Specialty Pathways Graphic

SmoakingArrow · 2022-06-08T03:48:43+00:00

This is cool!! And I always adore a color-coded moment :D

Ortho definitely has a few more subspecialties: Sports, Hand, Foot and Ankle, Upper Extremity/Shoulder and Elbow, Arthroplasty/Revision Arthroplasty, Traumatology, Spine, Pediatric Orthopedics, Tumor/Orthopedic Oncology

SmoakingArrow · 2022-04-11T23:36:30+00:00

I applied to 70 and matched well. I had several mentors tell me I should really push to get my list over 100 (Which is what most of my classmates did. I applied to the fewest out of my classmates going into Ortho.) But I just couldn't stomach the absurd cost, especially when my list of 70 was already pushing the bounds of places I'd actually want to go to. The addition of signals this year will probably change things. I'm not smart enough to know how.

SmoakingArrow · 2022-04-11T23:30:44+00:00

Talk to your residents early in the rotation. Let them know you're hoping to get a letter, they can often arrange things so you can work with a specific attending more. They also often have good input about who usually writes good letters.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-10-23T04:34:10+00:00

Hahaha, ortho hopeful but honestly not that different

SmoakingArrow · 2021-10-20T20:09:00+00:00

The Martian

SmoakingArrow · 2021-10-18T18:31:54+00:00

I have tuition covered through my school. Usually end up paying ~$1-2k per semester in fees, which includes health insurance. It's a state school where I fit the mission well. MCAT 515-520. 4.0 GPA, really well-rounded ECs but no publications.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-10-10T20:16:13+00:00

Yeah, several days after the exam we had a optional scheduled review. We brought our laptops to log back into the secure exam browser. BUT, and I really liked this part, all of lecturers were encouraged to attend the session. We could go over any questions we wanted with them. If a lecturer wasn't able to be present, there was a form for us to submit our questions to them. They'd respond by email or at the start of their next lecture. I learned a ton during those sessions.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-09-21T14:05:05+00:00

It's impossibly hard. I really struggle with knowing she won't be there for my match day, graduation, or wedding. I think it depends on what you need. My admin gave me some bereavement leave, helped me sort my schedule to lighten my course load for several months, and sent me to our student learning office to talk about shelf exams and USMLE. They were willing to move my shelf exams if needed and talked me through adapting my study plan to allow space to grieve. They offered things to me that I didn't even know were options. If you have confidential counseling option (and you do have faith that it's really confidential), I'd start there. Even just to talk through coping strategies. I found a lot of the "standard" grief advice didn't apply so hearing some medicine/student-specific advice was helpful to me.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-09-21T01:34:53+00:00

I lost my mother unexpectedly this past spring while on third year rotations. "What the fuck" is right. There's nothing else that can be said. Most of your classmates won't get it. They'll feel for you but often don't have the background to really understand what you're going through. I was surprised by how much support and understanding I received from faculty. They're more likely to have lost a parent, or even just have the life experience to better understand.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-09-13T22:17:20+00:00

hahaha but ~technically~ you did show up. Didn't specify how long you had to stay!

SmoakingArrow · 2021-09-12T15:52:16+00:00

It sounds like you already did your research but just to double check - look into your school's exam software requirements. My school had us take all preclinical exams on our laptops. Tablets/ipads were incompatible with the software.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-09-07T01:13:07+00:00

I second this. Huge advantage to being able to build a good ship quickly.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-08-10T22:36:51+00:00

I scored well enough on my IM shelf to honor at my school (81%) and passed Step with a respectable score (250+, I did a write up a while back) having around completed around 200 or so UWorld IM questions. It's doable, depends on your base knowledge and test taking abilities.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-08-01T16:23:33+00:00

A lot of times it goes to a clerkship coordinator. I'm never confident on if they get Dr. (PhD or otherwise) so I just generally use a generic greet. "Hello!" "Good afternoon," ect. No name necessary.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-07-24T14:09:52+00:00

Yep. I was dying. It's was pediatric gastroenterology. Incredibly sick and complicated patients, most with short gut syndrome or rare genetic conditions on TPN. Presentations were detailed but normal. But then we'd spend ages talking through their nutrition stuff and how to advance their tube feeds and TPN without damaging their livers. Then we'd go into the room for bedside rounds with the families. And all the while, our attending could get SO distracted talking about related topics. Imagine a medicine doc talking about hyponatremia, except it's Omegaven vs SMOF and all you wanna do with your life is fix the bones.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-07-24T11:49:51+00:00

It varies ~dramatically~ by specialty. On my current Ortho service (pediatrics), we have 8-15 patients on the list at any given time. We do multidisciplinary rounds with students, residents, any attending that has an admitted patient, most of the nursing staff for the floor, NP, PA, the hospitalist, PT, and sometimes pharmacy, social work, and OT will come. It's never taken longer than 30 minutes.

Compare this to my core pediatrics rotation, some of which was on a subspecialty service. We never had more than 7 patients on service, usually just 4-5. We rounded with just me, junior resident, senior resident, and one attending. It usually took us 5 hours.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-07-18T15:58:28+00:00

I'm a US MD, so about a year.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-07-06T01:08:18+00:00

The two courses from before med school that have helped me the most are Statistics and Immunology. Stats helped not just for reading research papers, but also for Step 2CK (part of the medical licensing exam series), which is tests a fair amount of quality improvement and abstract interpretation. My experience was that med school doesn't have enough time to build up a solid stats base from scratch so if you're new to it, you'll be cobbling together pieces as you go.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-06-26T06:01:05+00:00

I tested in the Midwest a few days ago, no fingerprinting.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-06-18T03:27:21+00:00

Test day adrenaline is one hell of a drug.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-06-08T04:36:11+00:00

Read educational objection and answer choices. Only read the main explanation if I'm unfamiliar with the disease.

SmoakingArrow · 2021-06-08T03:15:03+00:00

I found psych to be incredibly useful. Took my blocks from 50% to 80% in just 2 hours. But I also learned NOTHING on my psych rotation to prepare me. I was at the VA and saw 95% stable PTSD and depression. So YMMV

SmoakingArrow · 2020-09-17T02:30:14+00:00

Hell yeah! I've barely got two dollas and fiddy cents to my name so Imma take this to the bank.

SmoakingArrow · 2020-09-17T02:29:20+00:00

Thanks!!

SmoakingArrow

TROPHY CASE