residency advice

[johnson]

MSIII
Step 1: 225
Pre-Clinical: 2.8
Clinical: honors so far
Research: 2 projects, no publications
Med School: not well known

Q: how would you rate my chances of matching?
Q: how many programs should I apply to?
Q: do I need to kill Step 2 to be competitive or should I delay taking it? (do I need to take Step 2 before applying?)
Q: any info on ER program at UM-Kansas City?

Any advice/info would be appreciated.

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[The White Coat Investor]

If I were you, I'd make sure I got an honors in Emergency Medicine. If you do...30-35 programs. If you don't, 45. Your chances of matching? 99%, maybe slightly lower if that not well known med school is a D.O. school (no offense to any D.Os) or a foreign school. You do not need to take Step 2 early. It will strengthen your application if you do take it and do better than 235. Keep in mind there are some programs that use a step 1 cut-off of 220 or 230. I know nothing about UM-Kansas City, except that the skiing in the area sucks.

 

[SavaX]

I'm actually from UMKC med school and there IS NO skiing in the area. . That being said, it's a very good program. 8 hour shifts!!! High trauma community oriented program. Attendings are VERY nice, and they have the famous John Ma (ultrasound king) there. The only thing I didn't like was their interview process - very hard questions. KC itself is a great city to be single in, or raise a family. Cost of living is VERY low compared to other places and the city is extremely clean. Off service rotations there are cake as well, but you do learn a lot. Their didactic sessions are very well organized and educational. Let me know if you ahve any more questions

 

[bigfrank]

So, does a person who wants to do EM really have to apply to 30-45 programs with a 225???????????

That seems like a ridiculous number of programs to have to apply to.

I heard that, with a 220-225, one should worry about applying to ~15. Can anyone clear this up for me?

In fact, I have heard that EM is slowly declining (slightly) in popularity.

30-45 programs??????????????

Thanks, Frank

 

[Path]

Originally posted by bigfrank
So, does a person who wants to do EM really have to apply to 30-45 programs with a 225???????????

That seems like a ridiculous number of programs to have to apply to.

I heard that, with a 220-225, one should worry about applying to ~15. Can anyone clear this up for me?

Hi Frank.

I thought the same thing when I read that post. Don't get me wrong, desperado is giving good advice. However, his advice is given (I'm presuming) to be on the safe side.

My numbers are very similar to Johnson's. Step 1 was 229. I have significant EM experience as a tech during college (worked full time) and I have a couple of publications. My rec letters are good and I have Honors in my home and away EM rotations. With that said..... I applied to 21 programs and was given 20 invites. YES, I did apply to a mixture of schools. I was given interviews at Hennepin, Portland, Case, Christiana, U mich to name a few. It isn't like I applied to a slew of lower tier programs. Don't sweat it, you'll match. I guess my key piece of advice is: GET YOUR ERAS APPLICATION IN EARLY!!!! I had mine in the day after it opened and was getting invites a couple weeks later.

Any questions, PM me or email me.

Good luck.

Path

 

[The White Coat Investor]

Perhaps those suggesting 15 apps are forgetting the hordes of people on this site sweating it out back in November because they only had 4 interviews. Your first 30 apps cost $290, or less than $10 bucks a piece. (After that its $25, so you have to really think about it.) Most interviews cost more than $290 if you add in two nights of hotel rooms, a rental car, airfare etc. So what's a few more dollars up front to make sure you have plenty of invites. Its easy to cancel invitations! I cancelled 9, it didn't hurt me a bit. The best applicants I know get a 60-95% invitation/application percentage, the more average people are feeling good to get 50%. So, if you want 12-15 invites, you should apply to 18-20 if you're incredible, or 30-45 if you're average.


And remember what Path said....he got honors in all his EM rotations. That is the key to getting great letters and great interviews. I had a buddy with 230s but only a high pass on his rotations. He applied to 40 and only got 12. (Which is plenty don't get me wrong, but what if he had only applied to 20?)

 

[pinbor1]

Johnson

I'm no PD, but I think your numbers look pretty good. Your step 1 is pretty good, but I think the bigger plus is that you are honoring your clerkship rotations. I've been told that that is very big along with eventually rocking your EM rotation and getting great letters. An additional plus that you have is that you are doing EM research, which shows that you are devoted to the field.

As for Step 2, I don't want to mislead you, but I think you afford to wait if you want to. I took my step 2 in late december, and that did not affect program choices to interview me.

I think we are lucky in EM to have programs that look at more than just your board scores, but look at you more as a total package.

My school also does not have a reputation as a top tier school so I don't think that it will affect you to much, but I could be wrong given that my school has a pretty well respected EM program. I think that if you do not have a strong EM program near you, do an away rotation to get your letters.

Disclaimer: This is only my advice, assuming that your med school does not have a notorious reputation, but is more along the middle of the road when it comes to reputation.