Starting Out..??
By Guest on Wednesday, 09 February 2005
Posted in Match Center
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Ok, sorry to clog up your residency forum with my questions, but I looked elsewhere and this seems like it's the most relelvant forum to post in.

So, I interviewed @ OU and am hopeful that I will be accepted into their md program. I have had my eye on orthopaedic surgery for some time and was wondering how well, or not so, OU is recognized for their ortho program. Someday, far down the road I'd like to match either here, or on the west coast somewhere. How influential is the school you go to in determining your residency opportunities? Or is it more dependent on step one and the clerkship grades? (Seems like these play an important part in the threads I have read so far) Do you have any advice for someone who is just starting out aspiring to go into orthopaedics? Just out of curiousity, also, how mechanical is ortho? I see a lot of the external fixation devices that are being used nowadays (far from a cast) and they seem to be pretty mechanical ( I have a strong mechanical background and fabricate for fun) so I was just wondering.

thanks for your time and any advice you might have to offer,
-Matt
Read through the old threads. All of your questions have already been answered/discussed in depth.
Guest
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21 years ago
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Twofingers is right that most of the info you want has been discussed plenty of times before. The quick and dirty answer is get good grades the next three years, especially on third year rotations, and kick tail on Step I. Since it is so early in your career, you could also look into joining a research project at some point. If you do those things, it doesn't really matter what the reputation of your school is. Keep an open mind about other fields as well and try to enjoy the next few years as much as anyone can. Good luck.
Guest
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21 years ago
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Yes, I kept reading after starting this thread and found a lot of other good threads that relate to the topics I asked about, but still nothing about OU.
Guest
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21 years ago
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As far as I know, OU is just another med school. None of them any any better or worse as far as your chances of getting into Ortho. It really depends on your performance, scores, activities, research and your externships. Yes, OU has an ortho department, and they are more inclined to take people for Oklahoma as far as I know. I am not sure that it is a great program, but I am sure it is solid enough (they are still accredited).
Guest
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21 years ago
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thanks for all the replies, and
I think the school thing was the root of my worries, with ortho being as competitive as everyone has made it out to be, I was worried that the school might affect my chances a lot, but I guess the step one test is a national standard anyway...

also, the more I read the more it seems like the 3rd and 4th year grades matter a lot, I read the thread on being a good student during rotations. Are most schools on the Sufficient, Advanced, and Honors grading system? and, how big of a proficiency step is going from advanced to honors? the more I read the more it seems that these grades are pretty subjective
Guest
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21 years ago
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Well, from talking to friends at other schools, Honors grades are very subjective. It usually seems to be more of how enthusiastic you are and how much you are liked. My school is only pass/fail, no honors. If you are not AOA it probabyly hurts you. Just work hard in studying for step I and kill it, work hard enough to de well in 3rd year, do some ortho research, get to know people, etc. And then 4 years from now when it's all over, and after you've done all you can in all those areas, you will be just like us- a few weeks from match day, and not sure you're even going to match. Damn it!
Guest
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21 years ago
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