Scramble Update and Advice
Written by Brian on March 24, 2009 – 9:26 am -I discussed some of this in previous posts, but here’s an update:
I was operating under the advice of many when planning the match. I was told several times that there are always EM spots available in the scramble, as long as you are willing to go to some podunk town in BFE for residency. My desire to stay on the west coast was strong, both for myself and my wife’s career. I decided to apply to and rank only west coast programs, and if I didn’t match – I didn’t care where I went.
After the Osteopathic match – programs were calling and emailing me for days to get me to interview. I told them all that I was waiting for the allopathic match. Most responded that they would not wait to fill their spots. I decided to take my chances.
Despite good grades, scores, and audition rotations – I didn’t match.
On Tuesday, I scrambled from home because I live in SoCal. I scanned my CAF, board scores, and LORs in PDF format so that I could email them to program directors. At 9 AM, I emailed everyone. I made phone calls from my cell phone and used my land line to fax my app. I submitted ERAS apps to everyone that had an open spot. I GOT NOTHING BUT BUSY SIGNALS from 9AM to noon. I tried, but even the Osteopathic programs that had been courting me earlier had filled.
When I re-checked the NRMP site, every program had filled except Puerto Rico. I quickly switched gears and started applying to IM and Traditional Internships. I got one interview, and although they loved me, they questioned my dedication to IM because my personal statement and LORs all said EM.
Luckily, a program director heard that I was scrambling and saved me a spot at a Traditional Internship. I have a job for next year. My current plan is to work my ass off and pray that I can fall into a PGY-II spot somewhere. If not, I have no qualms about repeating my intern year. The difference between an intern salary and an emergency physician salary is roughly $150,000. That means that my match strategy was a $150,000 mistake. Please don’t make the same mistake.
Some advice:
- Schedule audition rotations toward the end of the interview season at your top picks so that you will be fresh in their minds when making their rank list. Schedule a “Practice” rotation before then, so that you can learn the ropes. I did an audition rotation first thing fourth year. By the time they made the rank list, I was a distant memory. I was also very green early in my fourth year, so I didn’t have the knowledge and experience that showed in later auditions.
- Don’t count on the scramble. I heard from many people that even traditionally non-competitive programs like OB-GYN and PEDS filled quickly. Apply to a lot of programs, interview at a lot of places, and rank at least 10.
- Don’t count on the NRMP match. If you do the allopathic match – set up a contingency plan. Rank a few spots in another specialty or at Transitional/Internship years at the end of your rank list just in case.
- Plan to scramble early. Even some people at the top of our class had to scramble. When you get letters of recommendation, ask the writers if they can write two copies – one geared toward your specialty, and a generic one. Write a generic personal statement and upload it to ERAS just in case you need to scramble into another specialty. Continue collecting letters of recommendation even after interview season – you might get a great letter in ERAS that can be used in the scramble.
- TAKE BOARDS EARLY. The COMLEX-II is much easier than step I. If you did poorly or even mediocre, you can easily look good by scoring better on step II. If you do have to scramble, many programs will ask if you have passed your boards and are on track for graduation. If you fail an exam and have to re-take it, that may look bad at the last minute.
Good luck everyone!
Bri
Tags: healthcare, Medicine, schoolPosted in Personal | No Comments »
?
