What to do to match peds in Chicago?

[SpanishMusical]

Hey everyone – I’m currently a first-year at a T20 med school in the south, and I’m really interested in peds. I’d love to end up in Chicago (the Lurie program in particular seems awesome). I have friends there, love the city, and spent a good deal of time growing up in the Midwest. Plus, the city seems to have a strong Hispanic presence, and I really hope to use Spanish in my day-to-day practice (I’m fluent).

I know it’s still early, but I was wondering what I should be doing now to keep that door open, especially with Step I being P/F. How important will research be? Extracurricular stuff (right now, my extracurriculars are basically dancing, LMSA, and interpreting)? Anything else?

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[GoSpursGo]

The good news is that peds is non-competitive Of the programs in Chicago, really only Lurie/Northwestern is moderately competitive, and even then that's all relative. If indeed you wind up being drawn towards Chicago, then you should have no difficulty matching somewhere in the area.

Research always helps, but is not necessary to match in peds. It may help you stand out for Lurie and other top programs if you have it, especially if you're able to present or publish though. ECs are ultimately just about having something interesting worth talking about in your interview, so do things that you're passionate about rather than trying to force yourself to do something you're not that excited about. Finally, the absolute most important thing is your academic performance. Coming from a T20 school, basically the only reason you shouldn't be able to match in peds at a strong program would be if you fail classes or need to take a USMLE exam multiple times. So keep your eye on the prize

 

[Lurker1087462]

LIke @GoSpursGo said, the good thing is that peds are not competitive, and I agree with what's said above 100%. Away rotations in peds are not necessary in most cases. However, if you are 100% set on matching at a certain program (in your case, it sounds like Lurie), doing an away sub-I rotation is always an option.

But remember, doing an away rotation is essentially a 4-week long interview, and it can be a double-edged sword. When I was a resident, there was a student doing an away sub-I. She was a fine candidate academically, but she was often rude to SWs and nurses. Several residents made sure that our PD knew about that. Needless to say, she did not match at our program.

 

[PHOfellow]

Agree completely with the above posters. I was an average student at a school consistently ranked 10-20 and received a Lurie interview, along with most of my cohort. If you're coming from a T20 program like Duke, Baylor, Vandy, etc., P/F step 1 will actually probably help you (assuming you pass). Bottom-line: if you perform average or better in clinical rotations, do reasonably well on Step 2, have 1-2 somewhat interesting [research/advocacy/institutional service, whatever you like] activities, and interview well, I think you'd have a great shot. Anything above this is icing on the cake.

As far as away rotations go, my opinion is that they will be unnecessary for you unless your performance in some area leaves something to be desired. As stated above there are real risks in spending a month in an unfamiliar setting. If you do decide to do an away at a specific program, my opinion is that it should be because you want to get a close look at the place, rather than trying to bolster your candidacy. Interview day will provide enough opportunity to express strong interest, and your application should be competitive as-is as long as you work hard.