Please see my previous blog entry about contacting institutions regarding your status. When you call you can gently say, “I’m attempting to make some travel arrangements and was wondering if you could give me an update on my status.” As long as you are polite, you won’t hurt your candidacy. (Of course, if an institution specifically requests on their website or brochures that you not call, I would advise against it.)
Your Residency or Medical School Application: Be the Squeaky Wheel
Several years ago I helped a strong applicant who had been rejected by a top medical school. He thought he was a very good fit for this particular institution, so he called the school to make his case. Surprisingly, after the applicant’s phone call, the school granted him an interview, reversing their original rejection.
It was at this time that I met the applicant; we conducted a mock interview so he would be well-prepared.
Ultimately, after being initially rejected, this applicant was admitted to that top school.
Of course, this is an exceedingly rare occurrence. But to me, the moral of this story is that it is worth being assertive (not aggressive!) in the residency or medical school application processes: Send an update letter, call institutions (politely) to inquire about your status (if they do not expressly prohibit phone calls), and be proactive during your interviews. If you haven’t received an interview invitation, now is the time to make a phone call.
You need to advocate for yourself in order to be noticed.
Residency and Medical School Applications: Don’t Make It Urgent
I’m writing this blog entry from the Compton, California Jurors’ Waiting Room, having been called for duty today. We were to arrive at 7:45am. After hearing a long introduction from the orientation coordinator here, I noted a woman arriving at 8:50. She sat next to me and asked me to repeat everything the orientation coordinator had said for the last hour.
Her lack of judgment prompted this entry. When approaching your interviews, try to anticipate problem issues and ensure you complete tasks early:
Responding to interview invitations immediately helps you target a time frame you prefer. Also, since some programs do not have enough slots for all of the invitations they issue, it also assures you a slot.
Arriving at your interview early decreases stress, which allows you to perform optimally. At times it also gives you the opportunity to better acquaint yourself with the coordinator or even the residency director. (Several years ago a residency candidate told me he had a fifteen-minute one-on-one conversation with the residency director because the applicant had arrived early. He felt confident that the individualized time furthered his candidacy.)
Sending your thank you notes immediately increases the likelihood they could make a positive impact on your candidacy since faculty may speak about your candidacy earlier rather than later.
So, don’t make it urgent. Plan in advance. If nothing else, the perception of control will help reduce anxiety and improve your interview days.
If You Think Your Medical School Application is Expensive…
According to an article in this month’s Annals of Emergency Medicine, the median educational debt for surveyed emergency medicine residents was $212,000, a substantial amount that altered life and career priorities and caused significant stress.
Medical school is not only tough mentally and emotionally, but also it’s a huge financial burden. And the low salary that residents take home only compounds the issue because of the opportunity costs of not having invested starting at a young age.
Although sobering, it’s worth looking at the study and the conclusions drawn.
Residency and Medical School Interview Questions: How to Answer that Icky Decade One
“Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” the interviewer asks you, and you squirm…
An influential physician-administrator once complained to me that whenever he asked potential new faculty hires where they saw themselves in a decade they always said they were interested in global health or teaching. “They just say that because it’s sexy,” he remarked. “Many of them have nothing in their C.V.s to bolster their interest in either pursuit.”
When asked where you see yourself in ten years, consider what your accomplishments thus far support to show a clear evolution. This doesn’t mean you’re stuck with what you’ve done even if you didn’t like it. You could point out that having tried myocardial bench research, you realize that your real interest is in clinical investigations of new cardiac markers. Throwing out activities just because they sound appealing doesn’t make you look professional or your candidacy seem well-synthesized. The idea is to have a trajectory that you can back up, defend, and easily justify.
Many medical school applicants say they don’t know what field they want to go into. Of course not! And many residency applicants don’t know if they want to do a fellowship. That’s okay. Again, the point is to focus on your previous strengths and achievements and leverage them.
One more thing: If you are planning to seek mock interview help from me, please do it now. I am booking several weeks in advance.
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
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