by my university but not in a peer reviewed journal), volunteer work in US for 6weeks,did good at my MEd School(upper quartile), got a good MSPE and 01 LOR from home school faculty, came this year to US just to study a pass the boards this year. Bad Stuff: no observerships. no US LOR. So i really want to get into a US Ob gyn residency program and do a fellowship afterwards that's my dream, any chances? should I apply to the 2011 match just with my step 1 score? thanks in advance for your reply
 
My Dean tells us not to do away rotations, but I'm very interested in moving to the west coast from the east. Are things like med school applications in OB-GYN residency? Should I do an away rotation at either institutions I'm interested in, or at least to cement my dedication to travelling to the west coast?
 
Many people say that away rotations are a must. Many others say that doing an away can be detrimental to your chances of matching there because it is much easier to leave a negative impression than a positive one. I think that do doubt away rotations are great at showing geographic interest, seeing how different centers/programs work, and great learning experiences. I think the compromise may be do an away in the geographic location of choice, but not at the hospital you want. Either way I think that away rotation positives are greater than the possible negatives.
 
If you are interested in a program on the West Coast, then I suggest that you do an away elective at that institution just to make sure that is the place that you want to be. As far as leaving a negative impression, that will be totally up to you and how you handle that month. You need to go out there and work hard, show them that you are interested in OBGYN. If you are think about a fellowship afterwards, mention it briefly but don't talk about it constantly. You need to do a residency before a fellowship. You need to let the residents see how hard you can work and that you can be a part of a team. Residents have a lot of say when it comes to sub-I's. We have taken quite a few students who have done sub-I's, but to be honest it has hurt a couple of students. Good luck.
 
Hey, I am an international medical student and I was wondering if it is imperative to do a rotation in OB/Gynae in the states to get matched?
Thanks
 
I talked to the program director at UCSF at ACOG - she said don't worry about it - there's a high likelihood you won't overcome the learning curve of a new hospital gracefully, and fail to impress.
 
How do you find out who you'll be interviewing with ahead of time? Do they give you an itinerary the night before or something like that?
 
Programs generally assign interviews to their faculty a week to few days prior to the date. I would e-mail the residency coordinator a couple of days before to ask for the list.
 
So I want to do Ob/Gyn. I am an M3 soon to be M4 student. My step 1 was a 226. is there an ideal time to take step 2 CK? Ideally, I wanted to take it late october. But is that too late for interviews? Please help!
 
So I want to do Ob/Gyn. I am an M3 soon to be M4 student. My step 1 was a 226. is there an ideal time to take step 2 CK? Ideally, I wanted to take it late october. But is that too late for interviews? Please help!
So this is just my 2 cents
Your score will probably not be released until late November, and almost all programs will have handed out interviews (at least the first round) by then. If you are looking at applying to very competitive programs I would try to have a score in sooner as long as you are able have everything else you need for applications in like LORs, aways if you are doing them, electives etc. Your step 1 is solid, but if you are able to significantly improve your step 2 then it could make a difference for getting interviews. My step 1 was similar but I was able to improve step 2 by 30 pts and I did feel like it helped me out in getting interviews at some of the more competitive places. Good Luck!
 
Hi, I am currently a 4th year medical student making up my list of programs to apply to. I was just wondering if someone could help me with some insight on the programs on my list. I am a slightly above average medical student with a step 1 score of 225 and awaiting my step 2CK score. I am interested in MFM and after speaking to one of attending I believe that it's easier if you go to a program that has opportunities for fellowships. So I made this list but I only know what's available on the programs websites. So your help in telling me more about the residency programs in terms of resident attitudes, workload, and my chances, will be greatly appreciated. Here are the programs: I've had a hard time balancing a variety of programs given that most programs with MFM fellowships are among the difficult residencies to get into.

Baylor COM, Houston
Baylor University, Dallas
UT Southwestern, Dallas
Case Western (Metrohealth)
Washington University
University of Wisconsin
Northwestern Feinberg
University of Chicago
University of Illinois COM
University of North Carolina
Duke University
Carolinas Med Center
Emory
John Hopkins
University of Rochester Med Center
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Albert Einstein's COM
University of Pittsburg
SUNY at Stony Brook
University of Virginia
East Virginia
Wake Forest University, NC
UCSD
UCLA
UT Houston (LBJ and Memorial Hospital)
St. Louis University
Medical College of Wisconsin
Mayo Clinic
University of Minnesota
Charleston Area Med Center, WV
UMKC
Penn State/Milton Hershey Med center
Washington Hospital Center, DC
Methodist Health System, Houston
Methodist Health System, Dallas

Thanks:)
 
Hi, I am currently a 4th year medical student making up my list of programs to apply to. I was just wondering if someone could help me with some insight on the programs on my list. I am a slightly above average medical student with a step 1 score of 225 and awaiting my step 2CK score. I am interested in MFM and after speaking to one of attending I believe that it's easier if you go to a program that has opportunities for fellowships. So I made this list but I only know what's available on the programs websites. So your help in telling me more about the residency programs in terms of resident attitudes, workload, and my chances, will be greatly appreciated. Here are the programs: I've had a hard time balancing a variety of programs given that most programs with MFM fellowships are among the difficult residencies to get into.

Baylor COM, Houston
Baylor University, Dallas
UT Southwestern, Dallas
Case Western (Metrohealth)
Washington University
University of Wisconsin
Northwestern Feinberg
University of Chicago
University of Illinois COM
University of North Carolina
Duke University
Carolinas Med Center
Emory
John Hopkins
University of Rochester Med Center
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Albert Einstein's COM
University of Pittsburg
SUNY at Stony Brook
University of Virginia
East Virginia
Wake Forest University, NC
UCSD
UCLA
UT Houston (LBJ and Memorial Hospital)
St. Louis University
Medical College of Wisconsin
Mayo Clinic
University of Minnesota
Charleston Area Med Center, WV
UMKC
Penn State/Milton Hershey Med center
Washington Hospital Center, DC
Methodist Health System, Houston
Methodist Health System, Dallas

Thanks:)

You might get more responses if you start a new thread. Your post is kinda hidden in here. Are those the programs you´re interested in that have MFM fellowships? or is that suppose to me a comphrensive list? I ask because you´re missing some programs with MFM fellowships. I find it difficult to get to know a program based on its website . Have you looked at Freida and APGO?

https://freida.ama-assn.org/Freida/eula.do
http://www.apgo.org/component/residencedirectory
 
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