I've posted this previously, but I am posting it here because I think it relates to your situation. I'm at UPenn doing a 1 year clinical research year. The 2 year opportunity mentioned previously is for basic science. I would not rank a gen surg program if that's not what you want to do.
PREVIOUSLY POSTED:
I did not match last year due to a clerical error. I had a competitive application with 98% on step I, good (not AOA) clinical grades, great ortho letters, some research and 1 ortho publication. I only got 5 interviews and ended up going unmatched. I talked to the chairman at UPenn (Dr. Richard Lackman). He looked at my application to UPenn and felt I was a good applicant that fell through the cracks. He suggested I come to UPenn and do orthopaedic oncology research for a year and then reapply. He promised that if I worked hard, I would have many publications to put on my CV come interview time. Despite many people telling me to do a gen surg year, I went to UPenn, and Dr. Lackman was correct. I submitted my ERAS CV some time ago and it was stacked with journal articles, and 3 chapters (none in print yet, but you can still put them on your CV as pending publications once they are accepted). This was not easy, but it seems to be paying off.
Good things about doing this:
-Increase publications on CV, which also will help you in the future if you want to be an academic orthopaedic surgeon.
-Allows you to show programs you are serious about being an orthopaedic surgeon. A general surgery year really doesn't help you that much. It doesn't improve your CV or let you do any significant work in the ortho field (maybe a few rotations through ortho surg).
-No call, and minimal scut-work in comparison to a general surgery rotation. All the work you do is for a purpose (producing publications) and directly benefits you.
-My boss is great (Dr. Lackman). He is a very nice, friendly person who really wants to see me match this year. He is also a great person to learn orthopaedics from.
-You also get to know most people in the UPenn ortho department, which would help your application here if you do a good job.
-You have access to all the learning opportunities within the UPenn ortho department (grand rounds, conferences, OITE reviews, etc.), and you can also take a class or two at UPenn (they are included free because you are a Penn employee).
-Comparable pay to a resident (probably better pay than most PGY 1 spots) and great benefits (medical, vision, dental, and life insurance).
-Interviewing is hard when you are in general surgery year, but I don't expect it to be a problem during this research year.
-This position is basically like doing a research fellowship at the beginning of your residency instead of after.
The disadvantages:
-This is not an easy year, but you have to work extremely hard regardless of how you spend this year if you want to match after going unmatched. Plus, this work is rewarding unlike getting tortured in gen surg.
-You don't get to scrub in the OR. You don't have malpractice insurance so you can't scrub into OR cases, but you can go in and watch. I feel this is the biggest drawback, but I'll be in the OR the rest of my life if everything works out.
-You may forget some of the practical clincal stuff you have picked up over the years. You would keep using this knowledge if you were in gen surg taking care of patients. I'll just have to relearn this stuff before I start my internship. On the other hand, you learn a lot about clinical orthopaedics.
-You don't get your medical license until you complete the first year of your clinical training. I was told that I should complete this gen surg year, and get my license so that if I didn't match again I could do a research year and moonlight because I would have a medical license. I am interested in becoming an orthopaedic surgeon, not making a few extra bucks here and there.
I hope that you DO match. If you don't, consider giving Dr. Lackman a call (215-662-3350). Also, if anyone is interested in doing research prior to residency, this would be excellent for you. If you think your application is weak, and you need to improve you CV, this is a great year. The large majority of our work is clinical, but you could also work on some basic science tumor stuff if you want. Also, ask the other programs you like about doing research there. I doubt you'll find another research job that will pay the rent (I didn't), but check it out.
Also, my school held a general surg 1 year spot for me so I didn't have to scramble for a gen surg spot without looking at other options (If you are an ortho candidate, chances are you are a hard worker and smart--you're gen surg department would probably love to have your help for a year). I would talk this over with them if you think you are in danger of not matching. I had a gen surg spot waiting for me, but decided to pursue the 1 unmatched ortho spot and do research if that didn't work out. There is rarely an ortho spot in the scramble, but if there is, go after it hard regardless of what anyone says. There was one spot last year that went unmatch and about a hundred unmatched people went after it. I was told not to bother by many people, but I interviewed for the spot and got into their top 3 list.
I hope this helps. If you don't match, keep all your options open.
Let me know if you have any questions,
[url=mailto]
[email protected][/url]
215-829-5143
