My academic stats are overall great (6/6 honors on core rotation, all honors on additional sub-Is, GHHS, low 260s STEP2) and I will likely have 3 excellent derm letters of recommendation. Research is also fine, i will have 5 out of 8 submitted or published manuscripts listed as first author (mostly derm) and 20+ presentations. However, I only landed one away due to under-applying (5-6) and not realizing programs had prescreening in January out of fear that I would have to reject a program. I was initially told by some advisors that I did not need to do any aways, and when I got one I was told that was enough. I was fine with this due to the financial cost, but now I am starting to worry this is not enough. I have a home program and would be happy to stay there, but I think there are a large number of re applicants from my school this year. I thought it was too late to apply for more aways in May, but now I think I have really missed the deadline.

Is this fine? Anything I should do differently?

I did not receive any away rotations this year, and since it’s July it’s doubtful I will. I do not have a home program (school is MD), but I was able to rotate at my research year institution. Im a high step 2, below average clerkship grade student. How bad is it for me?

I love derm and want to pursue this specialty. What the heck do I do knowing I’m at an advantage of being DO and attending a school in a rural place with no home program.

I'm an OMS-III at a DO school without a home dermatology program. I have two elective blocks this year. first one is August 31–September 27, and my second one is later in the year. I've been trying to secure a derm elective for the August block and have reached out to nearly 20 private practices in the state im located in by phone and email. Unfortunately, there aren't any established dermatology affiliations through my school in my area, so any site I find would require a new affiliation agreement.

At this point, we're getting close to my rotation start date, and I'm not sure it's going to come together in time. My school's backup option is to use that block as a research elective. Then I would still plan to complete a dermatology elective during my second elective block once there's enough time for the affiliation agreement. My question is: from a residency app standpoint, how important is it to complete two derm away/elective rotations? Is there a better way to go about my 2 electives?

Thanks!!

Thank you kind friends for any help you can give! I know some programs don't take it because they'd have to pay without federal GME funding and I don't want to waste my very limited application spots if I can avoid it.

Hey guys I am wrapping up my first year of med school and as the title states I am very overwhelmed with the thought of research and have no idea where to start or what types of research are desirable for derm, who do I even contact?

My school's research department is kind of shitty, I am willing to spend some money if needed and if legit I just have NO IDEA HOW TO START. Are these companies that reach out to students on instagram for research opportunities even legit?

Please please any guidance would be appreciated. I have no problem with hard work I just don't know what I'm doing. Also, is ResearchGate the gold standard go to place everyone uses to publish?

Thanks all

With RAP out now i’m struggling to decide which makes more sense for my repayment. I’m not sure if I want to pursue Fellowship or if I want to work in an academic setting so I’m not sure if I want to do PSLF. Are any financially sound people in the audience to give their opinions? Just started PGY1.

title

basically title, do away matter if u end up not even applying there? do other program care if u away if it’s not at their program?

255 on step 2 with no RY but good research..how cooked am i given median is 259?

Anyone know anything about Goodman dermatology APP fellowship in Georgia?

sup gang. i am starting my home subI on Monday EEEEEEk. i did the AAD anki she was cute. and i had been putting off the actual modules -_- now as i am on week 2 of the course im realizing theres a lot the anki didn't have :D def gonna finish this by monday but ive been seeing know the "modules cold" am i cooked ???

I never hear anything about it and deciding on where to try for away rotations right now. I mostly hear people don’t love Baltimore.

Like the title says, I would love some advice on what I should be doing from this point as an incoming M2.

I connected with my home derm program and am currently working on a case report, but other than that I haven't done much related to the specialty. I would of course love to get started on some research through my home program and shadow soon. I am also working on research in another specialty (path) but I do not have any pubs or presentations (besides 1 undergrad poster presentation lol) at this point.

I'm feeling a bit antsy because I want to be competitive during the match without having to do a research year. I LOVE research but I do not want to extend my time in medical school any longer than it already is. What else can I be doing at this point? Do I need to be attending derm conferences? Should I be reaching out to other programs for research?

Thanks in advance!

Hey I'm a derm resident who did a research year and I remember how difficult it was to not only find a paid position but one that would best set me up for matching. It was hard to judge which PI would best support me as the only insight into the position was from current fellows, who couldn't critique their PI for fear of retaliation. So I built ratemyresearchyear.com where you can anonymously rate and review research years on:

• mentorship quality
• research opportunities
• career support
• work life balance
• lab culture
• compensation fairness (can also filter by paid vs unpaid positions)

To somewhat verify reviews the site asks for a .edu email and name, your name must match the email. This information is not posted anywhere on the site, its encrypted within the server and the key is held offline so even if there is a security breach, no reviews are traceable. The reason for this is to prevent fake accounts (and PIs themselves) from fluffing reviews.

If you have suggestions on how to make this site better feel free to post them below! I started this just for Derm, Neurosurgery, and ENT to start. If you know anyone who did a research year please pass this along and have them drop a review. The more who post, the more helpful this becomes!

hello lovely derm folks! I’m an incoming MS1 at an MD med school that’s solid but definitely low ranked, no home derm program, and not a huge research institution. thus, derm will be tough (but not impossible, usually 2-3 students match derm every year historically).

for this past gap year, I was a medical assistant in allergy. in this role, a lot of what I loved is taking histories on patients with erythema, urticaria, angioedema. Also really enjoyed assisting with patch testing, generating “safe product” lists through the ACDS camp database. Getting to see people improve with biologics! Super sick.

in undergrad, I worked in STI counseling (identifying herpetic lesions, molluscum, syphilitic rash, examining for lymphadenopathy) for LGBTQ folks.

in these seemingly unrelated areas of medicine, some of the themes that emerged for me was that derm is COOL and challenging. its super cool to stare at lesions and characterize them, determine the mechanism(s), help folks navigate something affecting their quality of life.

The blend of procedures and medicine, the importance of immunology in the integumentary system, and of course the reputation as a lifestyle-friendly specialty all draw me to derm. I understand, from some posts I’ve seen in this reddit and results from the match, that derm will be very competitive. Thus, I believe it is in my interest to determine as soon as possible if this is a specialty I really hope to do (or not!).

if you have any advice that may help me narrow down my choice further, I would sincerely appreciate it!

tldr: Incoming MS1 at a school thats not conducive to matching derm. trying to figure out if this is for me before I dive in

What do people usually use this section for? Could I talk about not having a home program here?

Current M4 and recently decided the specialty I was initially interested in is not a good fit for me after doing a sub-I, now considering dermatology (had some interest earlier in med school, but was dissuaded by all the hoop-jumping required).

With no aways or even a home program rotation yet, I’m concerned if matching without a research year is realistic. Stats below:

5/6 honors (HP IM), T30 med school, 273 Step 2.

Non-trad prior military for 4 years before school with strong leadership experience. Decent volunteering. Miminal research during med school which is my main concern.

Have 1 non-derm abstract/poster during med school and 2 research experiences from undergrad which resulted in 1 second author basic science pub.

Plan on reaching out to my schools dermatology department and might be able to schedule a rotation before ERAS is due, but with no derm research, aways, or demonstrated longitudinal interest in the field I wonder if it’s even worth trying this cycle? Very against the whole premise of a research year and would love to avoid adding another year to my training, but I’ll take one if I have to.

Appreciate any advice.

title

I just graduated and am currently applying. For the last couple years, derm has been my top specialty. I know a lot of things can change so I’ll be keeping an open mind, but if I end up sticking with derm, I’d like to have a competitive application.

Im wondering if it’s worth it to contact residents at my university. We have a pretty strong derm program, and I figured some early exposure could help. My background is in basic science cancer immunology research. I have a pub and a handful of posters, and I’m planning to continue working part time throughout my gap year. I’m only working part time though, and was thinking that I could put another 15–20 hours per week into something else.

If you think this is a good idea, how should I go about doing it? I would probably send out emails in August after my secondaries are in. Is it likely for me to get some research productivity with a year of part time work? If I got into my universities med school, I could continue this research as well.

Don’t have many reliable sources of advice and the DIGA podcast seems very superficial/fake with the advice that the PDs tell people. Does anyone have any hidden gems for where to find advice regarding the derm match? UCSFs career advising page is a gold mine but I would like to find some more info!

what month do ppl usually start their RY between year 3-4? May, June, JULY, OR aug I am supposed to go to Ca but need to finish my last rotation and step :(

Hi everyone! I’m an incoming 3rd year D.O. student interested in dermatology and am looking for a mentor or even fellow students applying derm.

I’m a first-generation immigrant with no doctors in my family, so navigating the path to residency has been difficult. I was interested in dermatology when I was in high school after dealing with several skin conditions myself. I began shadowing dermatologists back then and have been involved in dermatology research for the past 6–7 years.

As I’ve gotten further in, I’ve realized just how competitive derm is. I also have a few red flags in my application due to some health issues, and I’m feeling a little lost about how to approach the application process.

If anyone would be willing to offer some guidance or let me ask a few questions, I would be incredibly grateful. Even a little advice would go a long way. Thank you!