Advice for rising 2nd yr interested in ophtho/feeling behind?

[anjali435]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post and if it's obnoxious because I'm only going to be a 2nd yr. I was a little lost and needed some guidance. I recognize that it seems like you pretty much need everything for ophtho--good grades,board score, research etc etc. I feel a little overwhelmed and not sure how to proceed.

1. I go to a graded school and did fairly well first year ( but had a rough start in anatomy where I only just passed). Above 90's in everything else so should be somewhere in the top half of my class but not super amazing either.

2. I unfortunately was not able to find research this summer in ophtho/ at all this summer. I might be able to do a month long project in something unrelated that I'm planning on starting soon.

3. Haven't really had any shadowing experience/ gotten to know faculty in the department...feel a bit behind because it seems like everyone else in my class who wants to do ophtho is really on point with this.

Not sure what I should do? Should I just be focusing on boards next year or try to do other stuff like shadow/research? I have a vacation planned at the end of this summer that I'm not sure I should cancel and extend this mini project in non-optho field and try to get something out of it? I personally don't know if I can handle a ton of stuff during school next year if I want to do really well on boards.

Is there a better place to post this? Just feeling super lost and behind and it would be helpful to have any sort of guidance.

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[docta9]

Non-ophthalmology research is better than no research.

How do you know you want to do ophthalmology until you have some exposure?

 

[anjali435]

I've done a little bit of shadowing here and there but nothing continuous where I've gotten to know any physicians at my institution. Also have had to deal with ophthalmologists a lot because of an eye condition. I like it because it feels really personally important and it's easy to be interested in.

 

[MPMD]

First off, you are certainly not behind as a rising second year that is discovering an interest in ophtho. Plenty of people don't figure it out until 3rd year (or after), and still manage to match. That said, knowing early will certainly help you to match well.

1. In my experience, preclinical grades can help, but are not super-important. They will help with AOA, but only a few places actually commented on my preclinical grades during interviews. I think steps, clinical grades, research and recommendations are all more important. If you're too far in the hole to not get AOA, it's not really worth worrying about. Just focus on doing the best you can in MS2 classes. If someone asks about your anatomy grade, be prepared to explain what happened.

2. Agree with docta9, any project is better than none at all. A lot of MS1's put so much weight on their summer projects, and I can only recall a handful at my school that actually worked out. The important thing is to start looking for a long term ophtho project, or even better yet, a mentor who can help give you multiple projects over the next 2 years. For now, focus on getting some tangible result out of what you're already involved in. When you find an ophtho project/mentor you can transition over.

3. This is pretty easy to remedy. Is there an interest group at your school? I've found that attendings that give lectures to these groups are always willing to have people shadow them in clinic or the OR. Just approach them afterward. You can also email attendings and ask about shadowing -- many won't respond because they're too busy, but don't let it put you off. Eventually you'll find someone that is welcoming. Often shadowing leads to a research project -- I'd suggest looking your attendings up on pubmed, see what kind of research they're involved in. If anything catches your eye, prioritize contacting and shadowing that attending first. Don't worry about everybody else -- I got to know my department pretty well over 1-2 years, got good recs, and had a good rapport with most of them. You're not behind the ball on this, especially if you start looking for someone to hang out with.

4 (you didn't list a 4 but this is in response to your remaining questions). Ideally you would do it all. You should indeed focus on step 1 as that is how a lot of programs will screen you. Shadowing/research doesn't take more than a few hours a week, depending on the scale of the project you're involved with -- you can absolutely do well on the boards and do research or shadow. You don't have to dedicate all your waking time during MS2 to step 1 -- I think the most important thing is to synchronize step 1 studying with your classes. That is, make 50% of your step 1 questions GI-related if you're in your GI block. It will help bolster your preclinical knowledge while also preparing you for the test. Mentors will understand that you need to dedicate time to classes and step 1 when planning research activities.

Most of all - don't go crazy worrying about what everybody else is doing, if you're good enough, if you are ahead of or behind the curve, etc. In my experience most ophtho attendings are pretty down to earth people who can sense anxiety in people. Try to find an ophtho activity you enjoy and a mentor that you like -- the more you enjoy what you are doing and relax, the more people will respond positively to you.

 

[docta9]

Often shadowing leads to a research project -MPMD (above)

I am just in the community, not a faculty member. If someone approached me, I have a project. It's a paper that is 95% done. Just needs a little proofreading and getting up to speed on how to submit the paper. If a medical student helped, it's a potential publication for them! ...but first, I need to find the box with the manuscript in it. Maybe others also offer the same possibilities?