My first 2 interviews for residency as a near Saba graduate

[MrScottyMD]

I just completed interviews at my first 2 programs for family medicine. Fortunately for me Family medicine is my first choice and of course the easiest residency to get. Both programs were University Based and were household names that everyone in the United States has heard of. Ironically both program directors were familiar with Saba and both programs decided to interview me one month prior to when they technically begin interviews at all. I merely picked up the phone after I submitted the ERAS application and asked if I could interview. (Needless to say board scores help). The interviews were relaxed and each program had 5 faculty where you interview with each seperately. (30 minutes with each) Usually one of the five is either a behaviorist or a psychiatrist. Both programs ask questions like why this field and of course why a foreign medical school. Another popular question was if you could change one aspect of yourself what would you change. Other than that they let you do the talking to see if your crazy or not. Being a foreign student was absolutely not a negative. It is a dilemma though whether to go with the big name for family medicine or community based. I have found when it comes to the job market in certain areas after talking to some chief residents who are just entering the job market that having a good name with your diploma does not hurt. I have 5 interviews so far of the 36 programs I have applied. I got rejected by one family program but I didnt realize that for some family medicine programs you actually need a transitional post graduate year before you apply. I just wanted to ease any doubts about residency and being foreign trained. Best of luck to All, Scott Jones DC MS IV

[Ferrarijp]

Thanks MrScotty MD. I am hoping you can give me a little history on clincial rotations. Did SABA set up your core rotations at greenbook facilities, and if so, is that common? Also, how about a little advice on how one sets up elective rotations? (maybe a topic for a different thread) From your letter, it seems to be a big advantage to have completed STEP II and have scores in hand before applying...
On the other side of the spectrum, is there a distinct advantage to have step I completed (assuming great scores) before SABA assigns ones' first core rotation? I have quite not researched the timing of it all yet, but it sounds as if some students after successfuly completing their fifth semester, take a kaplan review, take step I, and then start their cores. Correct or not? Thanks again

[MrScottyMD]

All of the students that i know had greenbook cores and that is perfectly adequate for most states except PA and TX as far as I know where you need greenbook electives also. Saba will give you some preferential treatment with a higher score. Where the good Step One Score comes in to help is when you are going for electives. Before my score results I was outright rejected at many places to do electives and typically did electives where I did my cores as they take you with open arms. Once I had my scores I called several programs that turned me down for electives ealier, told them I was interested in their residency, told them my scores, then all of the sudden they were open for electives. Just do as good as you can on the boards. At the minium though you do want to pass on the first attempt. There is a large number of residencies including family practice that will not grant an interview if you have multiple attempts to pass. So it is better to pass on the first attempt and get a low score than it is to have multiple attempts. Bottom line is you cant get your foot into the door if you dont get an interview. Best of luck to you. Sincerely, Scott Jones DC MS IV

[MrScottyMD]

Most students do take Kaplan and now of course Saba offers it in fifth semester. I was on the phone with the clinical dept. at Gardner last week and I was informed that the first attempt pass rate is up dramatically at Saba since they started offering the review. The review they had before Kaplan was absolutely terrible. (I actually tuned it out completely and studied on my own) My advice is to take the review seriously on the island. Take Kaplan again when off the island and make sure you do all the practice exams as you should be able to go through the videos much quicker the second time and you will do quite well on the boards. Get A's and B's in classes though because Kaplan alone it not enough but easily the icing on the cake. I feel for sure my score was 20 or 25 points on each STEP because of Kaplan. You only need roughly 20 more questions right above the national average to be one standard deviation above the national mean. Any more qustions you get right than that will put you 2 standard deviations above the mean. (and in very good shape) I hope this answers your question. Sincerely, Scott Jones