Getting disillusioned... can't find an internship.

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pawnedglory

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I'm not sure what went wrong with the match. My best guess is that my third letter of rec never reached ERAS. Either that or I was hopelessly bad on all my interviews... I didn't think I was but then again, I suppose nobody does. And the scramble was hopeless this year -- I couldn't even get through on the phone to anyone, and their voice mailboxes filled pretty much instantly.

Since then it's been a daily lesson in humiliation, being treated like crap by program coordinators that I am forced to cold-call as if I were trying to sell them a long distance plan. The best ones are actually the ones who give the cold shoulder or hang up on me right off the bat. The worst are the ones who drag it out, knowing full well they don't have a slot to offer. I just don't think I can take it anymore. There is nothing on this planet more cruel than one of these program coordinators lording it over desperate unmatched MDs like myself.

And forget about things like FindAResident. The moment anything shows up on that site they get swamped by hundreds of apps. Then it's back to the program coordinator toying with us applicants all over again before undoubtedly going with the person they knew personally to begin with.

I am a US citizen graduated from a US MD school with 95s on steps 1 and 2. My GPA was low due to a sorry MS1 year but showed an improving trend.

I am done cold-calling programs. Is there anything else I can do? Any suggestions? Or am I facing unemployment until July 2010?

(let me be a cautionary tale to any MS4s here. Be ABSOLUTELY SURE *ALL* of your letters are in the ERAS system!)
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1. Not having an anticipated letter in is a big red flag
2. With your #s you would have gotten a lot of looks otherwise
3. Not matching at your home program is a bige red flag as well
4. Try to hustle u a good research job and try again-- maybe with all new letter writers!
 
Do the match again, work at starbucks this year if you have to, but if I were you, I'd find a job in a lab and get the PI to write you a letter, resubmit you old letters. your med school should give you another eras token, they don't like people not matching any more than you do in many ways.

You can beg and borrow to find some greasy, over-worked, no respect, and no prospects for fellowship position by keeping on doing what you are doing, or do the match again.
 
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have you contacted ERAS to find out if there were problems with your application? Don't try to make a plan without diagnosing the issue first.
 
Thank you all for the replies. I am definitely going to double check, triple check, quadruple check all my letters, documentations and whatever else are in this year. My med school is sponsoring me for the ERAS again so at least that. I'm wondering if I should waste my time applying to the same programs this time around, or look elsewhere?
 
I don't know if you should reapply to the programs that turned you down last year. I would seek feed back from those programs, however. You really need to know what went wrong.
Your numbers are good. You need to know what happened so you can correct it and match on your second attempt.

Cambie
 
pawnedglory said:
I'm not sure what went wrong with the match. My best guess is that my third letter of rec never reached ERAS. Either that or I was hopelessly bad on all my interviews... I didn't think I was but then again, I suppose nobody does. And the scramble was hopeless this year -- I couldn't even get through on the phone to anyone, and their voice mailboxes filled pretty much instantly.

Since then it's been a daily lesson in humiliation, being treated like crap by program coordinators that I am forced to cold-call as if I were trying to sell them a long distance plan. The best ones are actually the ones who give the cold shoulder or hang up on me right off the bat. The worst are the ones who drag it out, knowing full well they don't have a slot to offer. I just don't think I can take it anymore. There is nothing on this planet more cruel than one of these program coordinators lording it over desperate unmatched MDs like myself.

And forget about things like FindAResident. The moment anything shows up on that site they get swamped by hundreds of apps. Then it's back to the program coordinator toying with us applicants all over again before undoubtedly going with the person they knew personally to begin with.

I am a US citizen graduated from a US MD school with 95s on steps 1 and 2. My GPA was low due to a sorry MS1 year but showed an improving trend.

I am done cold-calling programs. Is there anything else I can do? Any suggestions? Or am I facing unemployment until July 2010?

(let me be a cautionary tale to any MS4s here. Be ABSOLUTELY SURE *ALL* of your letters are in the ERAS system!)
Click to expand...

Is this for a prelim medicine program? I thought there were like 45 programs that didnt fill?
 
JiminyCricket said:
Is this for a prelim medicine program? I thought there were like 45 programs that didnt fill?
Click to expand...

Categorical. There were actually only some 22ish programs unmatched at the beginning of the scramble, which is why getting through to any of them was hopeless. There was some program out of NY that because of their bonehead coordinator listed ALL of their slots as unfilled when this wasn't the case, giving the bogus number of 42.

I sure hope all these programs are happy with their 87-scoring interns from the Caribbean who can't read a CXR and wouldn't know an APACHE II score if it bit them in the ass. But hey... at least their third letter writer came through with their form letter with the same misspelled word in the second paragraph that they give all their students -- that's what's really important about a doctor! Program coordinators with their mighty bachelor's degree in English Lit or Marketing sure know what makes a good medical pracitioner! :thumbdown: not that I'm bitter or anything.

Anyway, I have decided not to apply to any of my programs from the first go-around for obvious reasons and am trying an entirely different geographic region. Thanks again for the kind words... I found employment as a college professor for the interim. Heheheh. Me, a professor. Life is strange.

p.s. I got it confirmed that it was indeed the missing third letter that got me smoked.
 
pawnedglory said:
p.s. I got it confirmed that it was indeed the missing third letter that got me smoked.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I would tend to see this as a red flag. If you can't find three people to write you letters, perhaps there is a problem.

Word to the wise for current match applicants: you should request at least 4 letters, just in case one falls through.
 
pawnedglory said:
I sure hope all these programs are happy with their 87-scoring interns from the Caribbean who can't read a CXR and wouldn't know an APACHE II score if it bit them in the ass. But hey... at least their third letter writer came through with their form letter with the same misspelled word in the second paragraph that they give all their students -- that's what's really important about a doctor! Program coordinators with their mighty bachelor's degree in English Lit or Marketing sure know what makes a good medical pracitioner! :thumbdown: not that I'm bitter or anything.

QUOTE]


Is this a confirmed fact? While I can certainly empathize with your situation, I like to practice evidence-based medicine. Take a look at some IM residency web-sites and their requirements for Carib grad's applying to their residency program. MUSC requires that an FMG scores >250 on their steps before applying or they won't even be considered. That's the highest I've seen, whereas other programs ask for >220's, so that kinda refutes the whole 87 argument you've got going on. Personally, I think with your 2 LOR's you probably still had a better chance than the Carib grad with the double 99's.

Why didn't anyone ask you if your 3rd letter was coming in or missing at the interviews? Especially your home institution, that's really messed up!

G'luck! :luck:
A

P.S. So, do you think the CXR, SAPS II/APACHE II have teeth? I'd hate it when they bit me in the butt! Since you have a lot of experience with them, can you tell me if I'd need a Rabies shot? :eek: Just kidding, hope this comment made you smile/laugh :laugh:.
Click to expand...
 
Agree with apd, cambie, and jdh. Sorry this happened to you...I know the Match can be kind of daunting, and the whole process a little confusing.
However, YOU, the OP, need to take some responsibility for your own actions. You should have made sure all your letters were in by the deadline. You should have requested >3 if possible (it's wise for everyone to request 4, in case one person doesn't come through). I also think it's weird that your school didn't bird dog this a little for you...my med school would have, simply because they don't want someone to not match. If you were applying for IM, then not getting in to your home program the first go-round could be a red flag for programs. Just be humble this time around and admit that you screwed up, and you should do fine.
 
I think you can be creative and find some things to keep yourself busy this year. It's critical that you're productive so that you can have a good answer to the question: "so what did you do last year?"
 
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