FAQs about Residencies – ASCO (2023)

FAQs

What are the main things you would want a residency program director to know about you? ›

Good Grades in Clerkships

An important predictor of success in residency is a candidate's grades in their clerkships. Residency program directors will also look specifically at clerkship grades in specialty clerkships to confirm that a student can succeed in the type of work they will be performing in residency.

Many schools and colleges of optometry require residency training as a basic qualification for new clinical faculty positions. The Veterans Health Administration has always looked favorably at residency training as a prerequisite for employment at its hospitals and outpatient clinics.

How do you become an optometrist? After obtaining a bachelor degree and completing the necessary prerequisites, you will take the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT)—whereas for medical school you would take the MCAT. You will then need to complete a four-year program at an accredited optometry school.

There are 24 schools and colleges of optometry in the United States and two in Canada. The best advice to an applicant when selecting which institution to attend is to obtain information from the individual schools, talk to recent graduates, visit selected schools and ask pointed questions of faculty and students.

The Three Most Common Red Flags in the Residency Application

There are three main sections of the residency application that can have red flags: the USMLE exams, Background Gaps, and Supporting Documents. The USMLE exams are typically the most frequent red flags to appear in your residency application.

GPA. A cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in the optometry professional curriculum is required.

Getting accepted to optometry school is difficult, but not impossible. Optometry schools have a 74% acceptance rate. However, to apply to most optometry schools, a student will need to have a GPA of at least 3.0, finish required undergraduate courses, and pass the OAT (Optometry Admission Test).

You can excel in residency, learn so much, hone your surgical skills, and blossom into a great ophthalmologist. And yes, it will be challenging and some of it may be difficult, but it is all part of the growing experience.

If we compare the difficulty level of the MCAT and OAT, the latter is much more demanding and challenging compared to the MCAT. It is already given that the MCAT basically is a hard exam due to its duration and the topics involved in its test sections.

Is optometry school easier than med school? ›

Yes, optometry school is definitely as hard as med school. That being said, though, med school is more intense owing to the sheer volume of material med students are required to learn.

Many confuse the responsibilities of an optometrist vs ophthalmologist. Optometrists are not medical doctors. Instead, they have a doctor of optometry (OD) degree after finishing three or more years of college and four years of optometry school.

Optometry is not oversaturated

Depending on a variety of factors (eg. state, city, practice modality), the highly nuanced issue of oversaturation may not be as bad as it sounds.

Get accurate pay by adjusting the below factors. How much does an Doctor of Optometry make in the United States? The average Doctor of Optometry salary in the United States is $137,401 as of May 01, 2023, but the range typically falls between $121,701 and $152,201.

First, it is important to keep in mind that almost every single applicant will get residency interview rejections. It is a normal and expected part of the residency application process. If you think about it, applying to 200 programs with a 10% interview rate could still potentially lead to well over 100 rejections!

During the recruitment process, residency programs and applicants actively communicate with one another to gather information to make more informed decisions. When these communications occur after interviews, but before rank order lists are submitted, they are termed “postinterview communications.”

Do residencies care about your GPA? ›

Yes, your medical school grades matter during US residency selection process. USMLE Step 1 score is ranked after an applicant's interview interactions. Your grades in the required medical school clerkships are #17 on the list. There are several extremely important factors in the resident selection process.

1. Western University of Health Sciences. Acceptance Rate of 41%, it is exceptionally hard to get into a college with great campus facilities. The College of Optometry offers an innovative Doctor of Optometry program that emphasizes optometric rehabilitation including neuro-optometry.

There were 2,684 individuals who applied for admission to the schools and colleges of optometry in the United States with a total number of 12,513. The average number of applications per applicant was 4.66. The median age of applicants was 22 years old, with 72% female and 28% male.

Each subject is scored on a standardized scale from 200 to 400 points. A score of 300 equates to the 50th percentile in that section. A good OAT score for acceptance is around 320, but students with lower scores also get accepted all the time!

Although most students who are working toward a career in optometry choose to pursue a major in a basic science such as Biology, Chemistry, or Physics, applied health majors are also common such as Health Science and Exercise Science.

We recently conducted a survey on LinkedIn to ask ophthalmologists about the largest problem they face in their field. A total of 153 people participated in the poll, and the results revealed some interesting insights. The top issue identified by 40% of respondents was reimbursement challenges.

The amount they pay doctors depends on their overall revenue. However, for ophthalmologists, an outpatient clinic may be more lucrative. According to one source, those employed by a hospital earn around $205,000 per year, while those working in an outpatient clinic can earn up to $68,000 more per year.

Cataract surgery is the bread-and-butter procedure for the ophthalmology resident. While the most frequently performed surgery in the United States, this surgery is delicate, complex, and requires tremendous practice. Several variations of technique exist; however, the same general principles guide the ophthalmologist.

How is the OAT scored? The OAT provides scaled scores between 200–400. The average score is 300.

What is the lowest MCAT score for medical school? ›

However, the physics section has proven the hardest for thousands of pre-optometry students, no matter the level of preparation. On my part, I realized the physics section tests almost every concept in the subject.

Optometrists use math to identify sight lines and vision angles during an eye exam. They must write the percentage of vision loss on a patient's chart to monitor changes or improvements. While examining a patient's eyes, optometrists use vision equipment to diagnose diseases such as glaucoma and cataracts.

Yes, math is part of optometry, and the math we do is the physics of optics on steroids—the dreaded physiological optics.

An ophthalmologist will have an MD (doctor of medicine) or a DO (doctor of osteopathic medicine) after his or her name. Optometrists will have an OD after their names. They earn a doctor of optometry degree. Medical vs.

Optometrist Salary. $109,000 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $143,000 is the 75th percentile.

An optometrist will have the initials “O.D.” (Doctor of Optometry) after his or her name.

What should I call an optometrist? The rule is either 'Dr. ' before, or the post-nominal abbreviation for their degree after. Never both at the same time.

Most important factors

Perceived goodness of fit—87%. Reputation of program—82%. Work-life balance—74%.

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Qualities considered by Program Directors include dedication and compassion. They look at communication skills, leadership qualities, and your attitudes. They want to know about your achievements and competitiveness, whether you are a team player, and whether you will fit into their program.

What is the most important aspect to you in selecting a residency program? ›

Access to family support, cost of living considerations, patient populations, and access to busy hospital centers are all important factors tied to geographical location, and all affect your quality of life and quality of training.

Residency/Fellowship

The Milestones are divided into the six Core Competencies of Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Professionalism, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Practice-based Learning and Improvement, and Systems-based Practice.

Excellent interpersonal skills, a strong work ethic, a commitment to patients and colleagues, an enthusiasm for learning and a sense of humor. Individuals who are courageous enough to be themselves.

Residency competitiveness is not related to specialty difficulty; it is simply based on numbers. Specialty competitiveness is measured by the percentage of positions filled by senior students in medical schools. The higher the fill rate, the more competitive the residency.

Interviews are the final step in the process of fourth-year medical students securing a residency position. As such, interviews play a crucial role in the residency selection process for both residency programs and fourth-year medical students alike.

It is important to realize that the medical community is fairly small and program directors talk to each other. It is likely that if you tell multiple programs you are ranking them #1, that will come back to bite you.

How do I increase my chances of a residency match? ›

Intelligently approach your application and spend your time and effort wisely to improve your match chances. Get involved in interest groups or research for your desired field early on. Then, prioritize scoring high on Step 2 as well as your clerkship rotations.

For the average student, ranking 10-12 programs will likely ensure a match. Work backwards from this number to account for attrition of programs during the application and interview process.

A holistic evaluation approach that encompasses USMLE scores, grades, LORs, MSPEs, and a student's personal statement and life experience is necessary to decide whom to interview.