What should I do next yr?? - kdot

[ArchivalUser]

Grad in july 2005

[ArchivalUser]

to rab_ne_banayi_jodi - what you said is all a big BS! There tons of people with multiple attempts and much lower scores who matched or scrambled.
Dudes like this are the worst poison you can come across...........

[ArchivalUser]

Try to apply to more FM programs and in the mean time you can continue to do reserach/observership/externship. Volunteer job will be excellent too. If you don't need visa, try to concentrate in programs that don't sponsor visa. Last but not least, apply to at least 100-200 programs.

[ArchivalUser]

most important issue in my opinion: all of us fail periodically. successful individuals simply do not accept a failure as the final word: http://www.amazon.com/Think-BIG-Kick-Bus..._1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239407518&sr=8-1 you will do great!

another suggestion (i couldn't agree more with docz): attend a conference of the desired specialty in order to meet tons of program directors in just one place. goal: identify faculty members with (research) interests that match yours in order to beef up your cv with case reports, reviews and maybe even original research papers. meeting everyone in person will make sure that you will figure out whom you will "click" with. this approach will also provide you with valuable contacts. it will be of mutual benefit for both you and the faculty members you will work with.

typically, there is 1 annual meeting for clinicians and another one for research oriented individuals in every specialty. most program directors and chairmen will attend those meetings; thus, you may meet essentially everybody.

you may listen to everyone's talk and may speak to each presenter afterwards. this way, you could personally meet 100+ decision makers regarding your preferred residency. if you prepare in advance and find out about everyone's special interests at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ (enter "last name, blank, initial) you can tailor your search according to your favorite topics. this approach should be highly likely to identify PDs with an interest in you.

all you need is a roundtrip flight ticket along with an affordable hotel room that can be booked at www.priceline.com. if you absolutely don't want to attend a conference you could also e-mail research-oriented decision makers. most addresses can be found at pubmed.