Does size matter...

How far along are you? MS3?

I just finished my sub I's and I saw some female residents that were about your size. I also was hardly ever asked to do anything that required raw strength - if stuff was hard to do it was usually cuz I was the fourth person scrubbed and had to grab stuff at an odd angle. Or the attending forgot that I was holding it for 2 hours.

As a rule, it seemed like sub I's were faced with a bigger hurdle in surviving sleep deprivation than in muscular strength.

I think being female in and of itself might be a bigger factor than size. I don't know whether it increases or decreases your chances of matching overall, but it probably does steer you more towards certain programs. I know that 2 out of the 3 programs I rotated at were actively trying to recruit as many women to their program as possible, and had many female residents. On the flip side, there are programs where you can look at the website and they have no female residents at all.

If you can do the job, you're fine. The ED and internal medicine guys think it's all brawn when we do a reduction, but it's really all about technique.

No reps at 225, no ortho

I always enjoy the debate on whether a 90lb female can do ortho. Here is what I told rotators who asked me the same question.

There are many different aspects of ortho. And just like a small framed woman may have a difficult time reducing an obese patient's dislocated hip, don't you think the 6'5" 250lbs linebacker is going to have a tough time doing the trigger finger release or flexor tendon repair? Or operating the small controls during an arthroscopy? Trust me, I have seen my fair share of meatheads during an arthroscopy with their hands fumbling around like they're back at 8th grade prom. Sausage digits and scopes don't mix. It's hilarious.

Everyone will have a better/worse time with different aspects of ortho. You just have to make the best of it, and then ultimately when it comes time to choose what you want to focus on, you steer away from your problem area. Children cry when they look at me, so I steered away from Peds. Go into ortho, let the system work, and you will find your place.

Never forget what a great man once said:

"I'm going to give you a little advice. There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball."

KJ