Medscape Residency Interview Article

Dr. Dan Egan, a former medical student and current colleague of mine, wrote a succinct article about residency interviews. Click Here to read Dr. Egan's article. You will be required to log in to Medscape.

Can a Rainy Day Decrease Your Chance of Medical School Admission?

An interesting article in the New York Times today discusses the work of Dr. Donald A. Redelemeier, an internist and researcher, who likes to investigate quirky topics. One such topic he examined was if poor weather on your medical school interview day can impact your chance of acceptance. The answer is "yes."

I emphasize to clients that many factors influence an interviewer's disposition, mood and outlook. It doesn't surprise me that a rainy day might put your interviewer in a bad mood which might then "cloud" his or her view of you, the interviewee.

Be sure to read my book, The Medical School Interview, which discusses how other factors can influence your interview experience.

Click Here to read the NYT article.

Do You Need to Submit ERAS on September 1st?

By Jessica Freedman, MD, MedEdits

At this time of year, applicants anxiously try to complete their residency applications so they can submit on September 1st. Is this absolutely necessary? Not always. The majority of competitive residency programs such as dermatology, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, and radiation oncology, don't start reviewing applications until after the November 1st release of the MSPE. Less competitive programs may review applications earlier.

I am no longer accepting clients this summer but I encourage prospective clients to consider hiring MedEdits editors for help with their documents. All documents submitted are reviewed by two editing professionals and revisions are completed in up to three business days. Click Here to purchase services.

Students interested in working with me for the 2011/2012 application season should retain my services in advance.

Applicants interested in interview preparation services should also contact us as soon as possible.

No Medical School Interviews? Don't Worry (yet)!

By Jessica Freedman, MD, MedEdits

Today I was helping a medical school applicant prepare for an upcoming interview. She was concerned because this is the only invitation she has received.

Every year, after an initial early flurry of interview invitations, there is often a "slow down" at the end of August. Why? There are a couple of reasons:

1) Medical educators, like you, take vacations, and the end of August tends to be a popular time for summer holidays.

2) First year medical students typically start classes in August and the same people who are likely involved in the medical school admissions process are busy welcoming this new class of students.

So, if you don't yet have interview invites, never fear. Schools will extend greater numbers of interview invitations after Labor Day. Don't expect alot to happen before then.

If you would like to work with me on interview preparation, please retain my services in advance. I am currently booking interview preparation services for the month of October. Also, be sure to read my medical school interview book: The Medical School Interview: From preparation to thank you notes: Empowering advice to help you succeed

How Far Would You Go To Get a Residency?

An intriguing article to be published in the Wall Street Journal tomorrow discusses a company that charged clients $100,000 to guarantee them a residency position. However, this deal involved hospital bribes, forged letters and run-ins with the law.

I am quoted in the article which makes it a must read!

Click Here to read "Hospital Bribe Alleged" by Michael Rothfeld.

Getting Into Residency: Free Resources

By Jessica Freedman, MD, MedEdits

If you are applying for residency this year or in the near future, you should be aware of some free resources that provide invaluable information which can help applicants understand what factors are most important to obtain a residency match and how the application process works:

1) Roadmap to Residency: From Application to the Match and Beyond

2) Program Director Survey (2010)

3) Charting Outcomes in the Match (2009)

4) ERAS tutorials and resources for download

If you are interested in mock interviews this fall, please retain my services soon. I am no longer accepting new clients this summer but consider hiring my editors if you need help with documents. Click Here to view my editors' fees and services.

Medical School Secondary Essays

I heard I should complete all of my secondary essays within 24 hours of receiving them.
I heard the secondaries don't matter.
I heard the secondaries are the most important part of the application.

Needless to say, there are many myths about secondary essays floating around. Alot of them, like those above, are not true. Every piece of your application is important and the most important part is largely dependent on the perspective of the person reviewing your documents. This is why I encourage my clients to put equal effort and thought into everything they submit. Don't rush your writing; inevitably, this leads to sloppy work and weak documents.

Read my previous posts on secondary essays.

I would also like to congratulate our 2010 medical school applicants who have already received interviews at medical schools including Yale, Vanderbilt, Ohio State and Duke. Click Here to see where MedEdits' medical school applicants have interviews.

I am no longer accepting new clients this summer and if you are interested in working with me on interview preparation this fall, please retain my services soon. If you would like to work with me for the 2011/2012 admissions season, please contact me. Each year, I stop accepting clients earlier in the season as more people learn about my clients' success. Read a sampling of my testimonials.

Visit: MedEdits

Plagiarism and Applications

I thought about blogging on a recent article in the New York Times which discusses plagiarism, but when I discovered that a colleague, Anna Ivey, already wrote an outstanding blog entry on this topic, I thought I would send you all there: Click Here to read Anna Ivey's blog.

September 1st ERAS Submission

Around this time of year I receive calls from anxious residency applicants eager to submit their ERAS application on September 1st. It is important to understand that for some specialties, especially those that are less competitive, this is important. However, for more competitive specialties, such as dermatology, for example, an early submission may be less significant. Why? Competitive specialties often wait for the November 1st release of the MSPE to review applications and have the luxury of knowing that students will accept interview offers whenever they are given. Less competitive specialties, in contrast, feel they are "competing" for applicants and want to grant interviews before applicants have already made their travel plans.

As a former associate residency director, I can tell you that we never started reviewing applications until October and rarely did we pay attention to an applicant's submit date. That said, once all of our interview slots were filled, late application submissions were put on hold.

Unfortunately, I am no longer accepting clients for this application season and I encourage applicants who want mock interview help to retain my services soon. I am now booking mock interviews for October. For clients interested in working with me for the 2010/2011 application season, please contact me in advance.

Visit: MedEdits