Ask a PGY-1 at a top 10 anything (experience w/ admissions)

[Law2Doc]

You are the man. I can't believe the number of haterz in this thread

It's not haterz. The guy is trying to create some extra credibility by using the phrase top 10 in a setting where there's no such thing, and at a prelim to boot. So yeah a couple of the people a lot further down the road called him on it. He's inflating his qualifications if not outright punking you guys.

When you are already providing questionable info in the title of your thread, maybe you aren't the right one to be doling out advice. Just saying.

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[Law2Doc]

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The bottom line is that we all know what he means by "Top 10", and that is helpful information in the absence of meaningful rankings of preliminary programs.

Meh. Some of the big academic centers have multiple sites, some much more prestigious than others. Some of the top five med schools are associated with some pretty dicey IMG filled prelim programs at local hospitals and you can bet they tell everyone they are at top ten places. And prelims are just there a year to get exploited so the credentials are often quite disparate from those who actually got into the program categorically. That's why it's a garbage statement.

 

[MerYangBey]

I don't get what people accomplish by criticizing someone trying to help. He posted on a pre-med forum. He never claimed to be an expert. The "ranking" of his residency is irrelevant for most questions anyways. Also if you're someone who takes some random person's advice so literally then you deserve whatever crap comes out of it. It must be true.. I read it on SDN?
Chillax physicians and longtime sdners.

 

[hatsoff9900]

Meh. Some of the big academic centers have multiple sites, some much more prestigious than others. Some of the top five med schools are associated with some pretty dicey IMG filled prelim programs at local hospitals and you can bet they tell everyone they are at top ten places. And prelims are just there a year to get exploited so the credentials are often quite disparate from those who actually got into the program categorically. That's why it's a garbage statement.

I mean, short of making everyone post their CVs on their profile, we have to take him at his word. How do I know you are a lawyer? I'm taking him at his word, and assuming when he says "Top 10", that he is using that designation for informational purposes, not to pull the wool over our eyes for nefarious reasons.

 

[Brorthopedic]

You're correct. Again, I never said that my prelim was a top anything, just that I've done my schooling at these kind of institutions so people can know where I'm coming from with my answers. I even clarified above for premeds that residencies aren't ranked. Also I didn't want a cushier TY located in some butthole county before picking up and moving back cross-country again

ok I guess I broke some studentdoctor rule here by giving details about myself...regardless I'm sure you can appreciate the value of being upfront about what your background is so people can interpret your thoughts/perspective accordingly. I for one think there's a sizable difference between how people approach admissions-related things in particular at research-intensive private schools (i.e., "top") than at others. Sorry if I broke some forum rule or something. Yes I am a scut prelim but I chose this because I wanted my ass kicked to learn stuff

They're very territorial. It's actually quite cute.

 

[Wolf3D]

It's not haterz. The guy is trying to create some extra credibility by using the phrase top 10 in a setting where there's no such thing, and at a prelim to boot. So yeah a couple of the people a lot further down the road called him on it. He's inflating his qualifications if not outright punking you guys.

When you are already providing questionable info in the title of your thread, maybe you aren't the right one to be doling out advice. Just saying.

Okay, I think people get it. I think it would be more productive for everyone if, say, you saw something else of debatable value in the other posts I've written so that people can benefit from the discussion. I'm sure a lot can come of the thread (via me or those with more experience than me) if we stop the harping about me being a scut prelim. WRT to the inflating qualifications thing, I have no interest in doing such thing. I'm off to an academic DR program (not the best, but certainly very academic) next year after this scut year

 

[Wolf3D]

They're very territorial. It's actually quite toxic.

Fixed that 4 u

 

[piii]

It's wasted energy to get all up in a fuss about this

 

[Glazedonutlove]

.

 

[Wolf3D]

It's wasted energy to get all up in a fuss about this

seriously, why does it matter so much. I think we all know what he meant to say

Thank you both. And congratulations on the acceptances!!! Must be so exciting (Same to everyone else who's an "accepted med student") Did not notice that at first, great touch for the site indeed

Also this is not the worst thing an attending has bitched to me about this week so it's all good

 

[Brorthopedic]

seriously, why does it matter so much. I think we all know what he meant to say

Because it's the internet

 

[xerei]

All this criticism but how often does "ARE YOU URM THOUGH" come up in threads?
Context helps.

 

[Law2Doc]

Okay, I think people get it. I think it would be more productive for everyone if, say, you saw something else of debatable value in the other posts I've written so that people can benefit from the discussion. I'm sure a lot can come of the thread (via me or those with more experience than me) if we stop the harping about me being a scut prelim. WRT to the inflating qualifications thing, I have no interest in doing such thing. I'm off to an academic DR program (not the best, but certainly very academic) next year after this scut year

I think there could be some value If you had said "I am in an IM prelim program, bound for radiology" ask me anything. Although frankly there have been plenty of threads on here by residents who were further along in past years already. But once you have to exaggerate your pedigree by putting "top 10" in a place it doesn't actually have meaning, presumably to give yourself some credibility, it makes some of us get very skeptical. Sketchy thread title might contain similarly sketchy misinformation is what we are sniffing, so caveat emptor.

 

[Wolf3D]

I think there could be some value If you had said "I am in an IM prelim program, bound for radiology" ask me anything. Although frankly there have been plenty of threads on here by residents who were further along in past years already. But once you have to exaggerate your pedigree by putting "top 10" in a place it doesn't actually have meaning, presumably to give yourself some credibility, it makes some of us get very skeptical. Sketchy thread title might contain similarly sketchy misinformation is what we are sniffing, so caveat emptor.

Okay, thank you, duly noted. Again, not my intention to say my residency (either rads or prelim) was a top 10. Thanks for the pointers

 

[bravomavo]

what do you think was the most important thing in your app for residency?

 

[URMD]

what do you think you will gain in training and overall preparedness by going to a top institution for training over your peers who go to less qualified but still solid programs? When you go looking for jobs, will your pedigree matter? Will you land a cushier/higher paying job compared to your less pedigreed colleagues??

 

[boshtrich]

what do you think was the most important thing in your app for residency?

Much like med school apps, step scores are the most important as those are what'll get you past the screens.

 

[Wolf3D]

what do you think was the most important thing in your app for residency?

As was mentioned above, the step scores are important to get you past the screen. I would also mention clinical grades here as well, especially the clerkship corresponding to your specialty (if it's not an advanced one and you've taken it already, that is). e.g., for fields like EM, not honoring your EM rotation or doing well on aways can be a death sentence at some places

Beyond that obvious portion, for selective programs, the interview and research productivity/passion round it out. Like I mentioned before, though programs like rads, derm, ortho, GS, obviously prefer that you've done research in the field to show some interest/devotion, this is not at all required. Being able to show productivity especially if you've been involved in a while is vastly important at the residency level and when you speak about it, make sure your eyes make it known that you actually cared about the research. Much like med school apps basically

 

[Wolf3D]

what do you think you will gain in training and overall preparedness by going to a top institution for training over your peers who go to less qualified but still solid programs? When you go looking for jobs, will your pedigree matter? Will you land a cushier/higher paying job compared to your less pedigreed colleagues??

I will answer this with the full acknowledgment that I am a lowly, prepubescent PGY-1
1) academic horsepower, i.e., research support and quicker opportunities to teach
2) possibly better networking (top programs sometimes have more wide-reaching alumni bases = more networking in more locations, even cross-country)
3) better fellowship opportunities (the top feeds the top as the saying goes)
4) some difference in pathology/patients, though if you're talking "top" academic center vs. solid academic center, this distinction goes away
5) street cred in fields outside of medicine. Very important for dual degree folks like me. When you're trying to straddle two fields, name recognition becomes one of the only ways I can persuade people in field B to give me a chance instead of others who've spent their whole lives in doing B

I personally did not choose a top academic program with future clinical jobs in mind. In additional to the above list, I also needed access to an academic program at the affiliated university to continue my work in field B. Any physician out of any ACGME residency is going to land a >90th percentile income job. More often than not, the cush, high-paying jobs have nothing to do with academics and/or teaching. So the answer to your latter 2 questions is a clear no (in most cases). If you want to subsubspecialize in some esoteric thing, though, going to the "top" program in your field is the best way of opening that path

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

Gosh...people on here get so bent out of shape over something that is completely irrelevant, honestly. I appreciate hearing opinions and thoughts from all sorts of people in the field, and his opinions thus far have been enjoyable to read.

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions @Wolf3D

 

[ChillDawg]

Kudos to you for taking the criticisms so gracefully, @Wolf3D.

By DR, you mean diagnostic rads, right? Is interventional rads much more competitive as a residency?

 

[Wolf3D]

Kudos to you for taking the criticisms so gracefully, @Wolf3D.

By DR, you mean diagnostic rads, right? Is interventional rads much more competitive as a residency?

Yes. I'm assuming you're talking about the new integrated 5-yr IR programs, not the traditional 2-yr fellowship-like ones that follow DR3 year. Either way both paths are 3 yr DR/2 yr IR. The thing with the new programs is that even for the 2016 match there will be <10 of them. Until ACGME accredits all the new integrated shops and phases out the 2-yr fellowships, IR will still require a DR residency and then fellowship apps. It's not that it's so much more competitive (IR match rate ~80%), it's just a different kind of work and requires more time that many PGY3-4 don't care for anymore. It is more competitive in that whenever fellowships are involved, the "name" of your residency starts to matter more so someone interested in IR has to plan ahead for that and really gun for a good program, get research productivity in residency, etc. It's another admissions game in and of itself.

I never cared for IR because of its much more procedural nature (not willing to put in the time tbh) and too much patient face time for me. They're very related but very different

 

[mimelim]

You are the man. I can't believe the number of haterz in this thread

You're all being facetious. It's fine to say you are a PGY-1 at a "top ten" institution. Even though residencies aren't ranked, we all know what he means (the medical school / institution is top 10). How else is he supposed to convey the type of program he is in? And further, that he has spent his career at top schools. What is so hard to understand about this?

The bottom line is that we all know what he means by "Top 10", and that is helpful information in the absence of meaningful rankings of preliminary programs.

I don't get what people accomplish by criticizing someone trying to help. He posted on a pre-med forum. He never claimed to be an expert. The "ranking" of his residency is irrelevant for most questions anyways. Also if you're someone who takes some random person's advice so literally then you deserve whatever crap comes out of it. It must be true.. I read it on SDN?
Chillax physicians and longtime sdners.

They're very territorial. It's actually quite cute.

Fixed that 4 u

seriously, why does it matter so much. I think we all know what he meant to say

Gosh...people on here get so bent out of shape over something that is completely irrelevant, honestly. I appreciate hearing opinions and thoughts from all sorts of people in the field, and his opinions thus far have been enjoyable to read.

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions @Wolf3D

Its funny, half of you guys say, "everyone knows what he meant" and then say different things. My issue is the level of confusion/inaccuracy in the original post is relatively high. Of the first 6 posts in this thread, 3 different people posted saying they didn't understand and thought that he was talking about being at a "top 10" residency. Generally poorly constructed original posts means they are either full of **** or upselling.

Honestly, could have just put, "Future radiology resident AMA" and I don't think that anyone would have cared. But, brand new account with convoluted OP? Inaccuracy on simple, basic things makes people wonder the credibility of things. A pre-med may not pick up on something like this, but clearly most people with experience in this realm do.

 

[SPQR MD]

Its funny, half of you guys say, "everyone knows what he meant" and then say different things. My issue is the level of confusion/inaccuracy in the original post is relatively high. Of the first 6 posts in this thread, 3 different people posted saying they didn't understand and thought that he was talking about being at a "top 10" residency. Generally poorly constructed original posts means they are either full of **** or upselling.

Honestly, could have just put, "Future radiology resident AMA" and I don't think that anyone would have cared. But, brand new account with convoluted OP? Inaccuracy on simple, basic things makes people wonder the credibility of things. A pre-med may not pick up on something like this, but clearly most people with experience in this realm do.

Let it go, dude. This thread was being productive again.

 

[WingedOx]

Let it go, dude. This thread was being productive again.

Eh, the senior resident and attending posters aren't about to let someone come on here and spread bull****. Most of us have been on SDN since we were pre-meds and benefitted from the legit advice of legit posters. I'll speak for many of us when I say we don't appreciate when people aren't accurate about their credentials or post inaccurate information. Many premeds might "get what he means" but that means you're developing an incorrect understanding of how residencies work and are viewed and evaluated.

 

[SPQR MD]

Eh, the senior resident and attending posters aren't about to let someone come on here and spread bull****. Most of us have been on SDN since we were pre-meds and benefitted from the legit advice of legit posters. I'll speak for many of us when I say we don't appreciate when people aren't accurate about their credentials or post inaccurate information. Many premeds might "get what he means" but that means you're developing an incorrect understanding of how residencies work and are viewed and evaluated.

Yeah man, everybody on this thread gets it by now, especially when the OP acknowledged your concern above. There's no need to be sore winner. Continuing to belabor the point here is unproductive.

 

[Wolf3D]

I'll speak for many of us when I say we don't appreciate when people aren't accurate about their credentials or post inaccurate information.

Please find another piece of information I have posted that is inaccurate in your wise opinion to prove the point that I am dangerous because I blundered/exaggerated/wrongly posted information about my residency. It seems that you and the others cannot point to any real "bull****" I have said that is incorrect/harmful to these forums. You seem to enjoy this sort of exercise so let's have at it

 

[medicalstadent]

do you like the residents you work with?

 

[Wolf3D]

do you like the residents you work with?

Yeah I do. The prelims feel a little separated from the categoricals due to our fleeting time here, but my program did a good job with the prelims and we get along even better than the categorical interns, sharing support through this brutally tough year. I could do without some of the senior residents who are kinda bossy beyond their duties, but that's a pretty good thing to be complaining about if that's all there is to bitch about