EMERGENCY-- didn't match to first year position-please advise!

[BobABooey]

I'm freaking out 'cuz I just found out that I matched to a radiology advanced program but didn't match to a first year spot...

Does ANYONE know of any 'cush' or perhaps least hellish spots for prelim medicine year in the Cleveland/Akron, Boston, NYC or Cali areas that people have scrambled into in the past or that I should just keep my eyes open for?

Are TY programs ever unfilled?

Please please PLEASE any suggestions? They would be ENORMOUSLY appreciated! To anyone who responds, I'll be your best friend ...

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I'm freaking out 'cuz I just found out that I matched to a radiology advanced program but didn't match to a first year spot...

Does ANYONE know of any 'cush' or perhaps least hellish spots for prelim medicine year in the Cleveland/Akron, Boston, NYC or Cali areas that people have scrambled into in the past or that I should just keep my eyes open for?

Are TY programs ever unfilled?

Please please PLEASE any suggestions? They would be ENORMOUSLY appreciated! To anyone who responds, I'll be your best friend ...

You need some serious perspective.

 

[BobABooey]

--I have seen the error of my ways

I am sure this has been discussed to no end on SDN but I summarize my view here. I and many other SDNers going into competitive specialties do not subscribe to your b.s./old guard notion that time in hospital=worth as physician.

How much do you learn putting everyone on the same heparin protocol; getting deigned to by fellows while calling consults; getting bounce-backs of patients your seniors helped you push out the door out of personal aggravation?

Forgive me if I would rather get a relative head start on the entire new body of knowledge I will be expected to know for the rest of my career at a cushier spot than getting slammed/burned out relearning basic stuff and not having any time to study, all the while doing endless scut and answering innumerable inane RN pages.

I know I was probably a little overdramatic in my tone but (1) I was in the heat of the moment over not having matched and (2) I make no apologies for not wanting to get killed during my first year as a doctor. Believe it or not, lots of us enjoy lives outside of the hospital and place as high a premium on our own lifestyle and our family's happiness as on that of your 4th patient of the night you admit with OH and volume depletion 2/2 diarrhea... and you know what? There's nothing wrong with that.

I'm a big boy so spare me the paternalistic self-righteousness, the mantra with which you try to proselytize yourself that you do a greater service to patients than people like me will.

Thanks anyway, Sanjay Gupta... next?

 

[Nuriko]

First off, congrats on matching into rads!

Honestly, if I had to scramble, Id MUCH rather be in the position of matching advanced and not prelim, than vice versa. There are plenty of prelim programs that go unfilled every year. I do not know which programs are unfilled, and I will not have access to that information unless I help someone else w/ their scramble.

All I can say is, you WILL get a spot somewhere, even if its prelim surgery. Besides, in that worst case, so what? You go thru hell for a year and then chill for the rest of your life.

Buena suerte!

 

[VincentAdultman]

--I have seen the error of my ways

I am sure this has been discussed to no end on SDN but I summarize my view here. I and many other SDNers going into competitive specialties do not subscribe to your b.s./old guard notion that time in hospital=worth as physician.

How much do you learn putting everyone on the same heparin protocol; getting deigned to by fellows while calling consults; getting bounce-backs of patients your seniors helped you push out the door out of personal aggravation?

Forgive me if I would rather get a relative head start on the entire new body of knowledge I will be expected to know for the rest of my career at a cushier spot than getting slammed/burned out relearning basic stuff and not having any time to study, all the while doing endless scut and answering innumerable inane RN pages.

I know I was probably a little overdramatic in my tone but (1) I was in the heat of the moment over not having matched and (2) I make no apologies for not wanting to get killed during my first year as a doctor. Believe it or not, lots of us enjoy lives outside of the hospital and place as high a premium on our own lifestyle and our family's happiness as on that of your 4th patient of the night you admit with OH and volume depletion 2/2 diarrhea... and you know what? There's nothing wrong with that.

I'm a big boy so spare me the paternalistic self-righteousness, the mantra with which you try to proselytize yourself that you do a greater service to patients than people like me will.

Thanks anyway, Sanjay Gupta... next?

While I appreciate the grown-up vocabulary, the big picture is that you matched into a pretty competitive specialty. A lot of your peers were significantly less lucky than yourself today. You should proably have considered that before you made your post in meltdown mode over not getting a friggin prelim spot.

I mean big picture- who cares? You're going to be a radiologist. Does it REALLY matter if you end up scrambling into a slightly more malignant prelim/TY? Admittedly perhaps I could have toned down the douchebaggery, but you probably should have taken a depp breath and chilled out a little before clicking "send."

Anyway, congrats

 

[BigRedBeta]

I fully agree some perspective would have wise:

You matched into a tough specialty, be thankful. You know just as well as everyone else that at the moment no one knows what programs filled and what programs didn't. You also know that the 90+ % of us who did match won't have access to the lists of unfilled programs tomorrow. You should have realized that your time would have been used more wisely by going to your school administration and asking for their help...not a bunch of random people on SDN.

In answer to your question...from my friends who had prelim years to do, try to get into a family med program, they're generally even easier than transitional year programs.

 

[doctor712]

I really think our Rad Dudeski friend BobABooey is getting the short end of the SDN stick. I mean, all I'm hearing here is what he should have done, how he should have reacted, how he should have known this and only written that.
People reminding him that he's matched into a cush and fluffy specialty so he should chill out and spend a year up the creek because, ya know, he's going to make a lot more money per hour than others here. Others here that matched, or didn't match.

I think it's unfair to sit in judgement. Regardless of whether the initial post was panicked, are these replies really called for? Is match day not a TREMENDOUSLY STRESSFUL time in an budding physician's life? Do the med schools not extend ceremonies and envelope opening in front of your peers making it all the more impactful, or not? I give kudos to OP for wanting to go after what he wants in a PGY1 spot, why the heck not? And I don't have any problem with his emergent Post, are the rest of us SDNers supposed to be perfect the other 364 days of the year aside from match day?

It seems these replies don't really get to the crux, aren't supportive at all, and really don't speak to what SDN is really about: guidance, advice, support. I also feel that these replies are all founded on OP matching in Radiology. Much is given to him being, "OK" one day, that he should "chill out" and "relax" and deal with it because, after all, he's going into Rads. As if that precludes him from having any "moments" on SDN, or else, the great crucifixion. Let me ask, would the replies have been so harsh had OP matched into, oh, I dunno, PEDS, FM, IM? Heaven forbid he matched through the San Fran Match into Neuro Surgery, I feel OP would have been banned!!!!!!

Seems like there's more to these replies than meets the eye, with the exception of some good guidance by BRedBeta. Whether OP knew his surroundings or not when he made that initial post, SO WHAT. Do we all want these sorts of judgemental posts back when our posts don't make 10000% rational, calm, orderly sense? If this is the case, we're ALL in trouble.

Congrats OP. Stay focused. Go after what you want.

D712

 

[BobABooey]

thanks for the ideas and congratulations-- would still appreciate any other suggestions...

i suppose I displayed some initial douchebaggery as well pomp-- i am certainly grateful that I have an advanced spot and glad it is not the other way around. I also don't think though that I should not try to get everything i have wanted all along in a pgy-1 spot, as d712 acknowledged.

as for making use of my school's admin-- I contacted them of course, and will certainly be doing that tomorrow come noontime; prior to that not much they can do for me. Thus my rationale in asking what, you must admit BRB, is something of an 'off the record' question perfect for an anonymous forum, to get some suggestions b4 the unfilled lists become available (I mean, am I really gonna ask my dean if he knows which prelim spots are 'cushiest'?)

 

[Jwax]

(I mean, am I really gonna ask my dean if he knows which prelim spots are 'cushiest'?)

You'd be cooler if you did, man.

I don't know anything about TY spots so I can't help, just thought that was funny. GL and hope you find your cush spot in the right location. I'd go for more cushie over better location b/c you can probably stand anywhere for a year esp if internship isn't too painful.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I mean, am I really gonna ask my dean if he knows which prelim spots are 'cushiest'?)

Hell yeah, what is your dean going to do, expell you?

 

[BobABooey]

not worried about repercussions, dude- I mean what good would it do, b/c he's not gonna know-- do you think he's gonna know cush programs better than current residents or med students who talk about it with their peers all the time?

 

[Impromptu]

If you go to the NRMP website you can see the unfilled spots by region. There are transitional year spots that didn't fill. If you really want one, be prepared to move twice. It isn't the end of the world, and if you get a good PGY1 year, then it is definately worth it.

As far as cush? That is probably relative. I don't know about many TYs, but from the rumors I've heard, try the one in Des Moines, IA, St. Johns in St. Louis, MO, the one in Tucson, AZ, and the 2 in Spokane, WA. If you are willing, I was extremely impressed with the preliminary medicine year offered by Banner in Phoenix, they were the opposite of malignant, and they seemed to have a lot of money to throw around. There are probably plenty of others out there, so don't be offended if I don't know about your favorite. Good luck.

 

[doctor712]

So, are you still learning how this turned out, Baba? Has the scramble been successful?

good luck
D712

 

[J-Rad]

So a question born of true ignorance (I did military match in '05-I'm way out of this loop): How do you not match for the prelim year and match for the residency? I know you apply separately for each, but was it that you "overreached" for a highly desirable prelim spot despite the creds for rads? Like I said, pure curiosity.
I can't access NRMP, so I don't know what's unfilled, but in the Boston area Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence RI was actually pretty well regarded as a location to do prelim medicine. The interns and residents work hard-as I'm sure all interns/residents do-but the prelim people I spoke to felt that it had a great deal of cushioning (schedule wise) and people had plenty of time for a life outside work. As a residency, it wasn't competetive (lots of FMGs), but I don't know if that holds true as a prelim program given its local (good) reputation.

 

[SoCuteMD]

So a question born of true ignorance (I did military match in '05-I'm way out of this loop): How do you not match for the prelim year and match for the residency? I know you apply separately for each, but was it that you "overreached" for a highly desirable prelim spot despite the creds for rads? Like I said, pure curiosity.
I can't access NRMP, so I don't know what's unfilled, but in the Boston area Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence RI was actually pretty well regarded as a location to do prelim medicine. The interns and residents work hard-as I'm sure all interns/residents do-but the prelim people I spoke to felt that it had a great deal of cushioning (schedule wise) and people had plenty of time for a life outside work. As a residency, it wasn't competetive (lots of FMGs), but I don't know if that holds true as a prelim program given its local (good) reputation.

Often the least competitive categorical programs have the most competitive prelim programs. They tend to be cush, with better benefits. Prelim medicine years were fairly competitive this year, it seems. There were only about 90 left (and 38 transitional years).

 

[Law2Doc]

So a question born of true ignorance (I did military match in '05-I'm way out of this loop): How do you not match for the prelim year and match for the residency? I know you apply separately for each, but was it that you "overreached" for a highly desirable prelim spot despite the creds for rads? Like I said, pure curiosity....

I don't know how it works out, but it happened to quite a few people I know this year. I'm guessing many people limited their prelim apps too severely in terms of geography, or only applying to a small handful of ultra-competitive TY programs. But it was apparently not as uncommon in this last match as it has been in prior years to snag the advanced but not the prelim. Fortunately it is much easier to fix than the reverse.

 

[Taurus]

I'm freaking out 'cuz I just found out that I matched to a radiology advanced program but didn't match to a first year spot...

Does ANYONE know of any 'cush' or perhaps least hellish spots for prelim medicine year in the Cleveland/Akron, Boston, NYC or Cali areas that people have scrambled into in the past or that I should just keep my eyes open for?

Are TY programs ever unfilled?

Please please PLEASE any suggestions? They would be ENORMOUSLY appreciated! To anyone who responds, I'll be your best friend ...

Um, this is why I did 11 TY interviews. Probably more than I needed to. I eventually matched at my #2 TY program. I didn't want to have to scramble into a hellish prelim med or surg program. Even some TY programs were nearly identical to prelim med programs I saw.