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Is it possible to network your way into a NS residency via strong family connections?
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Strong Connections/Network vs. Brilliance Needed to match Osteopathic Neurosurgery Residency
- Thread starter DasNotRacist
- Start date
This comes off as sour grapes to me. Like you can't believe this guy matched in neurosurgery honestly while everyone else had to settle for something else, and it has to be because someone called in a favor.
First off, the vast majority of all med students match in IM, EM, anesthesiology, etc. regardless of how smart they are; it's by choice, because it's what they're interested in. Neurosurgery is a peculiar specialty that not many people are truly interested in. It's not like all the smartest people go into neurosurgery, the next smartest people go into Y, then Z, then IM, EM, anesthesiology, etc. Your other classmates probably matched to much "better" residency programs in their specialties than this guy did in neurosurgery as a DO.
Connections are really important, but by and large they're professional connections made through research, hard work, and following instructions, not personal connections. I would be shocked if a private practice neurologist had any influence on a neurosurgery program director in the US unless they're related. The kind of personal connections that carry weight in neurosurgery are like when you're the son of a chairman, or your brother is a senior resident at the same program, or your grandfather trained the current chairman. These people definitely match at "better" programs than similar applicants without connections do, but they only represent a small percentage of applicants.
I don't think it's fair or healthy to hold his test prep against him. It's a tough pill to swallow, but your frenemy probably worked hard and excelled in med school.
First off, the vast majority of all med students match in IM, EM, anesthesiology, etc. regardless of how smart they are; it's by choice, because it's what they're interested in. Neurosurgery is a peculiar specialty that not many people are truly interested in. It's not like all the smartest people go into neurosurgery, the next smartest people go into Y, then Z, then IM, EM, anesthesiology, etc. Your other classmates probably matched to much "better" residency programs in their specialties than this guy did in neurosurgery as a DO.
Connections are really important, but by and large they're professional connections made through research, hard work, and following instructions, not personal connections. I would be shocked if a private practice neurologist had any influence on a neurosurgery program director in the US unless they're related. The kind of personal connections that carry weight in neurosurgery are like when you're the son of a chairman, or your brother is a senior resident at the same program, or your grandfather trained the current chairman. These people definitely match at "better" programs than similar applicants without connections do, but they only represent a small percentage of applicants.
I don't think it's fair or healthy to hold his test prep against him. It's a tough pill to swallow, but your frenemy probably worked hard and excelled in med school.
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deleted480308
If you don’t know their lors/step scores/audition performance.....maybe just keep your eyes forward and stay out of second guessing their success
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deleted849476
I was told by a neurosurgeon today that “medicine is a people game, if you can do that, you can do neuro.” Of course updated information and latest charting outcomes, etc, should always have their place, but at least as far as DO charting outcomes go, the sample size is tiny. (Haven’t checked lately, but if I remember correctly there was even an anti correlation between step score and odds of matching in 2018). Nonetheless, I liked hearing the most distilled piece of advice—the elevator pitch advice—he gave me about neurosurgery after 30 years of practice. And he said that even in the context of me stating I got into a DO school but not many DOs get NSG.
In terms of matching any specialty, it makes me think the bigger picture is really more about being hardworking academically, genuinely interested in your field (in a way you just can’t fake if you’re not), and extremely personable, affable. I argue those things are the qualities PDs, even med school adcoms, are trying to measure but all they have to assess it are these lesser, secondary pieces of evidence like LoRs, step scores, research, etc when many of these are less important than them getting the right subjective vibes from a person during interview.. That’s not to say close ties/nepotism aren't playing a role at times. But at least to me, that would explain the cases where metrics don’t seem to reflect when the person actually matches or not.
In terms of matching any specialty, it makes me think the bigger picture is really more about being hardworking academically, genuinely interested in your field (in a way you just can’t fake if you’re not), and extremely personable, affable. I argue those things are the qualities PDs, even med school adcoms, are trying to measure but all they have to assess it are these lesser, secondary pieces of evidence like LoRs, step scores, research, etc when many of these are less important than them getting the right subjective vibes from a person during interview.. That’s not to say close ties/nepotism aren't playing a role at times. But at least to me, that would explain the cases where metrics don’t seem to reflect when the person actually matches or not.
