what happens when you don't match...

[Casey]

Forgive me for being negative, but what do students interested in Rad Onc do if they are not one of the lucky 100 that year? If 400 people apply for 100 jobs, is there any hope for those that don't macth? Or is it a scramble to sign up for an Internal Medicine spot as quick as you can? I love Rad Onc, but the idea of graduating medical school without a job is rather scary...

By the way, I did ask our Dean about this issue. He told me "not to worry about it." Which made me worry even more...


Thanks,
Casey

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[ckent]

Your dean probably told you not to worry about it because he thought that you are a strong candidate. Basically, if you rank enough places and are flexible about your location, you should match if you are getting a good number interviews. I could be mistaken, but I think that even for the most competetive specialties, the overall match rates for american graduates is above 80%. Scrambling isn't the end of the world either, you may end up doing rad onc through the scramble, I've heard of people matching into specialties that they actually preferred but never thought that they could get in during the scramble. It's definitely scary scrambling though. I think that for rad onc, you won't be in that bad of position if you have to apply again next year since you have to do a prelim year anyways and that is a separate match.

 

[mpp]

Originally posted by ckent
even for the most competetive specialties, the overall match rates for american graduates is above 80%.

For radiation oncology, the U.S. match rate is less than 50%, unfortunately.

 

[MarkMarkMark]

. . . and there was not a single spot in Rad Onc to scramble into last year. If you have to scramble, you will not be doing Rad Onc.

 

[ckent]

Hmm. Well, I stand corrected. But your dean still had the right idea though, you should apply to a lot of places, rank a lot of places, and just see what happens. You should also be talking to any rad onc residents/attendings to see how competetive they think that you are. Hopefully, someone will tell you flat out if they think that you have a good chance of not matching. Sorry for the misinformation.

 

[radonc]

when i applied as a med student, i did not match. i had 12 interviews, ranked all 12 but it didnt happen. so i reapplied as a medicine intern and matched. but, during my intern year, there were a handful of spots that opened up (so i wouldnt have to miss year), and that i interviewed at, like iowa. you have to keep your ear to the grind (aka secretaries at the programs) and other radonc residents. spots open up all the time. for example, i found out a spot at a top 5 program opened up when a resident transferred to another program. keep your contacts at your med school, let them know to keep an ear open for you. its tough, but spots do open up.

 

[radonc]

oh and when i applied as a med student there were 2 spots open at roswell in buffalo. and they didnt scramble. over 150 people 'scrambled' (aka applied) after they didnt match (including myself). they took their time, interviewed 10 candidates, and took the pick of the litter (which was pretty damn good). oh i didnt even interview.

btw, buffalo only submitted 5 people on their rank list, or thats what the secretary said during the scrambling period.

 

[stephew]

indeed rad onc is very difficult to get. But member Radonc actually seems to be in the know-= if you dont match scrambling will not likely be a great opportunity, but occasionally spots open up (people drop out for whatever reason) and you have to keep your ear to the ground. One of our 3rd year residents got in that way.