Advice: Taking a year off?

[Indebt4Life]

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I'm finishing my third year and I am considering taking a year off to do research. I know that this method works for specialities like derm but does this work for Rads?
-I have an average to below average step 1 score for rads <220
-I have managed to get mostly average grades on third year clerkships despite working my butt off.
-I did very well in my preclinical years (above average grades)
-I did a summer of research in Neurology as part of a grant (no pubs)
-I have one published case report (1st author) in nuclear medicine
-I have one case report that is almost finished (1st author) in radiology
-I am working on a big clinical research project in the radiology department but most likely no pubs by the time I apply...but I have a publication about it with my name on it.
-I have two posters (3rd author) submitted for a radiology conference this november that will most likely be written up as well.

What do you think I should do? I was planning on taking time off to get an awesome step 2 score but that is not guaranteed and I plan on applying everywhere and anywhere.

Thanks

 

[arthrodisiac]

i think you have enough research already, another year of it is overkill imo. its like the fat guy from monty python...he eats the whole menu, and when he has one last mint he explodes....unless your very interested in research I would just kill step 2 and take your chances. in terms of research on app and at interview...they are looking that you understand what you did, and why you did what you did, not necessarily the quantity of publications you have. You can have 10 publications, but if your an idiot and you dont know what you did, its not going to look good. and you will never talk about 10 pubs in one interview, and no attending will take the time to look up 10 pubs. you get my drift...

 

[deleted144744]

Radiology is a competitive field, but I agree with the above poster regarding the limited yield of taking a year off. Your chances to land a radiology residency position also depend on which region you are from (higher chance of matching in your region, especially at your home school). I would meet with the program director at your medical school to realistically assess where you stand (and also to express your strong interest in their program). Apply broadly, do well on Step 2, and be your best self on your interviews.

All the best

 

[arthrodisiac]

the other thing i suggest is not to overstress yourself worrying about not matching. i know thats hard to do, and its not something my words will make you do, but i think stress over this matter will destroy you slowly from now until match day. and even if you match, the stress will dull you. if you dont match you will be a wreck. trust me, ive seen it. its terrible what these people put us through, but just try to think of yourself as your own program director. would you accept yourself? As far as going to talk to pd's and residents, etc....theres no harm in doing this, but ultimately for every person that says you will be ok, there will be one that says you wont be ok. No one can predict the future for anyone, whether you have a 220 or a 250. If you believe in G-d then whatever will happen will happen for a reason. If G-d doesn't exist, then just pray that when some random a-hole is reading your app this fall, the chemicals in his brain at that moment will be reacting in your favor. Life is just a chemistry set.

 

[Indebt4Life]

Thanks ! I really appreciate the advice. I am already very stressed out about not matching. Sometimes I really wish that I loved IM or something easier to match in so that I don't have to deal with this constant worrying.