going all out for ophtho vs backing up?

[rmorelan]

If they were genuinely interested in cardiac and had experience (electives, research, reference letters) then I think they would have a good chance of matching in second round.

 

If they hadn't ever been to a cardiac OR and were just looking for any residency spot; there would be no chance.

 

They usually few cardiac surgery as calling (well at least the ones I have talked to They really want to see dedication - and considering what is involved that probably is a good idea!

[KennethToronto]

What about the strong applicants with interest in both ophtho and cardiac sx, but ophtho > cardiac?

 

who the hell would have interest in both ophtho and cardiac sx? That's the most ridiculous combination of interests.

 

I would tell that applicant they're screwed and to choose one or the other.

[ophtho_gunner]

Can they check if you have withdrawn from the Match or CaRMS?

 

They cant.

 

But if you start residency after matching, youll have to withdraw halfway from fellowship. What reason would you give ? Got matched ? Not for me ? Either way youll make lot of enemies, ophtho is a small community, and youll be in trouble for your future career specially when time comes to do subspecialty training.

[Economist]

Go all out. IM is no longer a backup specialty. It's too competitive for that. And you may even compromise your ophtho chances by dividing your attention.

I just looked at the match statistics and there were 43 vacant spots for IM. Why is IM no longer a backup specialty?

[tooty]

Look at table 48, summary of vacancies by school and discipline https://www.carms.ca/assets/upload/pdfs/2013R1_MatchResults/Table_48_En.pdf

 

Out of those 43 vacancies, 19 are from french schools, 5 from NOSM, and 15 from Usask, 2 from manitoba.

 

The back up specialty is subjective and depends on how far you're willing to go. I'm personally not willing to go to nosm/sask/manitoba for a backup specialty especially if I'm planning out Carms early in med school. I'm assuming the OP isn't going for any french schools.

 

If nosm sask and manitoba are on your list then by all means backup with internal. Otherwise you're looking at 1 from U of A and 1 from Queen's.

[BennyBoo]

Duh genius. 10 is the maximum number of weeks you can do in ophtho anyways.

 

... says who exactly?

[Dontasemebro]

U of T had mentioned that they don't want you to do more than 10 weeks in Ophthalmology (there's an online source somewhere) and that they do take this into consideration when selecting who to interview. It's not clear how much it really matters though. U of T is one of those schools that actual credentials on paper >>>>> an elective (although this is my own anecdotal experience and from what I've heard and knowing others who did an elective but did not receive an interview). You usually get placed out in the middle of nowhere with one doc and never see the other staff/residents. Having gone through CaRMS this year I probably would not have done an elective there in hindsight since it wasn't all that helpful in getting to know the program. I believe that it's much more useful to do an elective at smaller program where you'll likely meet most of the staff and residents. Having said that, if they're for sure your # 1 choice, it's probably still a good idea to do an elective, but you'll really need to go out of your way to see the rest of the program and meet people. Your credentials probably count for a lot more. I would for sure not spend more than 2 weeks there. This year they selected only 15 people to interview for 4 spots.

 

Found it: http://www.utovs.com/education/residency-program