I'm a second year DO student. My school offers almost no advising for students interested in specialties beyond peds, IM, FM and general surgery. I am a good student in the top 25%, and sitting for USMLE and COMLEX. I am published with several abstracts, poster presentations, and a paper and textbook chapter unrelated to urology. Can someone who was successful at matching urology as a DO help me out by giving me guidance to the order of my M3 rotations and when to do a third year urology rotation?I am guessing it is critical to do a third year rotation in urology to confirm in advance of setting M4 schedule that uro is for me right? Thank you for your help guys!Best of luck in the upcoming match.
I wrote a very detailed explanation from my experiences in a previous post about osteopathic medical students, please see that post.
Would be happy to share some thoughts... but need 13 days to know if my advice is worth anything. Ha.
Just applied this last year. Nothing is official yet, but I'm in the process of writing a detailed summary of my recommendations and experience. Create an email for me to send it to, and I'll forward it your way when I'm done in a few weeks.
We'd love to post your thoughts on the website. If you would be OK with this, please email:collectingsystem at urologymatch.com.
Easiest way is to score ~260 on USMLE Step 1 and 2, and be AOA approved. There is no way around this fact. Somehow Urology has become the most competative specialty!
Does UrologyMatch2012 have anything meaningful to say?
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First of all, getting 260 on USMLE is not a requirement! That being said, grades, scores and med school attended (DO, FMG) can be an easy way to weed out applicants, so work hard and do your best. As far as rotations, first of all, make sure urology is what you want to do. Try to get a 3rd year elective in urology as well as other specialties you might be interested in. Get letters of rec from anyone who will write you a good one, in case you change your mind, don’t get letters in time, or don’t match. Ask all of your attendings and residents, even in specialties you aren’t considering: Why did you choose your specialty? Any regrets? What specialty would you choose now? Get in contact with local urologists if you aren’t in a place that has a program. Remember, networking is huge…program directors and interviewers will appreciate good letters from people they know. Use time off and weekends to watch some cases, ask questions and round on weekends. Do lots of away rotations, these are key!! You learn a ton and meet lots of people. Your best letter will come from well-known chair of urology department that has a residency program. Early rotations are when you should get letters in order to be submitted by Sep. 1. Schedule the last urology rotation at the place you think you want to go, after you’ve learned more urology.
Email me at douro21@hotmail.com