Post by tkimmd on Apr 16, 2007 9:27:21 GMT -5
If you're interested in urology, you need to check out: urologymatch.com
This website was created by two urology residents a few years ago (one went to MCG), and it has all the information you need. I would recommend though that you take the advice given in the "Discussion" section cautiously. Some is good, some is bad.
General Information
1. Urology is a surgical subspecialty
2. 1 +4 residency (1 year of gen surg, 4 of urology). Some programs are 2 + 4 (2 of gen surg).
3. Early match. You will match in mid to late January instead of March. The match is run by the AUA (American Urological Assoc), almost all programs take ERAS.
How competitive is Urology?
Urology is competitive, and like any other field, I would recommend going to an advisor/faculty member and giving them your application and board scores to assess how competitive you are.
I matched Jan. 2007. Out of 348 total applicants, 239 matched. This is a 68.7% match rate.
Whether you are a strong applicant or not, you need to have a back up plan. In my year there were 2 urology spots open to scramble for. The 2 years before me, there were none each year. Things to think about:
1. If I don't match, would I rather do something else than re-apply for urology?
2. If I want to do something else, then what? research, gen surg, anesthesia?
3. If you want to do another field of medicine, then you must apply separately to this field and those schools when you submit your application. This is tricky because you have 2 sets of interviews to schedule and it's possible (but I don't know this for sure) that some schools do not like receiving applications for different fields.
4. Your last option is to wait until after the regular match and scramble into something (eg. pre-lim gen surg)
Letters of Recommendation
You need between 3 and 4.
First, I would advise that ALL your letters are from surgeons; highly recommend that they are all from urologists. In urology, you NEED to get a letter from the chairman at your home school, if you don't it will look bad. If you do an away rotation, get a letter from the chairmen there.
Research
Excellent way to help your application. I didn't meet a single applicant on the interview trail that hadn't done some sort of research. It's definitely more beneficial if it is urology, obviously good if you've published, presentation, etc. We talked about research at every single interview.
Away Rotations
In short, do one. Everyone else does. It looks good to have a letter from another chairmen. Start looking for one early (several months in advance), because spots go fast and paperwork takes time. If you do a rotation somewhere you'd really like to go, then be careful because it's basically a month long interview. But if they like you then it can be very beneficial.
This website was created by two urology residents a few years ago (one went to MCG), and it has all the information you need. I would recommend though that you take the advice given in the "Discussion" section cautiously. Some is good, some is bad.
General Information
1. Urology is a surgical subspecialty
2. 1 +4 residency (1 year of gen surg, 4 of urology). Some programs are 2 + 4 (2 of gen surg).
3. Early match. You will match in mid to late January instead of March. The match is run by the AUA (American Urological Assoc), almost all programs take ERAS.
How competitive is Urology?
Urology is competitive, and like any other field, I would recommend going to an advisor/faculty member and giving them your application and board scores to assess how competitive you are.
I matched Jan. 2007. Out of 348 total applicants, 239 matched. This is a 68.7% match rate.
Whether you are a strong applicant or not, you need to have a back up plan. In my year there were 2 urology spots open to scramble for. The 2 years before me, there were none each year. Things to think about:
1. If I don't match, would I rather do something else than re-apply for urology?
2. If I want to do something else, then what? research, gen surg, anesthesia?
3. If you want to do another field of medicine, then you must apply separately to this field and those schools when you submit your application. This is tricky because you have 2 sets of interviews to schedule and it's possible (but I don't know this for sure) that some schools do not like receiving applications for different fields.
4. Your last option is to wait until after the regular match and scramble into something (eg. pre-lim gen surg)
Letters of Recommendation
You need between 3 and 4.
First, I would advise that ALL your letters are from surgeons; highly recommend that they are all from urologists. In urology, you NEED to get a letter from the chairman at your home school, if you don't it will look bad. If you do an away rotation, get a letter from the chairmen there.
Research
Excellent way to help your application. I didn't meet a single applicant on the interview trail that hadn't done some sort of research. It's definitely more beneficial if it is urology, obviously good if you've published, presentation, etc. We talked about research at every single interview.
Away Rotations
In short, do one. Everyone else does. It looks good to have a letter from another chairmen. Start looking for one early (several months in advance), because spots go fast and paperwork takes time. If you do a rotation somewhere you'd really like to go, then be careful because it's basically a month long interview. But if they like you then it can be very beneficial.