which residencies are competitive?

[Miklos]

I would bet that the following specialties will remain super competitive (in no particular order):

• Dermatology
• Radiation Oncology
• Plastic Surgery
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Neurological Surgery
• Opthalmology
• Otolaryngology
• Urology

Why?

They offer great financial possibilities and/or are great lifestyle choices. (The more specialized the field, the fewer practioners -- demand usually outstrips supply.)

IMO, others that probably will continue to be competitive:

• Diagnostic Radiology
• Anesthesiology
• Emergency Medicine
• General Surgery

[aye5882]

Originally Posted by butters

as far as university based im residencies...are these really competitive for img's?

i was looking up a couple of websites of university im programs (wash u, univ of wash, etc), and didn't find too many img's listed as residents (maybe 1 or 2 and none were carib grads). Is that b/c they prefer grads from other countries over carib grads? I know every program differs, but if anyone has any info from their experiences, that would help.

anybody have any suggestions on how to make ureself stronger for these programs...do a sub-i there or any other rotations?

thanks for your replies!

what's an im residency??

my aunt's friend who works @ the university of washington said that main reason why they don't take IMG's is because of their lack of research experience. i believe u of wash. is pretty high up there in ranking w/ research... so thats one of their main criteria for selecting residents.

i'm not sure if she's talking about research experience during medical school or undergrad. i know some US schools that have summer breaks in their first year where students would go and get research experience, but its basically impossible for ross students since we only get 2 weeks break between each semester. i'm hoping its undergrad, then i'm set.

[butters]

Originally Posted by neilc

if there are any IMG's, you have a chance. in most cases, if you get an interview, they will at least consider you. however, there are a few uni programs out there that are not likely to have IMG's. you can get a good idea by looking at current residents. i would say about 50% of my interviews were at university programs. none were "top tier", but they were solid uni programs. so, there are certainly a lot of uni programs that are open to IMG's.

i did actually go on one interview, and had a rather candid discussion with the PD. she said that she liked me, and would vote to rank me high, but the chair didn't like IMG's, and my chances were not good. and this is a program that had to scramble in some IMG's! so, there are exceptions to all the rules, and trying to guess is not going to be that helpful.

there are no hard and fast rules, so apply widely. do the best you can, that is all you can do.

thanks neil for the great advice.

and yes aye...I'm sure research does play a part, but some programs just lean towards u.s. students. and i hope you get to u. of wash...it is a great program (for im at least).

[Miklos]

Originally Posted by aye5882

my aunt's friend who works @ the university of washington said that main reason why they don't take IMG's is because of their lack of research experience. i believe u of wash. is pretty high up there in ranking w/ research... so thats one of their main criteria for selecting residents.

IMO, because they are West Coast, they have the pick of the litter when it comes to residents. In other words, they need not bother with IMGs. I doubt it has much to do with research.

[PathOne]

Originally Posted by RPM Revolution

What's the likely hood of a FMG getting matched up in residency for Plastic surgery OR would he/she have to go into a surgery program and then do a fellowship in PS?

Integrated PRS (Plastic Surgery) is hyper-competitive, and very, very hard to match into as a US grad., and obviously even more so for an IMG. Getting PRS after general surg. is somewhat easier, but still extremely tough.

While anything's possible, you'd need stellar USMLE scores, an outstanding resume and very strong (US) LORs just to be in the running for a PRS residency or fellowship. On top of that, you'd need something extra, to stand out from the crowd (or very strong personal contacts) to match, even with surg boards under the belt.

There's an eternal debate which is THE most competitive specialty: PRS or Derm. In reality, it's a toss: Both are exceedingly difficult, even for highly qualified US grads. And a number of other fields, like rad onc and general radiology has seen competition increase a lot in recent years.

FP, IM and peds, however, is still attainable by most who want it, as noted by other posters. That's also where you see a lot of the Carib grads ending up, if you study the school websites.

[grace]

Originally Posted by aye5882

what's an im residency??

Internal Medicine

[smalcon]

what is a "peds" residency ?

[miasma]

pediatrics

[Soon2BDoc]

why do people like to go into a specialty if it is competitive, why not go into something because you enjoy it? after all its a lifetime thing.

[MushieCookie]

perhaps people actually enjoy what happens to be a competitive residency?? that would be my bet...

of course some are in just for the $$.