When I was in my second year of medical school, a third-year student (who later also went into emergency medicine, as I did) came to speak to our class about being on the wards. He gave an animated talk about how important it was to recognize that when residents, attendings, or nurses hollered at us on our clinical rotations, 99% of the time, it wasn’t personal. He likened the situation to Boston traffic – how drivers lean on their horns for little cause because they are simply frustrated about their days.
It’s not personal, he said.
I say the same to those I mentor. Candidates get an interview at one highly ranked institution but rejected at what is considered a lesser one with no clear cause. Faculty interviewers mix applicants up with one another; some turn up wholly unprepared – reading students’ applications for the first time during the interview itself. Remember: It’s not personal. This process is arduous and cruel, and most candidates, faculty, and program coordinators are tired and doing their best in a dysfunctional system.
