Another did not match thread

[futuresurgeonmd2016]

Hey all, I did not match this cycle, so disappointed. I was wondering if anyone can offer feedback on the chances of matching a second time around if I were to do a preresidency fellowship?

Brief background:
Step 1: 250s
Step 2CK: 240s
Top 20 medical school (not AOA, middle of class rank, M3 grades were mostly P/HP)
Research: few ophtho case reports published, couple of ophtho research studies submitted, a study in another field published as well
10 interview invites

Not really sure what I could have done to improve my app. Should I do a preresidency fellowship? What are some other options? Does anyone match if they do their PGY-1 year and reapply?

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[ojoseco]

See elementals post. I matched as prelim medicine intern this year, but im not a reapplicant. Im happy to answer any ?s u have about the logistics, feel free to PM me.

 

[eye love lamp]

Hey all, I did not match this cycle, so disappointed. I was wondering if anyone can offer feedback on the chances of matching a second time around if I were to do a preresidency fellowship?

Brief background:
Step 1: 250s
Step 2CK: 240s
Top 20 medical school (not AOA, middle of class rank, M3 grades were mostly P/HP)
Research: few ophtho case reports published, couple of ophtho research studies submitted, a study in another field published as well
10 interview invites

Not really sure what I could have done to improve my app. Should I do a preresidency fellowship? What are some other options? Does anyone match if they do their PGY-1 year and reapply?

Sorry about your news.

10 interviews is borderline enough. If you interviewed at all top 10 places then it's not enough.

How many places did you apply to?

 

[futuresurgeonmd2016]

I applied to 60+, and the interviews were a good mix, not all within the top echelon of rankings. Very confused

Sorry about your news.

10 interviews is borderline enough. If you interviewed at all top 10 places then it's not enough.

How many places did you apply to?

 

[OphthoApp]

I am very sorry. You can definitely match next time around.


How did your interviews go? I would honestly assess your ability to interview. I am now on faculty at an academic institution and I commonly see people unfortunately crumble in interviews. Some people have great personalities but sadly fall apart once one on one in an interview. For people who have this issue I recommend practice interviews with faculty at your home institution.

It's also very important not to come off as over confident. You want to be confident but not arrogant. It's a very important balance that some have trouble with. There are tons of good applicants and plenty of people who have 250s. They are looking for people who they want to spend hour after hour with each day. Ophtho interviews often are coming down to personality and whether or not you come across as someone they would want to spend 3 years teaching.

 

[atomi]

For what it's worth, I do know of people who matched ophtho after IM residency. I'm not sure if they were re-applicants or first time applicants. Best bet is to do IM, and reapply throughout. If you still can't get in by the end of residency, worst case you're a board certified IM doc with a bunch of fellowship options if you want. Not the end of the world.

 

[Dave89]

For what it's worth, I do know of people who matched ophtho after IM residency. I'm not sure if they were re-applicants or first time applicants. Best bet is to do IM, and reapply throughout. If you still can't get in by the end of residency, worst case you're a board certified IM doc with a bunch of fellowship options if you want. Not the end of the world.

Funding is a huge issue. If you start IM residency without having matched ophtho, you get three years of funding. Period.

What worked in the past will not work any longer.

 

[Mad Jack]

Funding is a huge issue. If you start IM residency without having matched ophtho, you get three years of funding. Period.

What worked in the past will not work any longer.

You get three years of full funding. After that you get half funding, from what I recall. Depending on where you're applying, that often isn't as big of a hurdle as it sounds, or so certain PDs have stated in the past.

 

[Dave89]

You get three years of full funding. After that you get half funding, from what I recall. Depending on where you're applying, that often isn't as big of a hurdle as it sounds, or so certain PDs have stated in the past.

Perhaps not. But with these rules, I can't imagine that PDs will rank anyone but superstars over traditional applicants.

 

[Mad Jack]

Perhaps not. But with these rules, I can't imagine that PDs will rank anyone but superstars over traditional applicants.

It depends on the way funding is handled in the hospital. If it is handled on a department-by-department basis, it tends to be a problem, whereas if it is handled by a central GME department it tends not to be, as one resident out of hundreds receiving half funding has little impact on the overall cost of residents for the hospital. I'll try and dig up some threads on it later, but basically, the PD was from a department that had centrally coordinated GME and thus didn't factor in the student's funding status at all.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Perhaps not. But with these rules, I can't imagine that PDs will rank anyone but superstars over traditional applicants.

You imagine wrong. I personally know two people who completed residencies and went to on to start different residencies last year, both of who were in 3 year programs. Half a year of direct GME funding is like 25-30K/year, basically a drop in the bucket compared to an overall hospital budget. You also get all your indirect funding, which in some cases is much more than the direct funding. Also keep in mind that most academic hospitals have 10s-20s of unfunded spots, as all the expanded spots they've opened since the 1990s have been unfunded by Medicare...so you might be just taking an unfunded spot anyway.

 

[Dave89]

It depends on the way funding is handled in the hospital. If it is handled on a department-by-department basis, it tends to be a problem, whereas if it is handled by a central GME department it tends not to be, as one resident out of hundreds receiving half funding has little impact on the overall cost of residents for the hospital. I'll try and dig up some threads on it later, but basically, the PD was from a department that had centrally coordinated GME and thus didn't factor in the student's funding status at all.

Th

You imagine wrong. I personally know two people who completed residencies and went to on to start different residencies last year, both of who were in 3 year programs. Half a year of direct GME funding is like 25-30K/year, basically a drop in the bucket compared to an overall hospital budget. You also get all your indirect funding, which in some cases is much more than the direct funding. Also keep in mind that most academic hospitals have 10s-20s of unfunded spots, as all the expanded spots they've opened since the 1990s have been unfunded by Medicare...so you might be just taking an unfunded spot anyway.

Fair enough, but you have to compare apples to apples. The dynamics of Ophtho residencies (which are frequently located in stand-alone eye centers) may not be the same as those of, say, General Surgery or Pediatrics residencies.

 

[Finagler]

Sorry to hear it man, hope it all works out. Anyone know if there are unfilled spots this year?

 

[futuresurgeonmd2016]

There are no unfilled spots this year per SF Match's email sent out this morning

 

[atomi]

Funding is a huge issue. If you start IM residency without having matched ophtho, you get three years of funding. Period.

What worked in the past will not work any longer.

You would start as a prelim in this scenario. Prelim years do not count to your funding limit. Your funding limit is set when you start your residency that leads to board eligibility (i.e., your categorical or advanced residency).

 

[Dave89]

You would start as a prelim in this scenario. Prelim years do not count to your funding limit. Your funding limit is set when you start your residency that leads to board eligibility (i.e., your categorical or advanced residency).

Perhaps that used to be true, but it is no longer (see pages 6-7):

https://members.aamc.org/eweb/upload/Medicare Payments for Graduate Medical Education 2013.pdf