Last Minute ENT Hopeful

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Tipp

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Hey y'all- I am just wondering if anybody has experience with deciding on ENT this late in the game. I am in my first rotation of 4th year. I got some exposure to ENT over Christmas break last year and then I floated over to work with an ENT during my Surgery rotation in the Spring, and I absolutely loved it. I felt like I finally found the right specialty for me. However, I do not have a home program and I did not end up Honoring Surgery, so I felt like the cards were stacked against me and I backed off from pursuing it. I gave everything a fair shot throughout third year, but I still feel like ENT is the best fit for me. I could get letters from the guy I shadowed last winter who used to be a department chair a while ago and has some connections, one from the ENT I shadowed on surgery, and one from our chair of surgery. But I still have yet to do a formal ENT rotation. I think the earliest I could get an away would be September 1-30... Is that too late to even bother? For some background, I got a 256 step 1 and a mix of H and HP in third year. I have a ENT case report in the works, and 2 old publications from college but not ENT. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

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I'm an MS3 so take it for what it's worth.

Your stats are good to get interviews. I don't think not honoring surgery will kill you. You will need to honor some ENT rotations (home or away) for sure, and before the ERAS submission. Also, some research should to be done before submission. But the biggest hurdle is going to be getting solid letters of recommendation from at least 3 ENT's, which can be hard to do without any previous face time. I don't think shadowing >6 months ago is going to produce a quality letter. 4 weeks of daily work would be more realist to get a real letter.

Good luck. Hopefully you can get some more advice.
 
Hey y'all- I am just wondering if anybody has experience with deciding on ENT this late in the game. I am in my first rotation of 4th year. I got some exposure to ENT over Christmas break last year and then I floated over to work with an ENT during my Surgery rotation in the Spring, and I absolutely loved it. I felt like I finally found the right specialty for me. However, I do not have a home program and I did not end up Honoring Surgery, so I felt like the cards were stacked against me and I backed off from pursuing it. I gave everything a fair shot throughout third year, but I still feel like ENT is the best fit for me. I could get letters from the guy I shadowed last winter who used to be a department chair a while ago and has some connections, one from the ENT I shadowed on surgery, and one from our chair of surgery. But I still have yet to do a formal ENT rotation. I think the earliest I could get an away would be September 1-30... Is that too late to even bother? For some background, I got a 256 step 1 and a mix of H and HP in third year. I have a ENT case report in the works, and 2 old publications from college but not ENT. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Not in ENT but will provide some generic information, hope it helps.

You are still in the running, just need to come up with a game plan and attack. First, I would consider whether or not you want to apply this cycle. A research year could help and may give you leverage to match in your desired location or at top programs. Of course, a research year would be difficult to set up this late but not impossible. If you want to go ahead and apply, temper your expectations and apply broadly. Here are what I think your priorities should be:

1) Research - the ENT case report should have been published yesterday, get it done. If it's not published by Sept 15, it doesn't count.
2) Aways - definitely try to squeeze in an away or two. Can you find somewhere to do an away in August? That would be ideal. Sept 1-30 is probably fine but go for a program you want to match in and have a reasonable chance at. You don't necessarily have to wait until the end of the rotation to get a letter either.
3) Letters - The three letter-writers you listed are all a bit weak. If you aren't able to get any others, then it is what it is but the guy you shadowed with connections should become your crutch. Meet with him regularly and make sure he is willing to make phone calls for you. If you can get the Sept 1-30 away and get a letter from them, all the better.

The ball is in your court. Apply broadly and work on what you can control - ERAS, connections, research, and your clinical performance if given the opportunity to do an away. Good luck!
 
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I'll tag along to this if you don't mind. Just know deciding on ENT. Very few connections, no ENT research. Do I need to take a year off at this point?
Step 1: 252
Grades: all honors
AOA: junior AOA
Research: three middle-author pubs, one first-author pub submitted, several posters and presentations - all not ENT related
 
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