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So you want to do surgery, and now you need to pick
programs to apply to.
Here we will cover a few topics of importance including:
| STRATIFY: |
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In general, you want to stratify your list. That means make
sure to apply to a few top tier, a number of middle tier,
and a few bottom tier programs to ensure you match. Your list
(both to apply and interview at) should include a number of
programs from each.
TOP PROGRAMS:
The question then becomes, what
are the best programs. Although there is much debate about
this, the very best programs (reputation-wise) around the
country include (in no particular order):
| UC - San Francisco |
Johns Hopkins University
|
| University
of Michigan |
Harvard -
MGH |
| University
of Pittsburg |
Harvard -
Brigham & Williams |
| University
of Pennsylvania |
University
of Washington (Seattle) |
| Northwestern
University |
University
of Chicago |
| Duke University |
Georgetown
University |
| Emory University |
NYU |
| Cornell/NY
Presbyterian |
Columbia/NY
Presbyterian |
| UCLA |
Indiana University |
| University
of Minnesota |
Mayo Clinic
(Rochester) |
| Washington
University (St. Louis) |
Mount Sinai
(New York) |
| Cleveland
Clinic |
Vanderbilt |
| UT - Southwestern
(Dallas) |
Baylor College
of Medicine (Houston) |
| University of Southern California |
University of Miami (Jackson-Memorial) |
Now, it is important to keep in mind that these programs may
not give you the best training, or at least not best for you.
Although the reputation of an institution may help you in getting
a fellowship, it is important to consider what type of training
you will recieve (see
below). |
| TOTAL
NUMBER: |
|
The exact number of programs to apply to depends on your competitiveness.
See which of the following categories you fit into in order
to determine which best fits you:
| |
Applicant
Description |
# of programs
to apply to: |
| |
- Junior AOA
- board score > 230
- honors in surgery
- research with 3-5 publications or publications pending
- presented at national conferences
- have advanced degree
- numerous honors in rotations other than sugery
|
10-20
Congratulations, you are at the top of your class and
can expect few to no rejections. You have excellent prospects
and will have great choices. Be sure to apply to 3-5 middle
tier programs to ensure you still match! |
| |
-Senior AOA
- honors in surgery
- board score well above average (>220)
- done some research with publications or publications
pending
- presented at regional or local conference(s)
- honors in 1-2 other clerkships besides surgery
|
20-30
Although you are not at the absolute top of your class,
you're pretty damn close. You will have excellent choices,
but will have a tough time competing with the above group
for the best residencies. Be sure to apply broadly and
interview at enough top and middle tier places to ensure
you match. |
| |
- Not AOA
- honors in surgery
- board score slightly above average (217-225)
- done some surgical research
- perhaps presented at conference
- no other clerkship honors |
30-40
You are a well qualified applicant. You did well in surgery,
and are obviously a good student, but you will have a
tough time matching at the best residencies (as they will
prefer one of the above two groups). That isn't to say
you won't have any chance of interviewing or matching
there, but be sure to stratify with some solid middle
and also lower tier programs. |
| |
- Not AOA
- did not honor surgery
- board score adequate (200-220)
- some surgical research
- no other clerkship honors |
40-60
Do not fear. There is a program out there that wants you,
you just have to find it. It will be a middle or lower
tier program, but you will still come out well trained,
and you can still get a good fellowship. |
| |
- Not AOA
- did not honor surgery
- board score < 200
- no surgical research
- no other clerkship honors |
60+
You may want to consider taking a year off to enhance
your competitiveness. This isn't to say you won't match,
just a lot of programs will not want to take a chance
on you. Options include getting an MPH or MBA while researching
with a faculty to get some publications under your belt. |
Whatever category you fall into, you will be able to find
a residency that is right for you. Even if you match at something
that isn't your top choice, you will still get an excellent
education.
|
| REPUTATION
VS. CLINICAL TRAINING: |
|
Reputation of a given residency program is often based on
a few fixed criteria:
- Tradition (how long the program has been around)
- Research funding (especially NIH grants)
- Faculty awards (nobel prizes and the like)
Now, just because a given school has excellent NIH funding,
and world class faculty does not mean it is the best training
environment for a residency. Often the best residencies are
ones associated with a county hospital, VA, or both - since
often residents are given the opportunity to practice more
(as opposed to VIP clients treated at many of the nations
elite programs). Note: the ethical implications of this
reality are outside the scope of this webpage.
 |
So the trick then
becomes to select a residency with enough prestige and
big-wig faculty members to get you a fantastic fellowship,
but also with enough exposure and clinical experience
to be in a position to get the most out of that fellowship
(instead of having to play catch up for years of watching
the world's best by not getting to do anything). |
It is for this reason that places like the Cleveland Clinic
(although very prestigious), are often better suited for a
fellowship position rather than general surgery residency.
A good (although not perfect) indicator of this is the number
of fellowships offered at a given institution. The greater
the number of fellowships, the less the residents get to do.
The decision-making-process gets difficult if you're interested
in something highly competitive like Pediatric Surgery, where
your best bet is to go to one of the places where you may
not get to do as much, but have the benefit of interacting
with the best faculty (who you will need to write you a great
letter).
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| RESEARCHING
THE PROGRAM / FINDING OUT MORE: |
|
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| DECIDING
WHAT FITS / PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER |
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So what does all this mean?
Basically, it means there is no one way to decide what
residency is best for you. General Surgery has gotten
much more competitive in recent years. Unlike medicine,
there are only 3-8 spots per program, which makes the
highly coveted ones even harder to come by.
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This means that it is important to apply to and interview
at a wide range of programs to ensure that you match. Even
among the most highly competitive applicants, you may not
get your first choice. But whether you get your first choice
or your 10th, you will get a good training.
Enjoy the application process, and MAKE SURE TO HAVE AN ADVISOR!
We encourage you at USC to contact Dr. Towfigh for more information.
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