making the most of your residency application: what to do ... or not

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR RESIDENCY APPLICATION:

WHAT TO DO … or NOT

Timothy Munzing, M.D.,Family Medicine Residency DirectorKaiser Permanente Orange County

National Residency Matching Program Board of Directors

Agenda

Residency Application Process and TimelineFactors to Consider in Choosing a ResidencyApplication and Interview tipsSample Interview QuestionsTop 10 Things NOT to Do

Materials Submitted in a Residency Application

ERAS ApplicationCurriculum VitaePersonal StatementLetters of RecommendationMedical Student Performance Evaluation (Dean’s Letter)USMLE Transcript

Application Timeline

Contact Letter of Rec. Writers –SummerPrepare Application Docs –SummerMeet with Dean – AugustRegister with ERAS – after Aug. 15Submit ERAS Applic. – Sept. or early October

Application Timeline (cont.)

Interviews – Nov. through JanuaryRegister with NRMP (before mid-January)Match List due – mid-Feb.Match Day – mid March (three days prior you find out if you Matched with a program – if not – Scramble on Tuesday and Wednesday)

Choosing a Residency:Factors to Consider

Location, location, locationGestalt, program fit (gut feeling)Type of program (community vs. university vs. county)Single vs. multiple residency hosp.Program size – larger vs. smallerNon-surgical vs. surgical emphasis

Choosing a Residency:Factors to Consider

Teachers – primary faculty vs. residentsElectronic health record – in place vs. planning vs. no planBehavioral medicine emphasisOn-call – educational vs. serviceResearch emphasisSalary / benefitsOther Characteristics

WORDS OF WISDOM ABOUT YOUR INTERVIEWS

Be prepared

Know your application packet well

Do your homework about the program you are interviewing at

RELAX!!!!

THE INTERVIEW BEGINS BEFORE YOU GET TO THE PROGRAM!!

ERAS Application

Personal Statement

MSPE (Dean’s Letter)

Letters of recommendation

Board Scores

ERAS APPLICATION

Be honest– Don’t exaggerate your skills

(e.g. language proficiency)– Don’t Pad your Activities

Include volunteer activities you’ve done regularly – not if only once

ERAS APPLICATION

BE PROUD OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS

– Identify any obstacles you have overcome

– Highlight your organizational and volunteer work

– Avoid emphasis on California’s surf, sand, and climate

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

READ, RE-READ AND RE-READ AGAIN!!

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

BE CONCISE, YET THOROUGH– THREE PAGES IS TOO LONG!– THREE PARAGRAPHS IS TOO SHORT!

CHECK YOUR GRAMMAR

BE PREPARED TO BE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ANYTHING ON YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

Fill in the blanks

– Explain any absences in timeline, medical school extension

– Low board scores or failures – what did you do with them?

– Are you only applying to Family Medicine?

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

Tell the reader who you are!

Personal statements form first impressions!

Program directors read hundreds of these –makes you special – someone they can’t wait to meet???

PERSONAL STATEMENTS: Make someone want to read on

“I grew up with a two sisters, a dog and a turtle.”– Does this capture you?– Is this cleaver…?

(Be creative but not cutesy)“Standing on the brink of a deadly crevice on a glacier in Montana …”– Does this get you interested?

Med Student Performance Evaluation -DEAN’S LETTER

*** You may not get to read this?***

READ, REREAD, AND REREAD AGAIN!

KNOW WHAT IS IN YOUR DEAN’S LETTER

BE PREPARED TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS

LETTERS OF SUPPORT

WHO SHOULD WRITE THEM?– Someone who knows you

WELL (ask if he/she can write you a good letter)

– At least one or two from Family Medicine

LETTERS OF SUPPORT: POSSIBLE RED FLAGS

No Family Medicine lettersLetters that state that you will make a great “surgeon, pediatrician, etc.)Letters from someone who barely knows youBrief or generic letters

BOARD SCORES: DO YOU NEED TO BE A MEMBER OF MENSA OR AOA??

THE ANSWER IS “NO”!!

Board scores are a part of the overall evaluation

Be prepared to discuss it if you failed the boards or did poorly – better yet – bring the issue up before they do

Don’t be defensive – answer questions openly and honestly

Submitting the Application

Early bird gets the (worm) interview –no later than October 1st if possibleCheck to see if letter writers sent them in(gently remind them)Be prompt in calling when offered an interview – be flexible in scheduling

ON TO THE INTERVIEW!!

APPEARANCE

LANGUAGE

PROFESSIONALISM

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

PROMPTNESS

REMAIN INVOLVED IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

PROMPTNESS

ALLOW YOURSELF EXTRA TIME TO ARRIVE ONTIME FOR YOUR INTERVIEW– PROGRAMS HAVE TIGHT SCHEDULES AND

TARDINESS CAN MAKE THINGS WORSE AND REFLECT BADLY ON YOU

– DON’T MAKE EXCUSES IF YOU ARE LATE, APOLOGIZE

APPEARANCE: FIRST IMPRESSIONS DO COUNT!

DRESS PROFESSIONALLY

– THIS IS NOT DENIM DAY!

– LOOK NEAT AND CLEAN

– REMEMBER YOUR DEODORANT

LANGUAGE

BE PROFESSIONAL

DO NOT USE FOUR LETTER WORDS (YES…THIS HAS HAPPENED!!)

STAY INVOVLED IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

LOOK EAGER; DON’T LOOK BORED…EVEN IF THIS IS YOUR 15TH INTERVIEW IN WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN ASKED THE SAME QUESTIONS!!!

WATCH YOUR BODY LANGUAGE

PROFESSIONALISM

THE INTERVIEW MAY DICTATE WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO SPEND YOUR NEXT THREE YEARS OF TRAINING

– DON’T CRITICIZE OTHER PROGRAMS

– DON’T CRITICIZE YOUR OWN PROGRAM

– DON’T USE DEROGATORY TERMS FOR PATIENTS

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

A BASIC TENET OF PATIENT CARE IS COMMUNICATION

LISTEN TO THE QUESTION THAT IS ASKED

AVOID “CANNED” ANSWERS (THIS GETS HARDER AS THE INTERVIEW TRAIL PROGRESSES)

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHY

“WHAT INTERESTS YOU IN THIS PROGRAM OTHER THAN GEOGRAPHY?”

– “I WANT TO BE IN A PROGRAM THAT IS CLOSE TO THE OCEAN.”

– Always have questions of the P.D. or other interviewers – shows you are interested

INTEREST IN THE PROGRAM: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

REPUTATION OF THE PROGRAM

FAMILIARITY WITH FACULTY AND/OR RESIDENTS

FAMILY NEARBY

WEATHER

INTERVIEWER-GENERATED QUESTIONS

Why Family Medicine?What attracted you to this program?Discuss your strengths and weaknessesIf you couldn’t be a physician, what you want to be?Describe a patient where a Family Physician would have made a difference

INTERVIEWER-GENERATED QUESTIONS

PLEASE PICK ONE AND DESCRIBE THE MOST REWARDING, DISTURBING, SATISFYING, FRUSTRATING PATIENT-RELATED EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE HAD.

INTERVIEWER-GENERATED QUESTIONS: OFF THE BEATEN PATH

“WHO IS THE REAL ________?”

“IF YOU WERE AN ANIMAL, WHICH ANIMAL WOULD YOU BE? WHY?”

Questions to Ask the Program Director or Faculty

What changes do you anticipate?Where are your graduates practicing?How is the program preparing their residents for the New Model of FM?Does the program have an EHR?What are the weaknesses of the program, and what are they doing to improve them?

Questions to Ask the Program’s Residents

How is the morale in the program? Is this improving or worsening and why?Is the program as described to you in your interview?What were your 2 or 3 other top programs when applying and why?Describe the program’s strengths and weaknesses (same as PD?)Can you influence the program?

AFTER THE INTERVIEW

MEET WITH OTHER FACULTY OR RESIDENTS– BE PROFESSIONAL– REMEMBER ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN

BECOME PART OF YOUR INTERVIEW EVALUATION

– AGAIN, DO NOT CRITICIZE THE PROGRAM

AFTER THE INTERVIEW

FOLLOW-UP WITH THE PROGRAM

– EMAIL THE PROGRAM PD– SEND A THANK YOU NOTE– ASK FOR A SECOND VISIT IF YOU ARE

REALLY INTERESTED IN THE PROGRAM

Most Common NRMP Violations

Applicant fails to accept matched positionPD offers written or oral contract to US Senior prior to Match DayPD asks applicant where he/she intends to rank the program –affecting program Ranking of applicant

Most Common NRMP Violations

Medical school official withdraws allopathic US Senior to facilitate position outside MatchMedical school official informs previous grad of match result earlyUnmatched applicant contacts programs about unfilled positions prior to 12 noon E.S.T. on Tuesday of Match Week

What’s the Rule?

You can court – you can’t get engaged!No PD can ask you where you are ranking them – or – “we will rank you #1 if you rank us #1” – violationsYou can tell the program where you are ranking them – or vice versa – if no strings are attached

Top 10 Things Not to Do!

10) Be late: in applying or for the interview


9) Fail to Explain Missing Dates or Concerns in the Application.


8) Have a famous celebrity (who doesn’t know you) write “I’m sure Joe will be a good doctor”.


7) Come to the interview dressed for the beach or a cocktail party.


6) Emphasize you want to train near the beach, surfing, skiing, etc.


5) “I look forward to joining your Radiology Residency Program”


4) Be rude to the residency coordinator or staff.


3) Bring your photo portfolio to the interview.


2) Plagiarize your personal statement


1) Lie about your background

making the most of your residency application: what to do ... or not

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