r/DermApp

M3 in clerkships here. Have to lock in my speciality in a month. My mindset was always to either dual apply or to do a derm research year and apply for derm as I am OOS in my med school and I want to go back home (NJ) for residency. I am still stuck between derm and the other speciality though. Was on the other speciality before med school and derm since start of M1 as my friends roped me in and I liked it.

All the red flags I collected so far (P in Peds due to Shelf, M3 derm elective preceptor said while I was professional I needed to get used to outpatient clinic more even though it was my very first rotation, and got a low grade in one of my OSCEs which due to its weight will lower my class rank) I am low on research (1 pub, 6 items in total) as all the projects I pursued either fizzled or are very longitudinal. I have done a good bit of volunteering though. I do have a decent network I made and worked with 2 other departments for things but that is it. Meanwhile as the other speciality I have less to worry about as it is less competitive and I have a SNMA position in it.

My parents, friends, and school say it is my decision but I hate that. I know theoretically I have time to get another project, grind for Hs and a 260+, and be in a better spot but I am not sure. I am also affected socially as some of my friends think I am pursuing the other specialty fully. I am also scared to not match as I know a few IM residents who didn’t match derm and are in limbo.

For those who are residents/play a part in match process what were the qualities like of top away rotators? Did they have exceptional descriptions, differentials and were able to combine it with being a great team player?

Anyone know the match rate for RY applicants? Why do some RY applicants not match?

Hi I'm wondering how many actual peer-reviewed pubs would be a good number for a "productive" research year. I feel like given how slow these journals are and given the mix of BS to somewhat decent projects I'm working on, I may only get maybe 3-5 actual pubs (although I will def have several more posters/abstracts) from the RY if I'm lucky. I do have a few pubs prior to my research year, so optimistically like max 8 or 9 total by the time i submit ERAS next year. I know thats a decent amount but also I know there's students from my home program that will be applying with like 20+ actual pubs, so it is a bit worrying that I won't be able to produce those numbers. I do have 2 first author brief reports in JAAD though, so a couple good quality papers, but if anyone has any thoughts on how much the numbers matter given that RY students have higher expectations for research output?

I’m an M3, haven’t taken STEP 2 yet. I’m in the 85th percentile of my class.

I hate, HATE, research.

I’m interested in Derm, mostly because of the lifestyle and day to day clinic work. How difficult is the match? I’m willing to take a research year if necessary. I’m just not willing to do a shit ton of research while having classes.

(I have 1 derm publication from undergrad😂)

Is 260+ still considered impressive to match? Why do people with 260+ go unmatched?