Residency applicants, please note that the NRMP rank order list deadline is this Wednesday, February 22. Rank order lists must be certified by 9 am EST. After that, you can sit back and relax because there is little to do except wait.
Blog Archives
Geography is Giant
When I was a medical student applying for emergency medicine residency programs, a well-meaning dean gave me some bad advice. I was determining the order of my rank list and was particularly concerned about one program that had an excellent reputation but was in a city I didn’t like. The dean told me, “You’ll be so busy during residency it won’t matter where you live.” Luckily, the advice rubbed me the wrong way, and I wholeheartedly disregarded it. As I’ve said in a recent blog entry (and others in the past), where you live for your medical training – medical school, residency, or fellowship – is as important as the quality of your training program. The reasons are several-fold:
1. Medical training is extremely time-consuming, and you want to be in a city you can enjoy fully when you’re able to blow off steam.
2. Medical training is extremely stressful, and you want to be in a city where you have social support.
3. Medical training is not completed in a vacuum. Your personal life continues. If you’re single you may meet someone and end up staying in the city where you have trained for the rest of your life (gasp!). If you’re in a long-term relationship you may decide to have children or may already have them. Down the road you may not want to relocate your family.
Not everyone gets the opportunity to go to medical school or train in residency and fellowship programs in a city s/he likes. But you can make choices that will increase your chances.
Tags: Geography, Medical School, Rank List, residency
After Your Residency or Medical School Interview: What’s the Value of the Second Look?
After interviews – if permitted by the institution – there are several ways you can communicate with a medical school or residency. My favorites are brief thank you notes and well-written letters of interest.
But what about the “second look?” I’ve had many mentees ask me if re-visiting a school or training program after the interview day is valuable. Unfortunately, there may not be a definitive answer to this question because how a second look is perceived varies by institution.
The cons of the second look are cost and time. And perhaps even worse, there is the risk that you are imposing on the school or program. You don’t want your request for a second look to work against your candidacy. On the other hand, the pros of a second look are that demonstration of interest and enthusiasm that many schools and programs are seeking.
If you are a pre-med and are wait listed at a medical school, I would generally recommend a second look if you can swing it. After all, you have every right to visit the institution you may be attending. If you go for a second look in this scenario, make sure to do a formal visit: Let the admissions office or dean’s office know you would like to spend the day and ask if you might have an opportunity to meet with students and even an admissions officer to support your candidacy.
If you are a residency applicant, it’s hard to say if a second look will help or not. A residency director friend of mine says that a visit from someone who travels from far away might improve a candidate’s standing by a few slots on the rank list at her program. That sounds like a tepid endorsement at best… If you are considering a second-visit, make sure to speak to the program coordinator. S/he might advise you against it or, on the contrary, let you know it’s appreciated by the residency director.
As we all know, the residency and medical school interview scene is already stressful and expensive, so unless you are a wait listed pre-med – with all other things being equal – I generally would not push yourself hard to do that second look.
Tags: Interview Tips, Medical School, residency
Check Yourself Before you Wreck Yourself: Your Residency Application
As we approach the time to submit your rank order list, it’s imperative that you understand how to organize your list.
Don’t try to outsmart the algorithm by putting programs with more residency slots higher on your list or by prioritizing those that have given you good feedback over those that haven’t. None of those factors is relevant in creating your rank order list, and you will harm your chances if you pursue those strategies!
Your first choice should be first. Second should be second, etc.
Take a look at this under-one-minute Guru on the Go video for further clarification.
Using Psychology to Further Your Residency or Medical School Application
In my last post, I spoke about the importance of knowing about a school or program in detail in order to show enthusiasm. This entry is a follow-up piece. Being genuinely complimentary (there’s no need to sell yourself down the river being disingenuous) can readily further your candidacy:
There is a psychological principle that asserts that if someone likes you, you tend to like him/her more. So, if I say, “I was just talking to Mike, and he always says the nicest things about you,” you now like Mike more (even though he’s not a real person in this case).
Use this strategy to your advantage. It’s hard to say, “I like you!” in an interview setting. But when speaking about a school or program during interview day, showcase what the institution’s strengths are and specifically, how they apply to you. If the program has a focus on public policy, mention your work with AMSA’s lobbying efforts. If the school is in Utah, note how much you like skiing. Demonstrating interest and zeal can go a long way to leverage simple psychology.
Tags: Interview Tips, Medical School, residency
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
