MD co ‘20 Residency Panic Thread

[bananafish94]

Neuroticism.

I'll drink to that

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[DennisReynolds]

But why

1) I'm not paying for it.
2) I got hooked up with a chill rotation that will allow me to take the month off without using my vacation time.
3) Neuroticism

 

[sharkbyte]

Still waiting on a chair letter and another LOR. Otherwise think I have everything else more or less ready to go. This week is super nerve wracking with ERAS submissions and my CK score coming out tomorrow

 

[samac]

I certified and submitted today to just get it done. Here's hoping for the best.

 

[Lucy Arnez]

Hearing conflicting advice about LOR’s; if the site says 3, that is the maximum number and sending 4 is bad. Also been told 3 means minimum and sending 4 is good.

 

[ciestar]

So so lost about former AOA programs. In FM, there are a lot. I dont want to completely waste an application on a program that won’t consider an MD, but there is no way to know yet

 

[ciestar]

How many drafts/eyes were on your PS’s?
Im at two drafts, and im pretty satisfied with it. My faculty advisor said it was very good so idk what to do next

 

[NecFasc92]

So so lost about former AOA programs. In FM, there are a lot. I dont want to completely waste an application on a program that won’t consider an MD, but there is no way to know yet

I'd look at the PD. Old DO who trained at an AOA program and uses OMM? Probs would not roll the dice. Younger DO who trained ACGME? Probably doesn't give a crap.

 

[samac]

Hearing conflicting advice about LOR’s; if the site says 3, that is the maximum number and sending 4 is bad. Also been told 3 means minimum and sending 4 is good.

I just said F it and submitted 3 physician letters and 1 department chair to everyone.

 

[Oedipa Maas]

How many drafts/eyes were on your PS’s?
Im at two drafts, and im pretty satisfied with it. My faculty advisor said it was very good so idk what to do next

I wrote it once, got all(?) the cringe out, and then completely re-wrote it a second time. I have had 9 drafts total, but many of those were minor edits. I had 6 people look at it, only 2 were faculty though.

 

[ciestar]

I wrote it once, got all(?) the cringe out, and then completely re-wrote it a second time. I have had 9 drafts total, but many of those were minor edits. I had 6 people look at it, only 2 were faculty though.

I had two faculty and one other person.
Idk, i like what it has to say but im just neurotic and not feeling satisfied like always lol

 

[differentiating]

Hearing conflicting advice about LOR’s; if the site says 3, that is the maximum number and sending 4 is bad. Also been told 3 means minimum and sending 4 is good.

Either is fine. I’ve never heard of 3 being a maximum anywhere; I had 4 and had no issues.

How many drafts/eyes were on your PS’s?
Im at two drafts, and im pretty satisfied with it. My faculty advisor said it was very good so idk what to do next

Maybe 2-3 drafts? I had a few people look at it, but once my advisor/home program PD gave it the thumbs up, I stopped editing.

 

[ciestar]

Either is fine. I’ve never heard of 3 being a maximum anywhere; I had 4 and had no issues.



Maybe 2-3 drafts? I had a few people look at it, but once my advisor/home program PD gave it the thumbs up, I stopped editing.

My advisor gave me the thumbs up, but im not sure if i should have my PD mentor take a look? Im conflicted. It is due in a few days too. Ugh

Or even my home program PD who i know well... now that we have a home program again

 

[differentiating]

My advisor gave me the thumbs up, but im not sure if i should have my PD mentor take a look? Im conflicted. It is due in a few days too. Ugh

Or even my home program PD who i know well... now that we have a home program again

Is your mentor in the field? That’s probably good enough, if so, but obviously it’s up to your comfort.

 

[Bobbbyyyy]

That's what I'm leaning towards. It should be a pretty good letter from a PD and it seems like a shame to not use it at all and replace it with a likely generic letter from another attending.

Definitely better to save that 4th slot, even if its a little late.

 

[ciestar]

Is your mentor in the field? That’s probably good enough, if so, but obviously it’s up to your comfort.

Yes, they are, but is it too late to ask? Lol

 

[DNC127]

Anyone putting in work experience from before med school?

 

[zero0]

Anyone putting in work experience from before med school?

Is there any other kind?

 

[deleted407021]

How many drafts/eyes were on your PS’s?
Im at two drafts, and im pretty satisfied with it. My faculty advisor said it was very good so idk what to do next

My first draft was hokey af but had most of what I wanted to say theme-wise. My next version was a major tone shift that I feel said the same things better and my readers, including a faculty member letter writer, agreed. Had 4 different people read it and I think any more feedback than that might actually have made it more difficult.

 

[deleted407021]

Anyone putting in work experience from before med school?

I’m putting some volunteer stuff from undergrad that I think helps paint the picture I want of being lead to my specialty choice

 

[ciestar]

Anyone putting in work experience from before med school?

I did, but i had multiple gap years to explain

 

[ciestar]

Speaking of.. i had a friend add AED (premed honor society in case anyone forgot), should this be included? I am thinking no. Also being a TA and whatnot.

 

[NecFasc92]

I’m putting some volunteer stuff from undergrad that I think helps paint the picture I want of being lead to my specialty choice

This

 

[differentiating]

Yes, they are, but is it too late to ask? Lol

There’s no harm in asking, and if they can’t get back to you before 9/15, I wouldn’t worry about it more.

Speaking of.. i had a friend add AED (premed honor society in case anyone forgot), should this be included? I am thinking no. Also being a TA and whatnot.

I wouldn’t mention AED, especially since it doesn’t exactly have the greatest reputation at some schools. I didn’t mention any honors societies from undergrad since that just seemed silly. I’d think probably not TAing either unless you think it contributes to your overall story/selling points.

 

[crunchywhit]

Anyone putting in work experience from before med school?

I did. I have a justification/reason/brings up something I'm comfortable being asked about in an interview.

Is it technically the right way to do it. I dunno.

I've decided at this point that no one has the answers, perhaps there are no answers, and I just want this whole thing to be over with.

 

[Oedipa Maas]

Anyone putting in work experience from before med school?

My work experience was scribing and research experience. Not putting the scribing because I would imagine no one cares and obviously third/fourth year have given me much more significant clinical experience. I am putting the research experience because I was there for 5 years and have publications from there. I am putting a few significant volunteer experiences. The way my PD explained it to me was that the experiences section should be part of a cohesive narrative about you, not a listing of everything you've done.

 

[bananafish94]

Speaking of.. i had a friend add AED (premed honor society in case anyone forgot), should this be included? I am thinking no. Also being a TA and whatnot.

I would definitely not put that. My only college experiences are major research/work experiences that I spend quite a lot of time on.

 

[MerYangBey]

Is there any other kind?

Lololol this is my favorite comment on this site for a long time.

 

[deleted407021]

OK, so who else feels like they are basically winging this as far as where they are applying?

 

[ciestar]

OK, so who else feels like they are basically winging this as far as where they are applying?

Yup.
I contacted a program yesterday and they’re all “we only consider MD candidates if they’ve done blah blah blah”. So now wondering what other former AOA programs i have where i’ll face that problem

 

[TheRobot]

Used bullet points for the activities section and it looks completely fine under the PDF produced by the "View/Print Application" link. But when I look at the preview before certifying the formatting is off and it looks like a jumbled mess. This happen to anyone else? What do the PDs actually see?

 

[Ludwig2000]

Used bullet points for the activities section and it looks completely fine under the PDF produced by the "View/Print Application" link. But when I look at the preview before certifying the formatting is off and it looks like a jumbled mess. This happen to anyone else? What do the PDs actually see?

Yes our school sent us an email saying the preview formatting is weird but not to worry; what the PDs will see is the application/CV view.

Can I ask how you did bullet points?

 

[TheRobot]

Thanks, that's reassuring. I was using dashes like this:

- red red red red red
- blue blue blue blue
- green green green green

On the preview it looked like this:
- red red red red red - blue blue blue blue - green green green green

 

[deleted407021]

Yup.
I contacted a program yesterday and they’re all “we only consider MD candidates if they’ve done blah blah blah”. So now wondering what other former AOA programs i have where i’ll face that problem

I hope you get some bites from those programs!

 

[yufengg]

If anyone is still wondering how to get their profile pic cropped to fit better and maximize your pixels, I made a brief tutorial on how to crop and resize it to fit ERAS requirements:

 

[heather55]

Waiting for LOR for my subI from god knows how long ago. Ghosted by attending but I shall figure out a way to survive.

Other stuff is all set but mortified to click certify.

Feels nauseous every time I open ERAS.

Neurotic about receiving email alerts, maybe it's the one in a million chance that my letter was uploaded, IN TIME.

 

[ciestar]

Finally got my last LOR uploaded

But also got my eval for my last rotation it was terrible. Im questioning if i should apply for the match at all.

 

[nebuchadnezzarII]

Finally got my last LOR uploaded

But also got my eval for my last rotation it was terrible. Im questioning if i should apply for the match at all.

Stay strong man. Been following you since we took IM shelf together last year. We'll make it.

 

[asu_admit]

.

 

[Oedipa Maas]

Waiting for LOR for my subI from god knows how long ago. Ghosted by attending but I shall figure out a way to survive.

Other stuff is all set but mortified to click certify.

Feels nauseous every time I open ERAS.

Neurotic about receiving email alerts, maybe it's the one in a million chance that my letter was uploaded, IN TIME.

Is there any faculty that could advocate for you? I contacted my dean after a letter writer ghosted me with a very earnest “hi X graciously agreed to write me a letter but I have not heard from them recently, september 15 is fast approaching, I’m starting to feel nervous and don’t want to keep bothering them, what do you think I should do?” type email. And they contacted the department head who presumably fixed it for me.

 

[njtrimed]

How many LORs need to be assigned to each program when we submit on September 15th? Can it be less than 3?

Our school has told us pretty emphatically that we should submit on the 15th regardless of whether our LoRs are uploaded, so I would say yes.

 

[heather55]

Is there any faculty that could advocate for you? I contacted my dean after a letter writer ghosted me with a very earnest “hi X graciously agreed to write me a letter but I have not heard from them recently, september 15 is fast approaching, I’m starting to feel nervous and don’t want to keep bothering them, what do you think I should do?” type email. And they contacted the department head who presumably fixed it for me.

I talked to my dean last week and was told to do what I am doing and forget her if she continues to do this. LUCKILY, I found her number in the hospital and called her (getting through took 10 seconds but felt like 10 million lightyears). She said she will have it up by tomorrow. I hope she will keep her word. I'm working hard on my elective for a backup letter, just to prepare for the worst, which of course always happens to me....

 

[Osteoth]

Yes. Many programs won’t check letters until Deans letters come in (October 1st). However it’s a good idea to have a couple of letters in by Sept 15th since some programs don’t wait for the Dean’s letter and just screen based on stats.

I wonder on what the split is on reading the MSPE for non competitive specialties...

Yup. Rural FM in fly over state and a bordering state.. won’t be an issue

Lol lucky. 87 programs deep...

 

[ciestar]

My advisor told me 20 programs would be fine but now I am at 50 based on a less than stellar eval on a rotation. I really hope I have enough. Before, I was told “20 is enough” now, i got “apply broadly”. Im devastated and confused. None of the negative comments will be seen by anyone and all anyone will see is a “Pass”, but it hurts when this is what you’re trying to do. Especially when you’ve been completely blindsided.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Will app flag as incomplete if PE score not back yet?

Each program can decide what makes an application "complete" for review. In general, most programs won't care if you have a PE/CS score at the time of application, but will want to see it by the end of the season before ranking.

Hearing conflicting advice about LOR’s; if the site says 3, that is the maximum number and sending 4 is bad. Also been told 3 means minimum and sending 4 is good.

Already answered, but my answer is: "Would you really want to match at a program who cared about something as ridic as this?" I expect that most programs that list a requirement of 3 have set that as a minimum. But it depends on the field.

How many LORs need to be assigned to each program when we submit on September 15th? Can it be less than 3?

Yes, it can be less than 3 but programs may decide not to review your app until there are 3. It takes us weeks to review all of the apps, so as long as you're complete by the end of Sept or early Oct you should be fine. But still, get it in as soon as possible.

 

[PhoenixAZ]

Still checking and rechecking my app. I am so scared to hit certify and submit. Keep wondering if I put too much on my app (included stuff from undergrad). My app currently has about 15 pages in the PDF version. Is it about right? Anyone mind sharing how many pages their app show?

 

[Dantrolene FC]

Still checking and rechecking my app. I am so scared to hit certify and submit. Keep wondering if I put too much on my app (included stuff from undergrad). My app currently has about 15 pages in the PDF version. Is it about right? Anyone mind sharing how many pages their app show?

Now you got me worried that mine is too short. Mine is only 5 pages long. It's really on 4 since the 5th page is just the certification disclaimer.

 

[PhoenixAZ]

Now you got me worried that mine is too short. Mine is only 5 pages long. It's really on 4 since the 5th page is just the certification disclaimer.

Hi, no, I think mine is too long. That’s why I posted the question above and am hesitate to submit. Anyone else can provide insight on the length of their app?

 

[samac]

Mine was 5 pages. I didn’t include everything from undergrad because I figured they didn’t care. Just put some highlights.

 

[Horners]

Still checking and rechecking my app. I am so scared to hit certify and submit. Keep wondering if I put too much on my app (included stuff from undergrad). My app currently has about 15 pages in the PDF version. Is it about right? Anyone mind sharing how many pages their app show?

I don’t think my entire life story is 15 pages long