ac84 Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 So far, I only have 2 invites for a competitive specialty. I have a strong background with a lot of research in the field, most clinical evals were strong and honours with one bad eval (Bad as in average, no red flags). I guess I must have picked ****ty letters but whatever the reason, its not looking great. In terms of contingency plans, if I'm set on a particular field, what is the best way to go about it. 1. Apply to FM in 2nd round, do more research and try to get in again afterwards (I realize this puts you in the 2nd round for Canada, not sure if it puts you in the second round in the US or not). 2. Apply to a 5yr program in 2nd round (either path or internal, as that's usually whats left) and hope for a transfer. 3. Wait a year and improve my application. (Will have some more pubs, but I don't think this was really the problem anyways, I question how much I can do if I'm not in a clinical setting to improve on my record) The only thing about this option is that I could also apply broadly in the US next year. 4. Any better ideas? Hope other people are having better luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justletmein Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Before you start worrying about contingency plans, a few questions: -Have you gotten many rejections? -Are there many programs you haven't heard from yet? Programs send out invites until early january so it may be too early to panic. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Agree, many programs have still not sent out invites. As for contingency plans, there have been a few threads here in the past.. I remember Ian Wong went through these options in a post. Regarding your options: not sure if there is any advantage to applying to FM instead of a 5 year program in the 2nd round - unless you could see yourself doing FM (+/- third year) or you desire a particular location - as you could also apply to CaRMS in the second round from a 5 year program next year. Some people wait a year, but I think you will have to significantly improve your application (get new letters, etc.) and sell yourself as someone who was just unlucky the first time to overcome the stigma of being a prior year applicant in a competitive pool. It's prudent to think about these things now, since the schedule for the 2nd round is extremely tight (e.g. need to ask for new letters while still reeling from unmatch result), but hopefully it won't come to this for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man_2ba Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 So far, I only have 2 invites for a competitive specialty. I have a strong background with a lot of research in the field, most clinical evals were strong and honours with one bad eval (Bad as in average, no red flags). I guess I must have picked ****ty letters but whatever the reason, its not looking great. In terms of contingency plans, if I'm set on a particular field, what is the best way to go about it. 1. Apply to FM in 2nd round, do more research and try to get in again afterwards (I realize this puts you in the 2nd round for Canada, not sure if it puts you in the second round in the US or not). 2. Apply to a 5yr program in 2nd round (either path or internal, as that's usually whats left) and hope for a transfer. 3. Wait a year and improve my application. (Will have some more pubs, but I don't think this was really the problem anyways, I question how much I can do if I'm not in a clinical setting to improve on my record) The only thing about this option is that I could also apply broadly in the US next year. 4. Any better ideas? Hope other people are having better luck. So what happened more Invites yet ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazow Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Also depends on which specialty OP applied to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ac84 Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 It's hard to offer more details without compromising anonymity. Still, I'm curious about contingencies in the case where its not research and time in the field, but something else holding back the application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Best thing to do now is to focus on rocking on your interviews - if you have 4, you have a chance. Prepare like you did for medical school. You just need one school to rank you high enough to match. Not sure what else to add about contingencies except they are just that - figure out something you could be satisfied doing +/- apply to your 1st choice again. You can get new reference letters, but you can't change your clinical evals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Focus on being a star at your interviews. Sit down and think of all the possible questions you could be asked. Draft up notes on the points you want to hit for each answer. Then practice answering them in front of a mirror over and over. The key is to freestyle things enough that it doesn't sound rehearsed, but still hit all your major points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I hate to say it bro, but you probably rub people the wrong way. I can't judge as to why that is, or whether or not its justified. But having no love from ALL of your away electives puts you in the exact same position as this old classmate of mine. He was smart and diligent, but watching him interact with people was like seeing Team Canada in the World Juniors last night. And worse, I don't know what advice I can give you to remedy it. As for clinical evals, the way to do it is to rock the crap out of your first year of residency if it is not in the thing you want to do, get good evals, and then switch using those. You're really only as good as the last thing you've done. Might as well call and request an interview at the places that shut you out. It's worked for some in the past, and you have nothing to lose. But seriously, PREPARE FOR YOUR INTERVIEWS! I wonder if there are any interview career coaches associated with your school. Hit them up. And if it does come to the loser round for you, check which provinces restrict loser matchers from switching specialties in PGY1. Ontario does this. Ontario must feel that losers should feel lucky they have the scraps from which they must eat. Ontario, is in general, *******s when it comes to how they treat residents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ac84 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 I hate to say it bro, but you probably rub people the wrong way. I can't judge as to why that is, or whether or not its justified. I think you were trying to be constructive, but I still think it is extremely presumptuous and wrong. I know 3 other people applying to this field who also got widely rejected by the elective sites they visited (and only one of them fits the description of your friend). Up to 5 interviews now. I suppose you're still right though, find a way to rock the interviews I do have. Worry about the rest later. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laika Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 3. Wait a year and improve my application. (Will have some more pubs, but I don't think this was really the problem anyways, I question how much I can do if I'm not in a clinical setting to improve on my record) The only thing about this option is that I could also apply broadly in the US next year. I know of three strong applicants to ophtho this year who had taken last year off to work in ophtho research environments. While I don't think there was any patient contact, they did get significant face time with staff. Not sure what you applied to, but this helps explain why ophtho is so competitive this year (three strong applicants were added to a tiny pool of spots). I know some ophtho-gunners this year didn't get interviews at their home school where they did electives and research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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