Make sure to watch this – a new Insider Medical Admissions Guru on the Go© stop motion video. These under-one-minute videos give you professional admissions tips for free… and they are fun to watch! This one, called “Stars are Made, Not Born,” guides pre-meds and residency applicants toward some good interview advice.
Blog Archives
Med School and Residency Interview Advice
Early this year I launched the Insider Medical Admissions Guru on the Go© stop motion video series with residency application and medical school admissions tips. Now, as medical school and residency interview seasons approach, I’m posting the first of three original Guru on the Go© videos called “No Ring, No Thing.” Take a peek.
AMCAS Calendar
Here’s a quick reminder for med school applicants that 2014 AMCAS opens for submission tomorrow, June 4. For more information, check out this AMCAS web page for applicants.
It’s Never Too Early To Start Thinking about Applications
Residency Application Help
Last month I was an invited exhibitor at Student Doctor Network’s Test Prep Week 2013. As an exhibitor, I received several good questions. Because I am always impressed with someone who thinks ahead, one of my favorites was
When do you suggest students begin preparing for residency applications?
The below was my response:
Good question. The simple answer is to start working on a personal statement and ERAS activities draft around March of the year you are planning to apply. Assume it will take multiple drafts to get your written materials into good shape. Once you’ve done your best, find someone with residency admissions experience (like me) to help you get your documents into outstanding shape.
In terms of your comprehensive residency candidacy, you should start planning a strategy toward the beginning of your first year of medical school. If you are applying in a very competitive field (derm, plastic surgery), you should get started on your first day of med school. (No joke.) Consider hiring me for a Strategy Session early.
I hope this helps current first-, second-, and third-year medical students who are thinking ahead!
Happiness: Be All That You Can Be
Medical school and residency training usually decrease one’s happiness for several reasons. Happiness researchers have demonstrated that a feeling of control and the amount of spare time one has both correlate with happiness. Both of those factors are limited during med school and residency. Relationships are also correlated with happiness, and those can be squashed during medical training as well.
I’m not trying to be a downer here! I want to encourage applicants to consider this happiness quotient when selecting an institution and training program. If you are able, maximizing your contentment by choosing an institution that fosters your greatest happiness is key. Geography; proximity to family, friends and community; and a location that provides an opportunity to enjoy hobbies during limited free time is significant.
Excellent training is important, but, in the end, many programs turn out equally qualified clinicians. At least consider your well-being as a factor in selecting where you might be for the next three plus years of your life.
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
