How to stay sane during CARMS

[MDmaybe99]

Hi friends,

I know it's inevitable but the CARMS stress is so real... wondering how people are staying sane, not burned out from applications on top of rotations.

Our cohort did not get the chance to do away electives.. how then are we supposed to find out "why X school for X specialty?" program descriptions on CARMS website is so generic, wondering how to make it compelling on a personal letter...

[Bambi]

Back in the day, I was interested in a surgical specialty and I applied only at my home school where I was known and was accepted.

[shikimate]

This "no away elective" is certainly a huge stressor. Perhaps instead of finding the "best" match/program, people will have to settle for an "acceptable" match/program. Again, if someone wants both location and program, they are more likely to get disappointed. If one could accept a trade-off between location or program, maybe they will be more content.

If the question is match vs unmatch, then one must ask themselves "is it acceptable to do something else for a job". Aka if you are reasonably competent in something but you are not most enthusiastic about it, can you still see yourself doing it to earn wage. 

If you match to something/somewhere undesirable to you, are you still able to find some positives that could keep you going for a while before you can open up other alternatives. For example, you want big city for residency but matched to small city, well at least cost of living is likely lower, so you can at least have less debt when you finish residency. After residency you can still find other ways to land a job in a bigger city.

If you match to a 2nd/3rd choice specialty, try to find some aspect of that specialty that at least arouse your interest a bit more. Nobody loves every aspect of a specialty. For example one might "love" dermatology but not that many dermatologists are thrilled about nail disorders or cutaneous T cell disorders. 

[IMislove]

1 hour ago, shikimate said:

This "no away elective" is certainly a huge stressor. Perhaps instead of finding the "best" match/program, people will have to settle for an "acceptable" match/program. Again, if someone wants both location and program, they are more likely to get disappointed. If one could accept a trade-off between location or program, maybe they will be more content.

If the question is match vs unmatch, then one must ask themselves "is it acceptable to do something else for a job". Aka if you are reasonably competent in something but you are not most enthusiastic about it, can you still see yourself doing it to earn wage. 

If you match to something/somewhere undesirable to you, are you still able to find some positives that could keep you going for a while before you can open up other alternatives. For example, you want big city for residency but matched to small city, well at least cost of living is likely lower, so you can at least have less debt when you finish residency. After residency you can still find other ways to land a job in a bigger city.

If you match to a 2nd/3rd choice specialty, try to find some aspect of that specialty that at least arouse your interest a bit more. Nobody loves every aspect of a specialty. For example one might "love" dermatology but not that many dermatologists are thrilled about nail disorders or cutaneous T cell disorders. 

Yes, this is all very true. Happened to me, and I am actually content with how things turned out now. And when I hear of how miserable residents are or the things they miss in life while in similar specialties to what I wanted, I feel much happier how things went for myself. Overall, it is a job that takes a lot of time away from the things you enjoy and the time from those you care about. So yes, best to be open to what may happen vs being hyper focused on a very specific outcome.