- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Messages
- 3,095
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So for anyone who didn't match, I wanted to get a thread going to give you guys some ideas of where to go next. Not matching is a tough thing to endure and what you need most is hope...hope that you'll get there eventually. I believe one of the best ways to get over the initial hump is to have something tangible to focus on instead of perseverating on the pain of not getting there the first time.
But maybe everyone who reads this forum matched, so you can disregard this. Hopefully it helps at least someone though.
So let's get a discussion going. Here are some things to consider and work on (I posted these last year):
These assume that you have an intern year lined up (or will land one during SOAP).
1. SOAP. This is obvious. I honestly don't know how it works now (I scrambled back in the day). Do what you have to do to get a spot within the rules.
2. Find out about those out of match spots. Ask your PD for help. Reach out to ANYONE who can help/advocate. Don't be ashamed or worried...just reach out to them.
3. Contact your intern year PC/Chiefs ASAP. Explain your situation to them. Explain that in your schedule for next year, you would like to schedule a dermatology rotation early in the year, either at their institution or at a nearby institution if your intern year program does not have an academic derm department. This is your time (during the rotation) to shine and network.
4. If you are really committed, start researching research fellowship positions. It's better to have completed intern year first. You want to know who you would work with and what is the match rate of the fellows. You ideally want to be working on something of interest to you. This is a great way to network as you will be publishing and presenting a decent amount. It's a good way to get a career started in a niche area of research/focus, which is starting to become ever so important in the current medical care climate.
Best of luck. Anyone with questions, post away or feel free to pm me if you don't want to post publicly.
But maybe everyone who reads this forum matched, so you can disregard this. Hopefully it helps at least someone though.
So let's get a discussion going. Here are some things to consider and work on (I posted these last year):
These assume that you have an intern year lined up (or will land one during SOAP).
1. SOAP. This is obvious. I honestly don't know how it works now (I scrambled back in the day). Do what you have to do to get a spot within the rules.
2. Find out about those out of match spots. Ask your PD for help. Reach out to ANYONE who can help/advocate. Don't be ashamed or worried...just reach out to them.
3. Contact your intern year PC/Chiefs ASAP. Explain your situation to them. Explain that in your schedule for next year, you would like to schedule a dermatology rotation early in the year, either at their institution or at a nearby institution if your intern year program does not have an academic derm department. This is your time (during the rotation) to shine and network.
4. If you are really committed, start researching research fellowship positions. It's better to have completed intern year first. You want to know who you would work with and what is the match rate of the fellows. You ideally want to be working on something of interest to you. This is a great way to network as you will be publishing and presenting a decent amount. It's a good way to get a career started in a niche area of research/focus, which is starting to become ever so important in the current medical care climate.
Best of luck. Anyone with questions, post away or feel free to pm me if you don't want to post publicly.
