Choosing AI's for fourth year

[GrayGhost]

I need some quick advice on scheduling two months, coming soon, that I have open in my fourth year. I want to do a couple gen. surg. AI's and I am not sure which programs to contact. Here's the dilemma;
Started med school (US) with class '03, had doubts.
Scraped by a few classes, withdrew one, and failed another.
Repeated these and finished the rest of Basics no prob.
Thought do clinical years--get MD then MBA? Consulting?
5 minutes in the O.R. and I realized surgery is life.
Great evals in rotations (some Highpass), but no Honors.
USMLE1 scores not back yet but guess no more than avg.
Advice I have gotten so far makes it seem I would be lucky to get a couple interviews at non-competative programs. No problem I'll do a prelim. year and hope for the best but obviously I want to avoid the risk of an extra year. The AI's are a good chance to prove my transcript is not representative. Advice:
Should I assume my only chance are the least comp. programs.
and do my AI's there?
If so any suggestions on where these programs are!
Or can a good AI month get me past my transcripts in
an average program?
I am willing to live anywhere, any suggestions of programs
realistic for my situation where I should consider an AI,
(ones willing to overlook a bad transcript for a
a proven hardworker who fits well in the program)

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[trex92499]

I'd probably talk to someone with experience to find out which residencies (competitive or not) are right for you. I'm a firm believer in the fact that the right residency has nothing to do with prestige, and everything to do with where you fit in. If you're not comfortable with the people you work with, how well will you do, especially in a team player area like surgery. So find an advisor whom you trust implicitly and decide which programs you will fit best with, competitive or not, then go in and knock their socks off.

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

I don't think you are out of the game or anything. While a flawless academic record is always ideal, I don't think some early-on struggles will keep you out of surgery. It may be harder to get interviews at larger programs, but it can be pretty random, so who knows?

Academically, it sounds like all you have left to do is Step 2. If you do not do well on Step 1, I'd take step 2 early (no later than September) and rock it.

As for picking places to do visiting AI's, whatever place you pick, (especially if you don't know anyone from the program to give you the inside scoop), I'd contact the program director or chair and tell them you are interested in their program and ask what they would recommend that you do your AI in. You want to get exposed to the more influential people in the program who may write a letter for you or put in a good word come ranking time.

I'd apply to a range of programs- small universities, large universities, community programs. I'd go to as many interviews as possible and rank any place where you would be willing to go. I know a few people that did not match this year and it seemed like they did not rank many programs (5 or less) or only ranked programs in really desireable geographic areas. On the other hand, I also have a friend who barely passed Step 1 and 2 and still did match.

You probably know the rest of this stuff about AI's- work hard, be able to tie knots really fast, sew well, work well with the team, get to know as many people as possible while there...

Good luck!

 

[surg]

OK, as you assessed, you aren't a knock-your-socks-off candidate, BUT, assuming you are a hard worker you still should be able to find a categorical position in a decent program, if you work at it. Your step I score will determine in some sense how people perceive your transcript in large part (a good score will be mitigating, a poor score will be confirming). However, your grade in your core surgery rotation will probably be just as important. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about ANY of those things now. What can you do?

1) Focus on getting great letters. You may need to get yourself into a research project with an attending, take extra surgery rotations for more exposure to nail these down, but you should do this, as it is the last key part of your application you can affect.
2). Find a mentor. A good relationship with one of your attendings who can be your advocate can really go a long way towards alleviating others concerns. If you have not met the chair/PD at your program yet, you need to. They can give you a good list of where you might qualify. Also, often, some programs with have relationships with other smaller programs run by alumni of the big University program, that will look kindly on graduates of that medical school
3) Yes, you should do an AI at a few places that you appear to be realistic/slight stretch at. A good performance may tip the scales fo you, since you will hopefully look better than you do on paper. See #2 for how to get advice on where.

All in all, have faith in yourself. If surgery is meant for you, your interest will show. You have already done something key, accepting responsibility for your prior problems, and working on creating a plan to improve. This will be respected by others.

Good luck!

 

[hotbovie1]

This year at my school we had someone who failed step 1 on the first try match (not scramble) into general surgery. You have a shot with good strategy as outlined above.