This is a stressful time for medical school applicants and residency candidates alike. I recently wrote a piece for Student Doctor Network with five suggested books for training doctors, reads that might relax you a bit while you learn something about your future career. I want to add another recommendation: Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air. Get ready to cry your eyes out, while appreciating beautiful prose and insightful content. Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer when he was a senior neurosurgery resident at Stanford. He chronicles his short life in a book that’s hard to put down.
Blog Archives
Residency Match!
Congratulations to so many successful Insider Medical Admissions applicants in dermatology, plastic surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry, anesthesia… and many others. You should feel good about your hard work.
And speaking of hard work… It’s time for third year medical students (and graduated IMGs) to get started on a plan for this coming Match season. As of this writing, I have a few Strategy Sessions slots left in April. Advising discussion topics at this time of year should include creating a fourth year schedule, if/where to do away rotations, potential letter writers, crafting an outline for a personal statement, understanding how to write solid ERAS activity descriptors, reviewing an individual’s prospects in a desired field – using data, and producing a timeline for the application process. Also, note that some applicants contact me to discuss their current indecision about what field to pursue, and that’s fine too; those conversations should happen soon.
Here is a list of my residency services. Contact me for help.
Fellowship Admission
Matching to a fellowship program is a competitive endeavor. Even strong residents can have difficulty getting fellowship positions in certain sub specialties. Those candidates that do match may not get their first or second choices, leaving them in suboptimal locations or programs. Consequently, professional fellowship admissions consulting has become increasingly important in optimizing fellowship applications, improving candidates’ chances of being admitted into the sub specialty programs they desire. Read more ›
Tags: Admissions Consulting, Admissions Officers, Electronic Residency Application, Electronic Residency Application Service, Fellowship Application, Fellowship Applications, Fellowship Positions, Fellowship Programs, Interview Skills, Personal Statements, Professional Fellowship, Residency Application Service
Optimizing your Medical Residency Application: ERAS®
The Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS®) is a program that transmits applications, letters of recommendation, Medical Student Performance Evaluations, medical school transcripts, board scores and other supporting credentials from a residency applicant and his or her designated dean’s office to program directors using the Internet. The ERAS application has multiple sections, including demographics, academic record, experience and personal statement. The experience, or activities, section is where applicants describe their accomplishments – research, clinical, volunteer, teaching, paid work. The ERAS experience section allows the applicant to demonstrate his or her distinctiveness as a candidate. Read more ›
Tags: Application Materials, Electronic Residency Application, Electronic Residency Application Service, Eras, Letters Of Recommendation, Medical Residency Application, Medical Terminology, Performance Evaluations, Personal Statement, Program Directors, Residency Application Advice, Residency Application Service
Residency Admissions
Matching to a residency program through the NRMP® (National Resident Matching Program) is a competitive endeavor. Even strong candidates – especially IMGs (international medical graduates) – can have difficulty getting PGY-1 (post graduate year one) positions in many specialties. Those that do match may not get their first or second choices, leaving them in suboptimal locations or programs. Consequently, professional residency admissions’ consulting has become increasingly important in optimizing residency applications and ensuring that candidates get into the programs they desire. Read more ›
Tags: Admissions Consulting, Admissions Officers, Electronic Residency Application, Electronic Residency Application Service, International Medical Graduates, Interview Skills, Medical Focus, Medical Institutions, National Resident Matching Program, Personal Statements, Program Directors, Residency Admissions, Residency Application Service, Residency Applications, Residency Programs
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
