How To Get A Medical Residency Interview

Every year after residency rank order lists have been submitted, and before match day, program directors from all residency specialties are sent a survey “to shed light on the factors that program directors use to (1) select applicants to interview and (2) rank applicants for the match.”*

In 2014, program directors listed these factors as their top considerations when inviting residency applicants for an interview.

1) USMLE Step 1/COMLEX Level 1 score

2) Letters of recommendation in the specialty

3) Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE/Dean’s Letter)

4) USMLE Step 2 CK/COMLEX Level 2 CE score

5) Personal Statement

6) Graduate of U.S. allopathic medical school

7) Grades in required clerkships

8) Gaps in medical education

9) Honors in clinical clerkships

10) Perceived commitment to specialty

* http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/PD-Survey-Report-2014.pdf

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MEDICAL SCHOOL AND RESIDENCY INTERVIEWS: “TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF.”

I am not sure if any surveys have been conducted to determine how many medical admissions officers start medical school and residency interviews with this request but, based on my experience, I can tell you that a very large percentage of interviews begin this way. Most applicants are terrified of this prompt. They don’t know what they should say, how far back they should “go,” and what topics they should cover. I advise applicants to capitalize on the opportunity that “tell me about yourself” presents. When you respond, you can provide information about topics that are most significant to you and then allow the interviewer to “cherry pick” and ask you about those topics that most interest him or her. Here are a few general guidelines on how to reply to “tell me about yourself”:

1) Before walking in to any interview, have a general idea of how you will respond to  “tell me about yourself.” As you prepare for your interviews, think about who you are and your path to the interview seat. One approach is to create an outline of your most meaningful experiences – both personal, academic, and extracurricular. Then “talk through” the outline.

2) Speak about those experiences and qualities that distinguish you most. These details will obviously differ for every applicant. Don’t feel that you must limit your reply to medically and scientifically related pursuits and interests; you should talk about your background and meaningful and significant extracurricular accomplishments as well.

3) Stay on topic and give a comprehensive overview of your candidacy and life. Some people make the mistake of responding to “tell me about yourself” by talking about why they want to be a doctor or rambling randomly about a variety of topics.

4) Don’t talk about any one experience in tremendous detail. You should think of your response in an “outline” format. You don’t want to elaborate about any one topic; give your interviewer room to ask about those topics she would like to hear more about.

In reality, “tell me about yourself” is what you want your interviewer to say first. It allows you to talk about those topics that are most important to your candidacy, and your answer sets the stage for what you most want to discuss. If you practice your response and know your general approach before walking into your interview, not only will you look forward to “tell me about yourself” instead of dreading it, but you will confidently deliver your reply, establishing a good tone for your entire interview.

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This information is based on content in The Medical School Interview, The Residency Interview, and The MedEdits Guide to Medical School Admissions, books that help applicants prepare for the interview processes. If you want help preparing for interviews, contact MedEdits.

Letter of Intent: What should be included?

Letter of Intent: What should be included?

This time of year, many medical school applicants ask us about what should be included in a letter of intent. Below is a general outline for a letter of intent letter:

1) Introduce yourself. Include the date of your interview and the status of your application. State why you are writing the letter -- to provide an update of your accomplishments and/or to express your interest in the school. If you can honestly state that the school to which you are writing is your #1 choice and you will attend if accepted, that, too, should be stated in the first paragraph.

2) Provide an update of any recent accomplishments; include information on academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, clinical exposure, research, etc. List all course work and grades earned. Most schools will not require official transcripts.

3) Express, SPECIFICALLY, why you are interested in the medical school. Try to go beyond the "basics" such as mentioning the curriculum or the student-run free clinic, for example. Try to relate your interest in the school to something in your background. Does the school have an excellent neurology department and do you have a demonstrated interest in this specialty, for example. In other words, don't write what every other applicant might write. Your interest in the school should reflect who you are and what you have done.

Letters of intent DO influence admissions committees decisions. Schools want to accept people who are enthusiastic about attending and they also want to accept people whom they know will attend, especially when it is crunch time and close to the start of classes.

Questions or comments?

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The Importance of Away Rotations in Medical School

The Importance of Away Rotations in Medical School

By Jessica Freedman, MD, MedEdits

If you are a rising 4th year medical student, you should be seeking out away elective rotations in your desired specialty. Many students worry that doing away electives at a program they would like to attend could do more damage than good. However, unless you have a poor performance, even someone who is perceived as slightly above average as a visiting student might be ranked higher than a student with similar stats and has not worked in the department. When I was the associate residency director, I always preferred to rank highly a student who was a "known entity" and had a predictable performance rather than a student whom I didn't know.

What can you do to ensure that you are perceived in the best light during your away rotations?

1) Show up early and stay late.

2) Work harder than you have on any other rotation. Do not plan to have much free time during this rotation.

3) Read about your cases.

4) Be professional and confident (but not over-confident).

5) Be independent and a help to the residents and attending on your team; you want to be perceived as a true team player.

6) Treat everyone well -- your fellow students, residents, nurses, staff and, of course, your attending(s).

7) Go to every conference and be sure to introduce yourself to the program director if s/he is not the attending on service.

I am now working with clients for the 2014/2015 match season. Many students need supplemental guidance or advising while in medical school and throughout the residency application process. If you would like to work with us this year, I encourage you to contact me soon. As a private medical educational advisor, I work one on one with students and play the same role as I did when I worked in a formal academic setting at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Visit www.MedEdits.com to schedule your session.

THE RESIDENCY INTERVIEW: WHO SCREENS MY ERAS APPLICATION?

Typically only one to three people per program are responsible for screening residency applications, and how they do it is important to understand. Since some programs may have up to 500 (or even 1,000) applications for only 100 interview slots, for example, it becomes the responsibility of those reviewing applications to decide who will be invited.I can tell you from experience that making these decisions is a daunting task. To decrease the work load, many program directors apply filters to applications to decrease the number of applications that must be reviewed to a reasonable quantity. What kinds of “filters” are used? There are many. Some filters may be applied so program directors only review applications who have a certain United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) step 1 score as a threshold, others may use a filter that only views applicants who have graduated within five years, while others may use no filters and manually review every application submitted. Some programs then assign “points” for everything: research, USMLE scores, and letters of recommendation; you are invited for an interview only when your “score” meets a minimum number. More often, however, a great deal of subjectivity goes into the decision to invite an applicant for an interview, whatever the grading system. Often, the screener’s personal interests and outlook play a part in the review of your application–especially if you are a “borderline” applicant. For example, if reviewer A always had to struggle with standardized tests yet managed to succeed while reviewer B always had board scores in the top 5th percentile, reviewer A is much more likely than reviewer B to screen in an application with lower-than-average board scores.

This blog entry is an excerpt from The Residency Interview (CHAPTER 1: THE INTERVIEW PROCESS).  Click her to read more.

GETTING INTO RESIDENCY: WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS?

Read my article on the Student Doctor Network about what factors aremost important for getting into residency. Click Here to read the article.

Getting Into Residency: Most Important Factors

Read my latest article on the Student Doctor Network about what factors are most important for getting into residency. Click Here to read the article.

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Residency Applications and Plagiarism

By Jessica Freedman, MD, MedEdits

I am not surprised by the results of a study published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine that discovered evidence of plagiarism in 5.2% of residency applications. This finding was more common in non-US citizen applicants. Each year at MedEdits, we have applicants who ask if we will write essays on their behalf. We do not offer this service but there are many companies that do. I have blogged previously about Turnitin software which is designed to detect plagiarism in applications and I am curious to see if the study results motivate other programs to utilize this resource.

Click Here to access the article.

Getting Into Residency: The Importance Of Away Electives

If you are currently a third year medical student, now is the time to start scheduling your fourth year electives (if you haven't done so already). What are your goals during your electives?

1) Do a great job! Some away electives serve as "audition rotations." If you have the stats to get into any given program, working at that program gives faculty and residents the chance to evaluate you "in action." This can work for you or against you; if you impress the people with whom you work, this is likely to help you earn a higher spot on the rank list but, if you do a less than average job, it may hurt your chances.

2) Obtain additional letters of reference. One client last year did an away elective at a program where he knew he didn't have much of a shot. But, he did an outstanding job, out-performed his fellow students, and received additional letters form well known faculty. This client matched at his first choice in anesthesiology!

I am currently working with students to help them craft their fourth year, choose the best letter writers and decide when to take the USMLE Step 2. I also coach clients to ensure they perform well during key rotations.

Click Here to see the specialties into which my clients matched this year.
Click Here to read some client testimonials.
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Getting Into Residency

Read Dr. Freedman's article on the Student Doctor Network, "Getting Into Residency Part 2."

Should you follow-up with programs after an interview? How do you pick someone to write your letter of recommendation? What is appropriate to discuss at your interview? Should you go on second looks?

Click Here to read the full article.

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Primary Care: The Better Career Choice?

A series of articles this week in the New England Journal of Medicine discusses the need for the "reinvention" of primary care. This series focuses on the training, practice, compensation and overall reform of primary care. Many American medical graduates are choosing to pursue "controllable lifestyle" fields such as anesthesiology, radiology and emergency medicine, to name a few, because of higher compensation and the perception that these fields will enable them to achieve a better work/life balance.

Interestingly, some (currently unpublished) data presented at the Association of American Medical Colleges earlier this month might change students' minds. In a survey of practicing physicians over 50, a higher percentage of primary care physicians felt they had control over their lives versus practicing physicians in the "controllable lifestyle" fields.

With attention being placed on the need for primary care reform, salaries will likely increase in the future for primary care clinicians. With the potential for better compensation combined with a healthy work/life balance and the opportunity to provide care where it is needed most, hopefully more students will explore career options in primary care.

Click Here to access the series.

I provide mentoring for medical school, residency and fellowship applicants. Visit: www.MedEdits.com.

Getting Into Residency: What Is Most Important?

Many residency applicant clients have been asking me what key elements of the application are most important for selection. There is no simple answer for this and the answer may vary between programs and individuals. The only "hard data" I could find to substantiate what I advise my clients was from Academic Emergency Medicine and The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

In the EM article, the authors found the selection criteria that was most important to program directors were specialty rotation grade, interview, clinical grades and recommendations. Surprisingly, the personal statement was considered the least important factor.

Click Here for access to the article.

The orthopaedic literature found that program directors most value specialty rotation performance with USMLE 1 score and medical school ranking following close behind.

Click Here to read the abstract.

For personalized guidance to help you navigate the nuances of the residency application process, email me: info@mededits.com or visit: www.MedEdits.com.