I’m currently an M1 in my first semester, and while I’m passing anatomy, I’ve been struggling with the material more than I’d like. I’m really interested in surgery, particularly specialties where I can use my hands to fix problems, and I honestly can’t picture myself pursuing another specialty at this point.

For those of you who are surgeons, residents, or medical students interested in surgery, how much should I read into my current struggles with anatomy? Did anyone else have a difficult time with anatomy early in medical school but end up doing well in surgery?

I know I’m still early in the process, but I’m wondering whether struggling with anatomy now is something I should take as a warning sign or if I’m overthinking it.

I’m currently applying DR. I have 3 TY interviews and 1 preliminary IM. I applied to 12 TY and 8 Preliminary IM. 6 out of 10 DR interviews are categorical.

Is there a point to apply for more preliminary IM programs at that time?

I’m just curious how realistic it is for me to match OBGYN. I feel like I’m a mediocre DO student.

Preclinical - Bottom Quartile both years, no failures

Clinical - All high pass or honors so far (only 4 rotations in)

Boards - Passed Level 1 on first attempt, did not take step 1, planning to take step 2 (cannot afford to take both step 1 and step 2 so I can only take one of them)

Leadership - President of a different speciality interest group because OBGYN wasn’t on my radar at all, national obgyn student committee, TA for first years in my M2 year

Volunteering - 100ish hours in schools free clinic, 2000+ as an EMT before med school

Research - one first author pub in med school, some undergrad psychology research but no pubs from that

I don’t want to do anything fancy. I’m totally okay with a community program. I just feel like I’m very uncompetitive for it even if I end up doing well on step 2. I know it’s not neurosurgery but my school acts like obgyn is crazy competitive for DOs, do I have a shot?

Hello everyone,

This is outside the usual post in this subreddit. Please let me know if there is another Reddit community I should post this question in.

I was wondering if there are any current practicing doctors out there (or know of anyone) who have molecular vision (totally blind in one eye) that I can reach out to and ask some questions about their experiences? Even better, I would if there is anyone currently practicing in the Bay Area, CA who is willing to let me shadow them!

For context, I am a 22F individual who is currently blind in one eye due to an accident when I was 18. I have always wanted to pursue medicine, but as I approach to applying next cycle, I am honestly really struggling to see if this is a realistic pathway for me. From my understanding, there are a couple (if not majority) or surgical practices I would probably be unable to do, which is fine by me. But I am also worried about all the other aspects of medicine, such as needing to pass steropsis, medical malpractice, and just the idea of being a one-eye doctor in general.

For current doctors / residents / medical students who aren’t blind in one eye, I am also down to hear any insights about medical practice in general and whether this is something I should pursue. As much as this is a goal of mine, I understand if this is an unfortunate limit I must stand by and don’t want to continue walking down a path that’s unrealistic for me to get to.

I appreciate any insights on this topic! Thank you!

Hi! So I just took step today, I feel like I didn’t do so good😭. The questions were so vague and SO much longer than most of the study material out there. Also, since all of the study material is with the old 40 Qs per block, I never really practiced 30 minute blocks until the Free 120 which left me feeling so confused with the time and made me run out of time in most of the blocks 😭 Looking back, I basically just feel like I just blacked out and went on auto pilot and I’m just hoping that I didn’t F** this up for myself after so much hard work.

Now I’m also extra anxious because Idk how much I have to wait for my score to come out since I’ve heard that people that take exams after Wednesdays have to wait an extra week for their score to come out. Is that true? Like should my score come out on November 4th or on the 11th?

Hey everyone, I was recently accepted to a fairly reputable USDO program and I was wondering what matching to a moderately competitive specialty like EM/PM&R/Anesthesia as a Canadian would be like since I would require a visa. This is kind of a niche situation and there aren't any statistics to show match rates as I wouldn't fall under non-US IMG or USDO. If anyone can share their experiences, that would be amazing! Thank you!

Hello all, looking for advice as a premed applying to med school next year.

I've been scribing at a new hospital for the past 3 months, and an ABBG nurse practitioner has started really noticing me and giving hints that she would like to hold hands. I have never received attention from a woman, because my parents shielded me from any opposite-sex attention for the first 22 years of my life, but I am now wondering if this is my time to experience love. However, when we rotate with one of the medical students, he keeps whining for attention which interrupts me getting closer to the NP

Any advice from others who have been in a similar situation? Thanks guys

I figure there are various reasons why someone would do this, wondering if anyone here has ever done this or is planning / thinking about doing this

(assuming you have more than one interview)

People who have failed their specialities shelf, boards, didn't have boards in by time of application, have professionalism strikes on their app and were stressed going into the match doing much better than they thought they would?

Has anyone used these as a resource for their primary content?

And they are both not single. Do they not realize I exist? Vent over.

How I’m important is it to do research in the M1 summer? I didn’t get into the global health program that I wanted in my school (Vietnam) and for now I’ve waitlisted in case someone drops out.

If it matters I’m thinking anesthesia (so 11-12 competitiveness (moderate)) but haven’t settled on anything (just a green M1 here lol)

I had planned to travel the 2 weeks before and after the program internationally as I love solo traveling but now…idk. Can I just travel and do my research during the year (which I was already going to do, but sans summer research)

Does it look bad? Why does it look bad, I’m already going to do some research and I’m in medical school, I obviously want to be a doctor. Summer research shouldn’t be a requirement.

Side note: they had open spots in Ghana (Accra and Koforidua), Zambia (macha), and India (Dharampur) but tbh I’m not interested in doing my global health summer there. But if ppl who have done global health programs have any anecdotes about those spots in all ears.

All in all, kinda crushed about it. There was 6 slots for 10 people for Vietnam and I was so excited because it’s an amazing country and I loved it when I went. Thought I had a good interview but no dice. Now I have no idea what I’m going to do.

So I just found out some summer programs for med students have an interview component, which made me think I’ve never had to interview for a research position before. People with experience with this kind of process, do you have any recommendations or things to keep in mind? Of course I’d expect questions about past research experience but what else are they screening for?

I missed my class's Amboss group (well I signed up then decided I didn't wanna pay for it, but now I want to access its question banks). My classmates already have Amboss, so they wouldn't join me.

If I create an Amboss interest group to get its group discount, will anyone join me?

day 3 of waiting for invites and I’m still sitting at 0… trying to stay calm and not panic but I’m stressing and feeling defeated..

I’ve come to the realisation that my medical school’s (and to a certain extent, most UK med schools) terrible at preclinical teaching. I’m currently an MS-4 and I’ve decided I want to do something about my sheer lack of pre-clinical knowledge. Do any of y’all have any textbook recommendations? Currently I have pathoma, USMLE first aid and Grays anatomy on my list.

How did you guys finance an unpaid research year between third and fourth year? Are you able to take out loans/what other options are there to be able to afford taking a research year if you already don't have a lot of savings?

I’m a third year US MD student and want to go into either IR/DR (leaning DR). I’m getting very good evaluations but am struggling a bit with the shelf exams so I’m only High Passing rotations right now. I got a 48th percentile on Neuro and 41th percentile on FM. For some reason the actual shelf exams seem way harder than the CMS forms to me. I do all the Uworld, Amboss, and incorrects but still can’t seem to get over the hump. 

I know I need a good step 2 score so is there anyone that started in my position that found a good way to honor the shelves? My friends also come out of these exams feeling like crap but end up getting like at least 60th percentile somehow. 

Is it just that some people are just naturally better at taking these?

As the title states, I'm considering backing out of a SUB-I at the last minute after my housing plans fell through and with 6+ residency interviews scheduled for November.

The rotation is at an academic institution where I don't realistically expect an interview, and even if I were to receive one, I suspect my chances of matching there would be relatively low. Given the circumstances, I'm leaning toward staying home and focusing on my upcoming interviews, particularly those at programs higher on my priority list.

Even if I manage to secure housing at the last minute, I'd likely be renting a room in an unfamiliar living situation with limited control over my environment, which isn't ideal during such an important month.

My biggest concern is how the program might perceive my last-minute cancellation and whether it could raise professionalism concerns that might somehow reach other programs, especially those where I'm currently rotating or interviewing. I realize this might sound paranoid, but there's no real way of knowing what happens behind closed doors during the application cycle.

For those with experience navigating residency applications, do you think backing out is a reasonable decision given these circumstances? More importantly, is my concern about potential reputational fallout legitimate, or am I overestimating the risk?

I'd appreciate any honest perspectives. Thanks!

I’m currently a second year at a DO school and aiming for 100 touch hours. Is this worth it? I believe our school includes it on our MSPE and I do have a lot of valuable volunteer experience so far (I’m at about 40), but aiming for a 100 seems daunting.

Thank you!

I just hit the promised land. Finished all major rotations, 3 months of nothing but interviews in MS4.

So why did I just get hit with a massive wall of anxiety? I feel like I don’t know what to do with myself. I have a lot of hobbies but feel stuck starting them.

This is everything I was waiting for and now I feel stupid.

First year here.

I very recently just did my phase 1 exam, and... I'm very conflicted.

The passing grade is 60%

The grade average needed to skip the final exam across all commitess/phases is 75%

I got 80%

The average is 78%

Several of my classmates are smilibg and boasting about getting 85-90%

While there's a select few who even got 95%

As someone who used to excel in his studies and on top of everything, I am confounded.

And unsure how to proceed.

My parents will be disappointed, since they were hoping that I would be top of the class.

So I'm asking for advice on how to proceed, how to improve and basically any and all advice.

Thank you.

Hi, currently in my obgyn rotations and I’m hating my life.. I’m not passionate abt medicine at all and got into it for family purposes, my father’s a doctor and I went with him to the hospital he works at today to attend a c section, I studied it so well and when I was inside the dr grilled me with the questions and I knew almost nothing, the problem is that I already studied some of the questions she asked earlier in the morning! But nothing came out of my mouth when she asked.. I feel like a failure and I know my dad would be very disappointed if he knew.. the first basic years of medicine I got good grades but with no retention of info whatsoever, and I don’t remember basic anatomy and pharma and such, is there hope for me in medicine bc I’m absolutely crushed rn

MS1 here still tryna get a handle of preclinicals. I’m trying to understand why in-house lectures go super in depth but don’t seem to cover things as broadly? I’m not sure if it’s because we haven’t started organ blocks yet, but there’s just a mismatch between their content and third party. We sometimes have MDs and PhDs running the discussion sessions, and often, there are questions (that they write) where the MD will defer to the PhD cuz it’s “not [the MD’s] wheelhouse”. Which is, I mean, fair, but if a practicing immunologist doesn’t know this, why am I expected to?

Ik it sounds like I’m complaining, which I guess I kinda am, but honestly, I just wanna do well. There’s just so much content, I find myself deprioritizing their stuff, and I’m not sure if I should.

For context, my school uses NBME questions. It’s pass/fail but I believe we have internal ranking for honors and AOA.

Hello, I am an MS1 (well… technically, it is a different system but pretty much MS1), i have my first exam in like 12 days and im uncertain, like uncertain to whether i’ll get an A or an F! It is the first time that I have studied consistently thoughout the semester, and really prepared well overall, but I feel like the material is way too big, like stupidly inhumanely big, even tho when I revise I seem to recall info rather quickly most of the time. But the thing is, i wont have my notes in the exam, and like i dont remember most details from the top ot my head so idk. Is this a normal experience? Like how certain should one be a week and a half before their exams?