Not to be harsh, but where were your priorities?

Trying to work while studying for step 1 did not turn out well

You will have a hard time explaining this on interviews.

That being said, I am an optimist who is totally unqualified to give you advice. So I will. Decide for or against ortho. Then enter the gauntlet you must run. There are many options which are not necessarily the fast track, research, gen surg prelim, I've even heard of preliminary gen surg residency to prove ones worth. In the end we all do what we must to earn respect and consideration.

I'd agree with southpaw. It's good that you're doing well during your clinical rotations, those grades are more important. My school doesn't even have grades for the first two years..just pass/fail. The boards thing will be a tough thing to answer though. I don't know if they report that you've taken it multiple tiimes or not...hopefully not. But your final score doesn't help much either. The other thing that you've got going against you is that you're an IMG. Now I'm definitely not the person to be asking about IMG stutt as evidenced by last post about IMG stuff, but I my guess is that even if you're a US citizen, you'll have to go through the ECFMG stuff. Programs will wonder about the quality of you're medical educaiton. You won't have to worry about a visa though, which is a plus.

My advice is similar to southpaw's. Decide if you wanna do ortho. Then go all out. Pick your aways wisely. Work your ass off. Be prepared to make sacrifices like research year or prelim if needed. I would also apply to a ton of places (maybe >80). I'd probably avoid applying to places like HSS, Iowa, Joint Disease, Harvard, and other big name academic places that may place a higher value on your numbers. I'd also save my money and not apply to places that are known to heavily favor their rotators (unless you rotate there, which could be a good idea because it would significantly increase your chances of matching there, especially if you do an outstanding job and fit in) because you'll need good numbers to get an interview if you don't rotate. The bottom line is decide if ortho is for you, go all out, and apply wisely.

i would recommend not applying for ortho. you are clearly unqualified and would never make a good orthopaedic surgeon. is that what you wanted to hear? just make a decision and go for it or not. don't base your life decisions on our jackass responses on a random internet board.

Thank you for your thoughts and advice. As far as working ? it was economically necessary. Does anyone know how many people get an ortho residency when applying a second time after a year of surgery or research? I feel if you are dedicated and willing to make the sacrifices it is possible.

I went through the process a couple of years ago and am now on a selection committee. You will have a tough time. Not impossible if the stars line up, you make a good impression on someone with influence, etc. But you need a very strong angle--my advice is a connection by doing unusually good work (research) for someone with influence.