Congratulations to a few applicants who have already received medical school interview invitations. For most, the season will start in the next month or so. Remote interviews are still with us, and my assertion is that the virtual interview process reduces discriminatory practices that have plagued the system for a while. See my Doximity article “How Virtual Interviews Might Mitigate Systemic Sexism in Medicine” for a personal story.
In writing their personal statements, many residency applicants ask me, “Isn’t it regurgitating my CV if I highlight my accomplishments?” After all, they say, their achievements have already been noted in the application, MSPE, and letters of recommendation. Think of the residency admissions process as an onion. Your ERAS and letters serve as one layer of that onion, albeit a thin one. In other words, your accomplishments are conveyed simply and succinctly there. The personal statement is your opportunity to apply a thicker layer, one in which you flesh out your achievements, thus persuading the reader of your distinctiveness. Finally, the interview is your chance to add on the thickest peel. Discussing your accomplishments in detail can seal the interviewer’s positive impression of you.
So yes, you are going to be redundant throughout the residency application process, but each part serves a different and additive purpose. If you do not include your achievements in your personal statement, how will you be viewed as distinctive? Remember: Who you are is what you’ve done… and what traits and skills you’ve gained accordingly.
Every year I am hired by re-applicants for medical school and residency who tell me that the year before they received multiple interview invitations, thought they performed well on interview day, but then were left with no offers in the spring.
This is the truth: Interviews are hard. You need to strategically respond to criticisms of your candidacy, showcase the strengths of your application, be prepared for awkward or even – sometimes – illegal questions, all while seeming fresh and enthusiastic.
There are applicants who spend months studying for their MCAT or Boards, but don’t spend even an hour practicing for their interviews. It’s a naive disconnect.
If you can mock interview with someone who has been on a medical school admissions committee for years or a faculty member who has strong experience with residency applications, go for it. If not, check out my mock interview services here. Don’t rely on a friend or family member with no experience.
Here is a funny, less-than-one-minute, stop-motion video to guide you on this topic.
During my internship, on my surgical rotation, I once spent 138 hours in the hospital in one week. If you think this isn’t mathematically possible, I will tell you that I was on call from Monday morning to Tuesday evening, from Wednesday morning to Thursday evening, in-house on Friday, and then on call from Saturday morning until the next Monday morning. (I had to stay in-house that Monday until evening rounds were over too.) As you can imagine, I was barely human by the end. How this schedule was good for patient care is beyond me.
I thought of that ghastly time recently when reading this oldie-but-goodie article in the New York Times called “How Job Stress Can Age Us” written by Dr. Dhruv Khullar. The author reports on a study, “Physician-Training Stress and Accelerated Cellular Aging” that assessed the DNA of 250 first-year medical residents around the country. Researchers examined the saliva samples of these residents, focusing on their telomeres – the bumpers at chromosome ends that prevent DNA damage – before and after the first year of residency. Researchers found that the DNA of first-year residents aged six times faster than normal.
Six times faster.
I found this both shocking, upsetting, and validating. Residency training is as hard as we think it is.
What I would strongly recommend is that you compare residency programs’ hours as you decide where to apply and before you create your Match list this coming winter. Strangely, many applicants don’t even consider this important issue when making decisions about their next three to five years. Also, many residencies support physician wellness programs and night coverage. Especially in the setting of severe burnout among doctors, your happiness should be a primary factor in your career choices. If you’re not sure, consider your shrinking telomeres.
Recently Dr. Thomas Cook, a program director in South Carolina, wrote an article in Emergency Medicine News describing a study about my field – emergency medicine’s – workforce.
The data found interesting differences between male and female emergency physicians. For respondents, geographic locations was the only factor that was “very important” to more than half of the women (52%) but only 42% of the men. Interestingly, compensation was “very important” to 49% of the men and only 27% of the women. Proximity to family was “very important” to 38% of the women but only 27% of the men.
Currently more than 50% of medical students are women and yet only one in three chooses emergency medicine for a career. Nationally, only 25% of emergency physicians are women. Using data to better understand what women emergency physicians are seeking might help the field improve the gender gap.
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
