Dermatology scramble

racecarj · Mar 10, 2006

Hi,

I'm a 4th year at a top DO program and I've applied to a wide range of MD derm programs. I don't want to settle for a DO program or go into another field like internal medicine. So I did interview at a handful of good MD derm programs, but with match day fast approaching i'm getting a bit nervous.

I'll be 100% relieved on Monday when I find out that I've matched, but all the posts on this forum have gotten me a little nervous. If I don't match, this Monday, does anyone have any advice for the derm scramble? Which schools don't normally fill their spots? Can any dermatologists out there who have had to scramble give me some advice?

Thanks alot...

ny skindoc · Mar 10, 2006

racecarj said:
Hi,

I'm a 4th year at a top DO program and I've applied to a wide range of MD derm programs. I don't want to settle for a DO program or go into another field like internal medicine. So I did interview at a handful of good MD derm programs, but with match day fast approaching i'm getting a bit nervous.

I'll be 100% relieved on Monday when I find out that I've matched, but all the posts on this forum have gotten me a little nervous. If I don't match, this Monday, does anyone have any advice for the derm scramble? Which schools don't normally fill their spots? Can any dermatologists out there who have had to scramble give me some advice?

Thanks alot...

There are no programs that regularly do not match.However in most years there are a 1-2 programs that because they only ranked the most in demand applicants and ranked too few of them end up unmatched.They generally dont make the same mistake two years in a row.These few positions fill very quickly either from internal candidates who have been doing reserch waiting for a spot or their influential departmental chair gets on the phone for them.Be ready to have all your credentials ready to send out.If you have had a handful of interviews you are in better shape than many applicants..Good Luck.

Y2KPSD · Mar 10, 2006

racecarj said:
Hi,

I'm a 4th year at a top DO program and I've applied to a wide range of MD derm programs. I don't want to settle for a DO program or go into another field like internal medicine. So I did interview at a handful of good MD derm programs, but with match day fast approaching i'm getting a bit nervous.

I'll be 100% relieved on Monday when I find out that I've matched, but all the posts on this forum have gotten me a little nervous. If I don't match, this Monday, does anyone have any advice for the derm scramble? Which schools don't normally fill their spots? Can any dermatologists out there who have had to scramble give me some advice?

Thanks alot...

Look at the simular question in the EM Forum

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=263520

tripleJ · Mar 11, 2006

Well, as long as it is a TOP DO program, you should have nothing to worry about

javandane · Mar 11, 2006

racecarj,

please check your pm box.

porokeratosis · Mar 12, 2006

racecarj said:
I'm a 4th year at a top DO program and I've applied to a wide range of MD derm programs. I don't want to settle for a DO program or go into another field like internal medicine. So I did interview at a handful of good MD derm programs, but with match day fast approaching i'm getting a bit nervous.

I'll be 100% relieved on Monday when I find out that I've matched, but all the posts on this forum have gotten me a little nervous. If I don't match, this Monday, does anyone have any advice for the derm scramble? Which schools don't normally fill their spots? Can any dermatologists out there who have had to scramble give me some advice?

There are no sure things in Derm. According to the statistics the last few years, over 50-60% of Dermatology applicants did NOT match. Therefore, just getting into ANY Derm program (MD or DO) is quite a blessing.

http://www.aamc.org/programs/eras/programs/statistics/residency/derm.htm
- There are about 300+ MD Derm residency positions open per year and about 800 - 1000 applicants apply per year.

Honestly, if you are a DO, then you will be very blessed to get into ANY MD Derm program. Because very few DO's get into MD Derm Programs. So you also have to be realistic.

http://www.dermboard.com/docs/dermlinks.htm
- click on "Match Lists" (notice that few DO's match)

But again, a few DO's do get in MD Derm programs...so there is some hope. Good Luck!

racecarj · Mar 12, 2006

Hi porokeratosis,

Thanks for your input. I've been thinking about it alot this weekend, and I'm pretty sure that I'll score an MD derm spot. I'll know by monday, because all I applied to were MD derm programs. I have a really good feeling about it and I think I've done very well in school: mixture of honors/high pass, 235 on stepI, 2 publications in derm. I'm pretty sure I'll end up somewhere.

porokeratosis said:
There are no sure things in Derm. According to the statistics the last few years, over 50-60% of Dermatology applicants did NOT match. Therefore, just getting into ANY Derm program (MD or DO) is quite a blessing.

http://www.aamc.org/programs/eras/programs/statistics/residency/derm.htm
- There are about 300+ MD Derm residency positions open per year and about 800 - 1000 applicants apply per year.

Honestly, if you are a DO, then you will be very blessed to get into ANY MD Derm program. Because very few DO's get into MD Derm Programs. So you also have to be realistic.

http://www.dermboard.com/docs/dermlinks.htm
- click on "Match Lists" (notice that few DO's match)

But again, a few DO's do get in MD Derm programs...so there is some hope. Good Luck!

RonaldColeman · Mar 13, 2006

racecarj said:
Hi porokeratosis,

Thanks for your input. I've been thinking about it alot this weekend, and I'm pretty sure that I'll score an MD derm spot. I'll know by monday, because all I applied to were MD derm programs. I have a really good feeling about it and I think I've done very well in school: mixture of honors/high pass, 235 on stepI, 2 publications in derm. I'm pretty sure I'll end up somewhere.

Not to be rude, but don't you think you're being a little too confident? Your stats are good, but not great...probably even slightly below average for derm. I know MDs with similar stats who didn't get a single interview. Let us know what happens, though.

darrvao777 · Mar 13, 2006

I would have to agree. While those stats are certainly solid, I would say most derm applicants can match or exceed them.

Out of curiousity, how many interviews did you get? I was told that if you received 10-12 interviews, then you could confidently say that you would get into at least one derm program. (This was for MD students however)

Anyway, best of luck tomorrow!

racecarj · Mar 13, 2006

hey,

i've never heard of someone with a better record than mine. at least not where i'm from. I am pretty goddammed sure i'll match, hopefully into my top choice- NYU. After that, there are 5 other interviews.

darrvao777 said:
I would have to agree. While those stats are certainly solid, I would say most derm applicants can match or exceed them.

Out of curiousity, how many interviews did you get? I was told that if you received 10-12 interviews, then you could confidently say that you would get into at least one derm program. (This was for MD students however)

Anyway, best of luck tomorrow!

darrvao777 · Mar 13, 2006

where are you from?

you've never heard of people with 240+ step 1 scores?

RonaldColeman · Mar 13, 2006

darrvao777 said:
where are you from?

you've never heard of people with 240+ step 1 scores?

Oh, you scored close to a 240 on Step 1? I guess I missed that part. Yes, with those scores you should definitely match at NYU. I think we had one guy at my school (Harvard) break 240, but this guy is a genius. He ended up transferring to a top DO school, though, so I'm not sure what specialty he ended up choosing. Honestly, I think you might even be selling yourself a little short. I hope you appled at Harvard, UCSF, etc.

porokeratosis · Mar 13, 2006

racecarj said:
hey,

i've never heard of someone with a better record than mine. at least not where i'm from. I am pretty goddammed sure i'll match, hopefully into my top choice- NYU. After that, there are 5 other interviews.

Hey "racecarj", it's Monday; March 13th at 1240pm. The NRMP has officially notified everyone whether or not you matched. Did you match?

All of us are dying to know.

javandane · Mar 13, 2006

i'm calling BS on this guy. i wouldn't expect to hear (anything truthful) from him.

darrvao777 · Mar 13, 2006

haha...his silence says one of two things

1) he matched and is now drunk
2) he did not match and is now drunk

racecarj · Mar 13, 2006

I haven't started drinking yet (but will soon)... I've been at work all day on an elective and don't have time to check a website as trivial as this...

and yes, I matched.

darrvao777 said:
haha...his silence says one of two things

1) he matched and is now drunk
2) he did not match and is now drunk

superfly · Mar 13, 2006

RonaldColeman said:
Oh, you scored close to a 240 on Step 1? I guess I missed that part. Yes, with those scores you should definitely match at NYU. I think we had one guy at my school (Harvard) break 240, but this guy is a genius. He ended up transferring to a top DO school, though, so I'm not sure what specialty he ended up choosing. Honestly, I think you might even be selling yourself a little short. I hope you appled at Harvard, UCSF, etc.

I just had to make sure you are for real with "one guy" breaking 240? Our average Step 1 at my school is 227, almost 1/3 of the class broke 240! If you got something in the 230s it wasn't considered impressive. If the rest of the world has a different view, please fill me in, because the view at my school is depressing.

RonaldColeman · Mar 13, 2006

racecarj said:
I haven't started drinking yet (but will soon)... I've been at work all day on an elective and don't have time to check a website as trivial as this...

and yes, I matched.

This certainly doesn't come as a surprise to any of us. I thought your posts were a joke at first, but then I talked to the PD here at Harvard. He reported that, indeed, the highest USMLE score for derm applicants this year was a 235 and that the applicant came from a "top" DO school. Anyway, congrats!

racecarj · Mar 13, 2006

It certainly is nice to hear that you believe in me, what you think means a great deal in my book. I guess then I will see you at either Harvard, NYU, UCSF, or Penn.

RonaldColeman said:
This certainly doesn't come as a surprise to any of us. I thought your posts were a joke at first, but then I talked to the PD here at Harvard. He reported that, indeed, the highest USMLE score for derm applicants this year was a 235 and that the applicant came from a "top" DO school. Anyway, congrats!

RonaldColeman · Mar 13, 2006

racecarj said:
It certainly is nice to hear that you believe in me, what you think means a great deal in my book. I guess then I will see you at either Harvard, NYU, UCSF, or Penn.

Having scored a 234 on Step 1, I only applied to and ranked one program--Harvey, my home institution. Hopefully, both you and I, along with angloamerican from the derm ez board, will all match there. With our boards scores, that shouldn't be a problem.

porokeratosis · Mar 14, 2006

racecarj said:
I haven't started drinking yet (but will soon)... I've been at work all day on an elective and don't have time to check a website as trivial as this...and yes, I matched.

Congratulations! Welcome to the Derm family

RonaldColeman said:
...I talked to the PD here at Harvard. He reported that, indeed, the highest USMLE score for derm applicants this year was a 235 and that the applicant came from a "top" DO school.

Either he's being sarcastic or blatantly lying. Because that's a bunch of BS.

My buddy (who's an MD) matched in Derm this year and he has a USMLE Step 1 score of 245. He states he came across a number of people with USMLE scores above 240 during his interviews.

I'm in Derm now and when I matched, my USMLE Step 1 was 240+.

As with any internet forum, be careful what you read.

darrvao777 · Mar 14, 2006

I'd have to agree. 235 is certainly solid but Derm is known for having overzealous applicants. It wouldn't surprise me if some people scored much higher than that!

darrvao777 · Mar 14, 2006

racecarj said:
I haven't started drinking yet (but will soon)... I've been at work all day on an elective and don't have time to check a website as trivial as this...

and yes, I matched.

oh schnap! nearly forgot to post...congrats!!

i hope i'll have the same luck in the future

RonaldColeman · Mar 14, 2006

porokeratosis said:
Congratulations! Welcome to the Derm family

Either he's being sarcastic or blatantly lying. Because that's a bunch of BS.

My buddy (who's an MD) matched in Derm this year and he has a USMLE Step 1 score of 245. He states he came across a number of people with USMLE scores above 240 during his interviews.

I'm in Derm now and when I matched, my USMLE Step 1 was 240+.

As with any internet forum, be careful what you read.

Of course I'm joking!

racecarj · Mar 14, 2006

So after matching into derm I've talking to my adviser who spoke to the PD at harvard who says they ranked me #1. so i guess i matched there.

but now, i'm beginning to have second thoughts. i think i'm going to break the contract and not go... this morning i went to the local navy seals recruiting office and signed up, so i guess i'm going to be a fighting man.

to those people who do wish to stick around and do derm, good luck!

darrvao777 · Mar 14, 2006

...

I'm confused

Are you entering military medicine?

Or are you not doing medicine at all anymore?

RonaldColeman · Mar 14, 2006

darrvao777 said:
...

I'm confused

Are you entering military medicine?

Or are you not doing medicine at all anymore?

I did speak to the PD here at Harvard again and he did confirm that the #1 ranked applicant was a DO with a 235. He did not, however, verify the navy seal story. Rumor actually has it that the 235 DO was training to be a cage fighter, but got hurt because he has the worst reflexes ever. Apparently, he's taking a year off to recover.

JackBauERfan · Mar 14, 2006

RonaldColeman said:
I did speak to the PD here at Harvard again and he did confirm that the #1 ranked applicant was a DO with a 235. He did not, however, verify the navy seal story. Rumor actually has it that the 235 DO was training to be a cage fighter, but got hurt because he has the worst reflexes ever. Apparently, he's taking a year off to recover.

wow i'm lurking from the EM forum. you guys really have some weird threads/stories/jokes/sarcasm haha.

i like it though keep it up!

potato51 · Mar 14, 2006

LOL @ this thread. very 'angloamerican'-like!

RonaldColeman · Mar 14, 2006

potato51 said:
LOL @ this thread. very 'angloamerican'-like!

Very true. I was wondering if racecarj is angloamerican. Anglo tends to be a little more over-the-top, though, and he always refers to harvard as "harvey."

ladydoc2be · Mar 20, 2006

racecarj said:
So after matching into derm I've talking to my adviser who spoke to the PD at harvard who says they ranked me #1. so i guess i matched there.

but now, i'm beginning to have second thoughts. i think i'm going to break the contract and not go... this morning i went to the local navy seals recruiting office and signed up, so i guess i'm going to be a fighting man.

to those people who do wish to stick around and do derm, good luck!

are you crazy??? you would actually give up a derm spot at harvard to join the navy???

cdql · Mar 20, 2006

Isn't it illegal as well to break the contract?

RonaldColeman · Mar 22, 2006

"are you crazy??? you would actually give up a derm spot at harvard to join the navy???
ladydoc2be

cdql
Isn't it illegal as well to break the contract?"

Some of you guys really crack me up...

cdql · Mar 22, 2006

I hate online sarcasm.

So I'm guessing this guy was a fake to begin with? Is it really that hard to come up with straightforward answers here?

RonaldColeman · Mar 22, 2006

cdql said:
I hate online sarcasm.

So I'm guessing this guy was a fake to begin with? Is it really that hard to come up with straightforward answers here?

Well, lets see. Highest usmle from a derm applicant is 235; OP has never heard of an application stronger than his; 235 DO student has interviews at harvard, Penn, UCSF, NYU; OP is giving up a spot at Harvard to join the navy seals; OP is training to be a cage fighter.

RonaldColeman · Mar 22, 2006

RonaldColeman said:
Well, lets see. Highest usmle from a derm applicant is 235; OP has never heard of an application stronger than his; 235 DO student has interviews at harvard, Penn, UCSF, NYU; OP is giving up a spot at Harvard to join the navy seals; OP is training to be a cage fighter.

To answer your question a different way:

Yes, much of this thread is fantasy.

cdql · Mar 22, 2006

haha...thank you...that was what i was thinking

err...one more stupid question and i promise i'll shut up

what's an op?

RonaldColeman · Mar 22, 2006

cdql said:
haha...thank you...that was what i was thinking

err...one more stupid question and i promise i'll shut up

what's an op?

Original Poster

cdql · Mar 22, 2006

gotcha...thanks!

ladydoc2be · Mar 22, 2006

cdql said:
I hate online sarcasm.

So I'm guessing this guy was a fake to begin with? Is it really that hard to come up with straightforward answers here?

You're not alone. I thought he was for real too.

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