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Official 2017 Family Medicine Residency Thread - diverticulosis
#31
The internado internship sounds like a good idea, but I cannot speak any spanish for the life of me Smile.

@ Cluey, welcome back to the forum and hope residency is going well. Could you please shed more light on the Drexel refresher program by answering the questions below:
1). I saw somewhere on their application it said the fees for the program ranges from $7,500 to $8,500. How many weeks did you do and how much was the fee? Just trying to figure out the fee for 6 weeks.
2). After completion of the program, is it compulsory for the precepting Dr. to give you a a letter of recommendation (if you did well) or it is up to them whether or not they give you a letter?
3). In your experience, do you think the Drexel refresher program help you get interviews or did you think an LOR from Drexel impressed the PD/SC?
4). Do you think the program overall will help prepare someone (like me) who has been out of med. school for 4 years prepare for residency or do you think I should be fine just going over my step 3 materials? In other words, is the amount of money invested in this program worth it?

@Diverticulosis, it seems in our case the cs attempt is a big problem in getting us through the filters, and YOG too. So one has to really apply wisely. If you have any love for IM, I will say go for it because it seems FM is more difficult to get in due to less spots and strictness in YOG.
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#32
Good luck eagle1981, welcome to the thread Smile

@missla: $7500-8500? Wow that's super expensive. Hopefully Cluey can shed some light on the questions you asked. Also you are right, for me I think my CS failure and my low step 1 are killing my application. I guess getting a 240+ on CK or passing Step 3 on my first attempt hasn't made any difference for programs. Honestly I am also looking into pathology residency. They are more forgiving on YOG and Step 1 scores, and since you're not really seeing patients they don't hold a CS failure against you like a fam med or internal med residency might. F

For me I have to get in where I fit in at this point. I worked in a medical laboratory before going to medical school, so I have some experience in a laboratory setting. I'm currently finishing a allied health program, and have no time right now to spend on obseverships and such. But I'm already planning on next year and have some ideas as to where I will do some observerships. I can only hope for the best at this point.
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#33
hey, just chiming in, but pathology programs aren't really all that forgiving... they love step 1, because from their perspective it's the only component that tests you on molecular stuff and stuff that's super relevant to the actual clinical practice of pathology. they're big on CS, not because of direct patient care, but because you're going to have to interpret physicians' notes and logs, and then communicate your pathological findings to the clinicians. also, they're really getting competitive. people have caught on to the idea that a good attending pathologist has a 9-5 job with minimal time on call and that during residency you'll always sleep in your own bed. because pathology is starkly different from your average specialty, they'll want to see ample observerships and proof that you know exactly what you're getting in to. don't mean to discourage a pathology application, i love the field and definitive answers are super gratifying, but frankly psychiatry is 1000x more forgiving of red flags if they catch something they like in your personal statement.
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#34
@nycpathdoc: thanks for your input. if u don't mind me asking, are u a path resident in NY or practicing there? maybe you could shed some light on your experience getting a path residency.

I applied for both family and psych last year with minimal results. I think my CS failure, low step 1 score, and not coming from the big 4/5 carib medical schools has really hurt me. Maybe you could shed some more light on your road to path residency?

Sorry guys I know this is the fam med thread, please feel free to add and talk about fam residency in addition to whatever you would like.
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#35
@diverticulosis i'm a path resident. i'm a us citizen foreign grad i had a pretty crappy transcript. but extremely strong LORs from interesting places and a couple of VIP surgeons calling path departments on my behalf, along with a fair amount of path observerships under my belt.
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#36
@nycpathdoc: thanks for that info i really appreciate it. i am already thinking of next year and possible path observerships. I am in talks with George Washington University and the University of Miami's path observership programs. Have you heard of these or have any experience in these observerships? And could you tell me where else I could get a path observership from your experience? thanks!
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#37
@ diverticulosis, I am sorry to tell you this, please don't be offended. I think your problem is jumping from one specialty to another. Last year, you applied to psych. This year you applying to family medicine.
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#38
@missal and @diverticulosis

Sorry for the late reply. Been crazy hectic on inpatient service and I'm on night float starting this week. I'll try my best to answer questions:

1). I saw somewhere on their application it said the fees for the program ranges from $7,500 to $8,500. How many weeks did you do and how much was the fee? Just trying to figure out the fee for 6 weeks.


Yes, I paid $7500 for 6 weeks. Theres also 12 weeks and 18 weeks option. I forgot how much those were , you'd have to ask Cynthia Johnson (program administrator) or the Drexel refresher program head Dr. Nielufar Varjavand.

Theres a general IM track ( I did this one) and a PEDS track. Dr. V is in charge of the IM track. For the PEDS one, you go to the children's hospital and theres a separate rotation schedule for that (I don't know much about it). There is NO Fam track for this program.



2). After completion of the program, is it compulsory for the precepting Dr. to give you a a letter of recommendation (if you did well) or it is up to them whether or not they give you a letter?



The way Drexel refresher works is that Dr. Varjavand is in charge of the refresher students. All communication goes through her. You'll meet her on the first day at their office and she'll give you your rotation schedule for the month. Most days you'll do half day at one IM specialty clinic, and the other half day at another IM specialty clinic (for example cardio in the morning, and GI in the afternoon) You'll be assigned to the preceptor attending of that specialty for your sessions in that clinic. On the last day you're assigned to that specialty clinic, Dr. Varjavand will provide you with evaluation forms to give the preceptor attending. The attending fills it out and faxes it back to Dr. Varjavand. Dr. V is the one who will write you a standard LoR at the end of your program , which will include most/if not ALL of the evaluations from your different preceptors. You also will have some days where you have to do some mock CS exams, and Dr. V will evaluate you. That goes on the LoR too. That will be explained at the start of the program. Of course you do go to morning report & noon lectures at Drexel Hospital, with the IM residents and staff. Those are mandatory.



3). In your experience, do you think the Drexel refresher program help you get interviews or did you think an LOR from Drexel impressed the PD/SC?

Its a great program. I learnt a lot, especially some issues touching on patient-doctor interactions, ethical issues, and how you deal with breaking news to patients. I could never learn that from any textbook. It definitely helped with answering ethical questions that were asked during my interviews last year.


4). Do you think the program overall will help prepare someone (like me) who has been out of med. school for 4 years prepare for residency or do you think I should be fine just going over my step 3 materials? In other words, is the amount of money invested in this program worth it?

If you have the money, I think its worth it. I really liked it. Of course, don't go in expecting that you are guaranteed a spot in their program. Its really proportional to the effort you put in and how much you're willing to learn. I liked the group of students I worked with. Dr. V and the staff are pretty amazing. They really try to teach and help you learn.


If you have any other questions, please free to ask me here. I'll check in every so often. Good luck!
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#39
@wellscriteria: Most IMG applicants apply to several specialties. You ask 10 applicants what they applied for and 8 out of 10 will say something like Internal + Family, Family + Psych, Peds + Family, etc. Very rarely will an applicant apply for only 1 specialty year after year when they don't match. You have to broaden your choices. Keep in mind I don't share everything about my application online and on this forum and what programs I apply for. Every year I've applied for both psych and family as I have letters of rec for both. After not matching in either I'm opening myself up to other options hence why I'm asking questions regarding path.

@clueymd: Thanks for that information. I know you must be busy so I appreciate the help. Drexel sounds like an interesting program but the cost is really high. I will def look into it. Thanks!
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#40
@ Cluey, thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to respond to these questions. I very much appreciate it.

@Diverticulosis, yes the price of the drexel observership is really expensive, but might be worth it if one has the money. As far as applying to other specialties, I would say go for it if you can really see yourself in that specialty, not because you are desperate. I know we are desperate at this point because of multiple unsucessfull matches, but the way I see it is that we have not matched because it is not God's time yet for us, so applying in other specialites is not very much the answer. So except you really can see your self doing path, I would advise not to go for it, rather focus more on what you applied for before or what specialty you can see yourself doing. I think you will have a higher chance getting IVs for a specialty that your resume simulates. Remember we have been out this long with no match, so when we match, we might as well get what we want or close to.
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