As we look forward to Thanksgiving, I recommend this short NYT piece by AJ Jacobs on gratitude. It’s a few years old, but it’s still relevant, fun, and reflective.
How to Evaluate an Institution: Consider Your Happiness and Trust Your Intuition
A few medical school and residency applicants have asked me how to evaluate institutions, especially since interviews are virtual. This is a huge topic, but here are some thoughts:
- To me, geography is one of the most important factors – at least equal to the reputation of the institution. You want to make sure you are in a location that will make you happy – near community, family, friends and/ or the ability to enjoy your hobbies.
- Cost is sometimes a deal breaker when it comes to medical school. There’s not much more to say here except that most institutions are extremely expensive.
- Of course, didactics and academic opportunities are critically important for both medical school and residency. However, many medical schools of similar caliber have equivalent curricula and programs. You likely could be happy at many different medical schools. With regard to residency, it’s important to ensure you are getting a lot of hands-on experience and to look at what fellowships are available, with your interests in mind.
- Faculty is hard to assess because – like anything – there are good and bad ones. Also, faculty come and go. Having said that, if you are applying to residency, the program director is very important (understanding that he or she could leave).
- With regard to residency, call schedule and overall work hours are important to consider. Certain programs within the same specialty require a lot more hours and scut work than others.
- One of your best bets is to talk to current students at medical school or current residents in a training program. Oftentimes they will be very honest about the pros and cons of their institution.
Once you’ve assessed all of the above – narrowing down your list by geography and quality – I would analyze the vibe you have. If this sounds too touchy-feely, remember that intuition is not a magical assessment; it’s based on major and minor facts that you consciously and subconsciously analyze.
Remember: If you’re a medical school applicant, consider yourself fortunate if you have more than one option to choose from. Earning admission to medical school is getting harder every year. It’s a great problem if you need to struggle to decide among multiple schools!
Your Residency Interview: What Do Program Directors Really Want?
Imagine you’re a program director (PD) going through scores of ERASes and interviews. What questions would you ask yourself as you assess each residency candidate to avoid big headaches?
1) Can this person do the job? Is s/he competent?
2) Will this person “play well with others” and not create complaints from patients, faculty, or other services.
3) Will this person stick with the program and not leave prematurely? (A PD does not want to scurry around to fill an open call schedule/ residency slot.)
As you approach your interviews, consider how you can demonstrate your competence and collegiality, as well as your commitment to the field and the residency program. For the former, ensure you showcase academic successes, extracurricular activities that demonstrate teamwork, and – if asked – hobbies and reading materials that demonstrate your agreeable personality. For the latter, highlight research projects in the specialty, sub-internships, and knowledge about the program and city.
Simply making sure the PD knows you’re not going to cause him/her trouble is at least half the battle.
Love Letters and Janet Jackson
Letters of interest (LOI) – or what some applicants jokingly call “love letters” – can be used in several types of situations:
1) Residency and medical school applicants who want to make an impression post-interview before decisions are made about their candidacies.
2) Medical school and residency applicants who have not yet been invited to interview.
3) Medical school applicants who have been waitlisted.
When writing your letters of interest, you should have the following goals:
1) Restating your strong enthusiasm for the institution
2) Positioning yourself as a distinctive candidate who can contribute fully to the institution
Errors to avoid in LOIs are:
1) Don’t include generic content about a specific institution’s advantages. There is no reason to spend a paragraph or more telling a PD or medical school admissions member what makes his/her institution special. (“Your faculty is strong and your trainees are collegial” or “You are a world-renowned institution.”) Using your precious space this way is an opportunity cost, keeping you from fully showcasing what makes you a compelling applicant. Having said that, it is very reasonable to link a particular interest of yours with a specific opportunity at an institution. For example if you have done cancer research, make sure to mention how you will contribute to the renowned oncology program the institution is associated with.
2) Don’t write about how the program or school will help you. (“I know your residency will make me into a great doctor.”) The focus should, instead, be on how you will be a contributor to their institution. For example, you can detail how a specific leadership experience of yours has given you the skills to make you a future leader at this institution. (It’s the “What have you done for me lately?” Janet Jackson principle.)
Finally, let me say that I find the term “letter of interest” to be better than “letter of intent” because, generally, I don’t recommend you let institutions know what your intent is (since it might change). Note that with a letter of interest you can create one general letter that you modify and send to different institutions with different goals (i.e. requesting an interview or demonstrating your interest post-interview). You can also modify the letter and send it to your top choices because, if you are not making commitments, then you can honestly use it for multiple institutions.
For those of you interested in LOI assistance for medical school or residency applicants, please contact me.
Highly Recommended Paid Summer Opportunity
I was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Science Fellow in 1995 (during medical school). The program was truly fantastic and life-altering.
Applications for this year’s AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship just opened on October 1 and will remain available through January 2, 2023. The scholarship is a 10-week summer program that places science, engineering, and math undergraduate and graduate students at media organizations across the nation – outlets like NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and WIRED. I worked at the Oregonian in Portland and had a tremendous time, learning how to write effectively and edit. I also gained an appreciation for the amazing public health influence journalists can have. It’s really an amazing program.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
