If you have to re-apply are you "damaged goods"?

[StanleyCup7]

So, here is my situation for all of you who may be able to offer me some advice.

Step 1: 219 (long story short...8 days before I took Step 1 a bone scan showed that my mother's breast cancer had metastasized to five different places, so I was pretty shaken leading up to the exam...nothing I can do about it now)

Step 2: 252

Top 25% of my class

Honors (top 25%) in 4/6 clerkships

Primary author on 1 Urology publication

Due to my lack of Radiation Oncology research, I am not expecting to match. Should I even try? If I fail to match this year (2010) and do a year of dedicated Radiation Oncology research will I be looked upon less favorably in 2011 b/c I failed to match in 2010?

So, should I:

a. Try to find some research opportunities immediately, do as much research as I can before February/March, and just give it a shot and apply for RadOnc in 2010

OR

b. Not apply this year, do a year of research in Radiation Oncology and apply in 2011

So, as the title of the thread implies, does it look bad if you don't match and have to re-apply after getting some RadOnc research on your CV?

Thank you very much for any and all advice...it is greatly appreciated.

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[StanleyCup7]

Admittedly, "damaged goods" was a poor choice of words. As you can see, I wrote that post in the middle of the night and was not thinking clearly.

Nonetheless, I was hoping somebody (one of the 200+ viewers) could offer me some advice as to whether or not to apply this year (see above for choice "a" or choice "b").

Thanks.

 

[The Empiricist]

First off, I'm very sorry to hear the news about your mother. As an MS2, I don't feel that qualified to answer but since no one else has answered yet, I'll pitch in. I do know a little bit since I have been lurking on these forums for quite some time, but take my advice with the appropriate grains of salt.

To me, it looks like your only weaknesses are a lack of rad onc research and a low Step I score, for which you have about as good an excuse for as exists and which is partially made up for by your great Step II score.

My understanding is that no matter who you are and what you're applying to, your best chance for matching is always during your first application cycle. I guess it depends how much you value getting into residency ASAP. If it's not a big deal for you to take a year off (or even if it's a significant but not horrible inconvenience), I'd definitely say go with option B. If you went with option A and didn't match, time constraints would make it difficult for you to improve your application significantly before you apply again the next year. That is, unless you take a full year off before applying again, in which case you might as well have gone with option B in the first place.

 

[233101]

Overall after reading your story I think the best idea would be to take a year off to do Radiation Oncology research to help bolster your application. But... you should really talk to the program director at your home institution and see what he/she recommends. Your Step 2 score is impressive, and I think with a couple Rad/Onc pubs you will be a competitive applicant.

Best of luck,

VandyRadOnc12

 

[napoleondynamite]

While taking a year off would certainly bolster your application, you're not guaranteed to match with that approach either! Why not throw your hat in the ring now? It's not too late to start working on some research and you may just match without wasting a year of your life. Carpe diem

 

[bragmt]

I am so sorry to hear about your mom. As an actual Rad Onc resident I think I have a decent idea of what it takes to match. Overall I think people on SDN dramatically exaggerate the ability to match period. Yes, matching into large competitive programs is very very hard, however each year students match into top of the top programs with average step one scores. Its a fact. Look at the charting match outcomes, plenty of students matched with 219 step ones. I feel strongly that if you are not particular about geographical location and you apply very very broadly (ie apply to every program) you WILL match. Here is what you should do to really increase your chances.

1. Do at least 2 away rotations, the first one at a larger program and tell them you are interested in doing research, work your tail off and attempt to get at least a few abstracts submitted. This means every night/weekend you are emailing trying to find projects to help with, or working on projects you have already found. Really large programs(MDACC, MSKCC, or Harvard) have TONS of research going on and you should be able to at least get a few abstracts submitted within a month of hard work.

2. Do your second rotation at a small and less competitive program, and really work hard to do a great job. Just little things like get there early every day, read about all the patients, and try your best to ask educated questions. Get them to like you, make up a reason why you absolutely want to be at their program, and chances are they will take you.

3. Make your essay mention the tragic story of you mom, sorry again, and ensure everyone knows it was 8 days before step 1.

I think if you do this you will have a decent chance of matching period. Now if you want to be at a top 10ish program its going to be very very difficult with few pubs, assuming your not coming out of a top 5 medical school, however if your goal is ANY program you should have a good shot. Good luck!

 

[koolaidkid]

I'm sorry to hear about your mom.
I think the person posting above has good advice...i'd agree as a rad onc resident. just make sure you're not pushy or really aggressive in a way that's off-putting.
what I'd recommend is to do one rotation and see what comes of it in terms of pubs. if you don't get much, you can always decide to take a year off. i'd start applying for any kind of research fellowship like doris duke and then you can always not do it if you've decided to enter match.
I'd try to do your first rad onc elective - if at home - early in your third year. if you hate it, at least you can move on.

 

[StanleyCup7]

Thank you so much for all of your replies and advice, it is greatly appreciated.

I am going to begin my RadOnc rotation at my home school on Monday and hopefully take advantage of a connection that I have at MDACC to set up an away and some research.

If for whatever reason (likely lack of research) I don't match this year, will not matching in 2010 make it more difficult to match in 2011?

Thanks again for all of your replies.

 

[XRTMM]

I was someone who did not match my first time, but did get in on the second try, so I think I can speak from experience here.

While not impossible to get in as a reapplicant, you ARE damaged goods in the programs' eye and the question of why you didn't match WILL come up. In fact, if you choose not to apply and do a year's worth of research, I think that will be looked upon negatively by programs. They will wonder if you didn't think you were good enough as a MS4 or lacked confidence. Others may disagree with me here, but that's my opinion, as someone who did sit on the residency selection committee at my residency program. Doing a year of research may be the best thing you can do with an extra year, and will make you more attractive than a reapplicant, but I don't think it will help as much as you might want.

I think that your board scores are just fine and shouldn't negatively affect your chances of getting in - if anyone asks about your step one, just tell them your story and you'll not only resolve that question, but it'll be a great lead-in to talk about how your experience with your mom influenced your decision to go into Rad-Onc. My mother had breast cancer and ultimately died from it, so I featured that experience prominantly in my personal statement. Sympathy won't necessarily get you into residency, but it doesn't hurt.

Here's what I would recommend:
1) Do as much research as you possibly can, right now. Talk to your home program (a well respected place) and tell them that you want to do whatever it takes to get into Rad-Onc, and see what projects you can get involved in.

2) Apply this year, don't wait.

3) As others have said, do at least two elective rotations, one at a non-Big Name program. Places like MDACC have tons of ambitious Med Students rotating through, you risk getting lost in the herd. Going to a smaller place may get you a better, more personal LOR.

4) Your research background is a little weak, but not terribly so. You are already first author on a paper, which is more than I had during my first application.

5) Cast as wide a net as you possibly can and take as many interviews as you reasonably can. It may be expensive, but it's cheaper than having to reapply. Take it from me, reapplying really sucks.

6) Get yourself a copy of Hansen and do a little studying every night. It's starting to get a little out of date, but is a great place everyday reference to get the basics.

7) At your rad-onc rotations, work your a** off. I think that most program directors won't care as much that your knowledge of the field as a medical student is incomplete - that's what residency is for. They will notice if you have a stellar work ethic that shows that you will be able to acquire the necessary skillz to be a great resident.

8) Don't sell yourself short. Based on your bio, I think you have a great chance of matching somewhere. If you have your heart set on someplace like MDACC or MSKCC, then lots of luck, but there are lots of great places to do residency!

 

[StanleyCup7]

I just wanted to give to XRTMM, bragmt and ND for the advice and encouragement. I am currently doing an away rotation at a RadOnc department that does not have a residency program (I know, not ideal), but I have a connection with the program that has allowed me to become involved with a research project that has a VERY good chance of being published b/c:
a) it is a very good study that is examining a fairly controversial topic
b) the lead author is a big name in the field.

I am hoping to line up another away rotation at a place that is consistently ranked as one of the "top tier" programs on this board.

Will it be looked down upon if I do not have a LOR from my the chair of our RadOnc department (even though we don't have a residency program)?

The reason I ask is b/c if I am able to get this second away rotation I will not have time to do a rotation at my home school before apps are all uploaded on November 1st.

Any and all additional advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[XRTMM]

I just wanted to give to XRTMM, bragmt and ND for the advice and encouragement. I am currently doing an away rotation at a RadOnc department that does not have a residency program (I know, not ideal), but I have a connection with the program that has allowed me to become involved with a research project that has a VERY good chance of being published b/c:
a) it is a very good study that is examining a fairly controversial topic
b) the lead author is a big name in the field.

I am hoping to line up another away rotation at a place that is consistently ranked as one of the "top tier" programs on this board.

Will it be looked down upon if I do not have a LOR from my the chair of our RadOnc department (even though we don't have a residency program)?

The reason I ask is b/c if I am able to get this second away rotation I will not have time to do a rotation at my home school before apps are all uploaded on November 1st.

Any and all additional advice is greatly appreciated.

I think you will derive more benefit from a rotation at a place WITH a residency program than one WITHOUT a residency program. (you're already doing that). That being said, is there any way that you can sit down with the Rad-Onc chair at your home institution and find out a way to get involved with any ongoing projects they may have, or to just hang around the department a little bit? It may look a little odd not to get a LOR from the chair of the department, but it is probably too late in any case to get any meaningful face time before November 1st. Just make sure that you have a good explanation for why you didn't rotate there - perhaps just what you said - that you already had a good relationship with another institution that was doing exciting research and you wanted to save time for an elective at an institution with a residency program, but would have definitely spent time at the home department if you had time.

You give your location as "Michigan", perhaps you should do a rotation at U of M or Beaumont.

 

[StanleyCup7]

Let me begin by saying thank you to XRTMM, napolean dynamite, coolaidkid, bragmt, etc. for their advice and encouragment on this thread.

I ended up doing one away rotation at a university without a residency program, one away rotation at at a university with a residency program and a rotation at my home school (no residency program). That is the best that I could do given the circumstances.

I was able to crank out three manuscripts that have been submitted for publication in a two-month period, which I was extremely happy about. Using the advice that I have received on this forum, I was able to garner three very strong LOR's (2 chairmen and 1 PD). I am assuming that they are strong b/c in all instances the individuals offered to write me a "strong LOR" without my asking (for what that's worth).

I have received 5 invitations to interview and there are still approximately 17 programs that have not sent out invitations (according to the "interview invites" sticky on this board). So, we'll see how it goes. Nonetheless, I just wanted to give a big shout out and thanks to all of the aforementioned individuals.

Best of luck to all applying this year.