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Is it possible for a person to match into ophtho residency, but fail to match into an internship program?
Given that they are completely separate matches, the simple answer is Yes.
But most ophtho applicants are well qualified and competitive for most internships, so it is unlikely if you apply to enough programs and do enough interviews. I would recommend about 10 internship interview to feel safe, especially if you are considering competitive TY internships which also get great applicants from derm, rad-onc, rads, etc. I matched at my #3 for ophtho, a solid mid tier program but "fell" to #7 for internship. I thought I was going to match in my top 3 for sure and I ranked 9 so I probably came close to having to scramble for an internship like a surg prelim at my home institution (barf).
In addition, some ophtho programs will basically backdoor guarantee you a spot at their institution's internships if you match there. The internships typically being either a prelim med or transitional year, which are usually more rigorous because they are an the academic institution. Definitely something to think about because you won't have to stress the ERAS match and you will only have to move once.
Thanks for the info guys. And what would you talk about at the internship interview anyways? I mean for the ophtho ones, I'm sure the PD will want to get a feel for your interest in the field and want to know how you got interested, but what would you say for your internship interview (since everyone is obligated to do one)?
Thanks for the info guys. And what would you talk about at the internship interview anyways? I mean for the ophtho ones, I'm sure the PD will want to get a feel for your interest in the field and want to know how you got interested, but what would you say for your internship interview (since everyone is obligated to do one)?
Always wondered about this. Do people really only apply to 10 or so? For me I would ideally like to do prelim in the same city where I match ophtho, but I won't really have a good idea of where I might land until the interviews start coming in. When is the latest you can reasonably add programs to your list (I assume it would be overkill to apply to several programs in every city of every ophtho program you're applying to...)
Most internship interviews I had were almost unnecessary. The PD is just looking to fill up his or her slots for one year. They don't really care that much how. Questions were brief, like "why this program?", "tell me a patient scenario," or "where is your categorical program?" They barely lasted 5 minutes.