Help with number of transitional/prelim

[#athleticsloth]

DO here applying for ACGME radiology this year. Wondering if anyone can shed some light as to how many transitional/prelim programs they applied to/interviewed at and any advice with the process? I have heard conflicting opinions on the matter. At the risk of sounding lazy I have been focusing on cushier community transitional/prelim intern year programs but am obviously open to whatever if it comes down to it. Any other DOs out there at any transitional year programs they can recommend??

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[AdmiralChz]

Bear in mind that, in general, the cushier the TY/PY? the more competitive it is. Even more so for a DO, except probably for mid-west. So you will need to apply to more than you would probably think.

I don't have specific advice on numbers, though. My friends who went through this interviewed at an equal number of residency and TY/PY spots. Mostly at the same institution so you only have to move once.

 

[xPhantom]

I'm a TY at Presence Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, IL. I'm not a DO, but there are quite a few in the prelim medicine class. The TY and prelim year here are pretty similar, with the difference that TYs do one month of ER and one month of trauma while the prelims spend those two months doing wards. I think prelims are also required to do an ICU month. Otherwise, both programs get 3 electives (ophtho, radiology, anesthesia, etc.) + 2 medicine electives. They are very DO friendly here, and I'm really enjoying my TY year here so far. I would recommend applying here or any of the other Presence programs in the Chicago area!

 

[Carlin]

If it's still the same as when I applied 4 years ago, then there is flat rate for the first ten applications in one specialty. Any additional programs in that specialty, then the cost starts to increase. Because of this I applied to 10 prelim IM and 10 TY programs (because it cost the same as applying to fewer).

Keep in mind that your prelim interviews are going to take a backseat to your advanced program interviews, so try to apply to places that will be easy for you to get to. It's hard to justify flying across the country just for a prelim interview when you're already crazy busy trying to squeeze in all your radiology interviews. Applying to any and all local programs will make it really easy to get your interviews scheduled since you won't have to travel for them.

In the end, where you do your intern year really doesn't matter. It's a good idea to just attempt to increase the number of interviews you go on, so that you have a better chance of matching somewhere.

 

[SRC1987]

Try to focus your TY applications to states you have ties to. For ex: where you currently live and where you're from. If you have top programs in mind for your advanced program talk to them and see if they can help you get an interview at their associated TY/prelim year. If you don't hear from TY programs you're interested in I would recommend contacting them directly and explain why you are interested. Applying to 10 TY and 10 prelim, as mentioned above, is a good start. A lot also depends on the strength of your application.