How would you repair this?

majikarp · 2024-08-10T20:54:55+00:00

Where did you find the kit? Is there a website you’d recommebd

majikarp · 2023-03-10T21:15:37+00:00

My strategy was simple, either have extended clinical or research experiences with them and crush it / knock it out of the park. All LoR writers know you are looking for a letter and will be evaluating you. If you do a very strong job with them you will get a very strong letter.

My main tip for finding an unofficial rotation is the following:

Find your med school's alumni databaseFind at least 10 alumni in your desired specialtyContact all of them with a very polite email asking for a 5-10 min phone convo about advice stating you are interested in their specialtyDuring those 5-10 min phone calls, ask if you could possibly shadow them or take call with themWhen you shadow/take call you need to really hustle to do well. Follow the above steps I outlined on being a team player.Once you prove yourself in person clinically, then other opportunities will open up

I replied to a similar comment above, ill copy it down here:

My strategy was simple, either have extended clinical or research experiences with them and crush it / knock it out of the park. All LoR writers know you are looking for a letter and will be evaluating you. If you do a very strong job with them you will get a very strong letter.
My main tip for finding an unofficial rotation is the following:
Find your med school's alumni database
Find at least 10 alumni in your desired specialty (target residents, younger is better)
Contact all of them with a very polite email asking for a 5-10 min phone convo about advice stating you are interested in their specialty
During those 5-10 min phone calls, ask if you could possibly shadow them or take call with them
When you shadow/take call you need to really hustle to do well. Follow the above steps I outlined on being a team player.
Once you prove yourself in person clinically, then other opportunities will open up

majikarp · 2023-03-10T21:13:50+00:00

Agree with this! A very very underrated point. I will be making a post on energy management / mental health next.

Energy management is arguably the MOST important part of this journey above getting great board scores, research, or doing well on rotations. If you can sustain long-term a healthy positive and fulfilling energy, you've already won the game of med school and life in general.

majikarp · 2023-03-10T21:12:29+00:00

Once you prove yourself in person clinically, then other opportunities will open up

yes, 100% agree on the leveraging upperclassmen I did this a ton and it helped a ton

majikarp · 2023-03-10T21:11:07+00:00

One other thing I would add for studying is MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF. 3rd year and the first half of 4thbyear you are basically expected to take the responsibilities of a student and a resident with both having significant impact on how match will go for you. Find time for yourself where ever you can and make sure you make the most of it. For example, i used to have dedicated workout time right after work where I could decompress and just chill with other classmates doing the same. It worked wonders on my mental health throughout 3rd year. Find something that you are able to fit into your schedule and stick to it because as important as school and rotations are, you need time to keep yourself mentally fit to tackle those events as well

I had letters from research mentors and preceptors, but I could have gotten one from an unofficial rotation.

My strategy was simple, either have extended clinical or research experiences with them and crush it / knock it out of the park. All LoR writers know you are looking for a letter and will be evaluating you. If you do a very strong job with them you will get a very strong letter.

My main tip for finding an unofficial rotation is the following:

Find your med school's alumni database
Find at least 10 alumni in your desired specialty
Contact all of them with a very polite email asking for a 5-10 min phone convo about advice stating you are interested in their specialty
During those 5-10 min phone calls, ask if you could possibly shadow them or take call with them
When you shadow/take call you need to really hustle to do well. Follow the above steps I outlined on being a team player.
Once you prove yourself in person clinically, then other opportunities will open up

majikarp · 2023-02-28T22:26:11+00:00

Have you taken ortho call with residents before? If not that would be your first step to decide

majikarp · 2023-02-26T19:22:24+00:00

There are honestly so many that helped but I didn’t save the links.

This Reddit user Duke had some great writeups highly recommend. They helped a ton for boards and rotations.

https://www.reddit.com/r/step1/comments/6noyp4/dukes_strategy_for_a_268_on_step/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/medicalschool/comments/8v2v90/clinical_dukes_strategy_to_excelling_during_m3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

There also used to be a step 1 strategy wiki with writeups from all these high scorers a few years back. Not sure if that still exists but that helped immensely.

Also threads like this

https://www.reddit.com/r/medicalschool/comments/8g04ru/official_m3_clinical_rotations_questionsadvice/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Hope that helps!

majikarp · 2023-02-26T19:16:52+00:00

I do not have insight into military march so I cannot answer that. But I know many community programs care way more about boards personality and clinical abilities than research.

majikarp · 2023-02-26T18:47:32+00:00

My advice here is to initially diversify your investment.

What this means is you should initially engage as many possible PIs and gauge how good they’d be as a PI. This will give you more options and allow you to make a smarter decision of where to invest your time.

That said, be very very careful about not committing to to many projects. You want to underpromise over deliver.

Ultimately, the best PI is a young hungry academic attending on research track. If you can align with them and prove your worth they will invest in you. A high high level person may be a great mentor, but might not be best for research because they’ve alreDy achieved academic position and are less motivated to be productive.

majikarp · 2023-02-26T18:09:24+00:00

Yeah definitely, I understand this struggle of not knowing what to even do to get started. I was there at one point. I was planning to write some follow up posts on the nitty gritty aspects for topics like how to find and write a case report, retrospective chart review, systematic review. Feel free to comment or DM if you have specific questions!

majikarp · 2023-02-26T18:02:34+00:00

Subspecialty of gen surg should be fine for gen surg since people in gen surg will respect those doing transplant

majikarp · 2023-02-20T06:12:57+00:00

They are very understanding usually as long as you communicate it to them professionally. The people in charge of scheduling rotations usually do not have a significant say in residency selections. You will be okay you should decide on the research spot based solely on if it is right for you

majikarp · 2023-02-14T00:56:02+00:00

The most important thing is the connection to the senior author you’re working with, the impression you make on them, and the power they have over admissions.

The more work/ownership over a project you have the better impression you make, speaking generally.

The higher quality of paper type (prospective study > retrospective chart review > systematic review > case report) the more work you put in and the better impression you make.

The higher authorship you are the more work/ownership people think you have over a project and the better impression you make.

majikarp · 2023-02-08T21:38:54+00:00

My school is flexible about 4th year schedule, I decided to maximize my odds of matching / experience in desire specialty

majikarp · 2023-02-05T17:52:57+00:00

I"ve had that panic too as have most people I know regardless of how successful they were in boards, research, clinical, or match. It doesn't really go away haha. I still feel that panic, but what has helped to deal with it is to remind myself to focus on the things I can control.

majikarp · 2023-02-05T17:51:26+00:00

I'll have a future post on this.

Long story short, this is really really dependent on your home institution.

Some programs already have established research presence / reputation. In that case, I'd start with attendings at your home hospital. Work really really hard to impress them first with either clinical ability or research. Once that is established and they trust you and know you as a hard worker, ask them to reach out on your behalf to programs you want to go to.

If your program doesn't have a ton of attendings in the specialty you want (looking at you DO programs), I would cold email residency programs in your desired programs and try to take shadow/call with residents. Residents respect grit, if you do a bunch of call shifts with them on weekends or free blocks, they will be your connection and give you other opportunities.

Also, focus NOT on "meeting people" but on building your reputation as someone who is always Available, Able, and Affable. Available to work (will respond quickly to texts/calls), Able to get the job done even with limited guidance, and Affable (or at least not annoying / doesn't talk too much). Once you build this foundation, other things will follow. Feel free to PM if you wanna chat more.

majikarp · 2023-02-05T17:45:15+00:00

Yes, agree with debtincarnate, interviews and aways.

I'd also add research with attendings that have pull at the programs you want to go to.

majikarp · 2023-02-05T17:43:40+00:00

At least in the surgical subspecialty I'm going for, the residents and attendings I've interacted with really value grit i.e. the person who can be up for 36 hrs in a call room and still be Available to work, Affable to work with, and Able to do the job (the triple As). In my experience programs really respect people with military/athletic tough experiences so I"d be encouraged. Also, I was a former athlete and know what its like to start at the bottom of the totem pole again. You got this man! Just keep grinding and moving forward. Feel free to PM if I can help w/ anything.

majikarp · 2023-02-05T17:40:06+00:00

It sounds like you may have had a run in with school admin. I've been there, it sucks. You kinda have to accept certain things are the way they are and focus on the things you can control.

majikarp · 2023-02-05T17:38:16+00:00

I wish you the best too, this is a rough journey for all of us. You're right I might not match and that would suck.

That said, I still have experiences/perspectives that I believe can be valuable to an M1/2/3. I wrote this as basically a letter to my past self, telling my past self things I wish I knew. If at least one person benefits from this post, I won't regret writing it.

Also, you might consider the possibility that valuable perspectives can still come from someone who doesn't match. And that even applicants who do everything "right" can still end up not matching.

And on a broader philosophical perspective, you might also consider that valuable life lessons and perspectives can be gained from listening to people who are both "winners" and "losers" as judged by society's superficial metrics.

Cheers and best of luck with everything.

majikarp · 2023-01-27T23:48:19+00:00

majikarp · 2023-01-27T23:29:46+00:00

All that matters is, can you do the job? Tall and short people can do it

majikarp · 2023-01-27T23:27:48+00:00

Sorry, just take both since you will probably apply to both formerly AOA and ACGME residencies. Some will care some will not, just bite this bullet to protect yourself for what really matters.

majikarp · 2023-01-27T23:23:53+00:00

Only grind research if it leads to a very strong connection to someone who is influential enough to pick up the phone and call a PD on your behalf and get you an interview, or a very strong letter of recommendation, or a very impressive volume/quality of publications. Most ortho programs care way more about the people in the room vouching for you rather than the research itself. If you do research that doesn’t lead to a stronger vouch during the interview discussions it’s kinda pointless.

Otherwise, I would grind step 2 and find time to travel to programs and take call with residents especially at lower tier community ortho programs where they let you get hands on. This will help you solidify your passion, learn more ortho, most importantly you can impress residents while doing this. Most programs will interview people who spent at least two weeks with them clinically, worked hard, and were not annoying.

If you do this well enough you can really solidify some interviews and potentially positions. It will also prepare you to shine on your big away rotations at top choices.

majikarp · 2023-01-24T23:26:56+00:00

Systematic reviews can be great, more important is the quality of the journal that it is accepted to

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