I’m giving a shout out to those of you who are avoiding Internet sites with posts from medical school and residency applicants. Good for you!
Even the most competitive candidates get nervous when they see others boasting about their plethora of interview invites. Who knows if those posts are true? And even if some are, how does reading them change your strategy?
I’m recommending staying offline to keep your nerves under control.
I recommend that if you have not heard from medical school, residency or fellowship programs to which you’ve applied, that you contact the institutions to inquire about your status.
After offering that advice to a client recently, she emailed me this week to say she obtained an interview in a competitive specialty with a call. Another said she received two preliminary interviews with simple emails. (I recommend calls over emails, however, because it’s hard to ignore someone on the other end of a phone line.
Still, if you simply can’t bring yourself to call, an email can be effective.) In years’ past I’ve seen this phone call strategy work for fellowship and medical school interviews as well.
Of course, if the school or program explicitly asks in written materials that you don’t contact them about your status, then calling is not a good idea.
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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