October 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 10
Ready to think residency?
BY JANE STOEVER
If you're a medical student who's wading into the residency application and interview process, here's some advice for you.
Six family practice residency directors answered a battery of questions from medical students during a workshop at the recent National Conference of Family Practice Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City, Mo. Below is a sampling of the directors' advice.
Q. What type of information should I share in my personal statement?
Medical students listen up at the National Conference workshop "What Inquiring Minds Want to Know From Program Directors."A. Let your true self emerge. Have your friends proof your statement and ask them, "Is this me?" Tell us your passion; run the risk we won't like you. If you offend one of us by telling us who you are, you may not be happy in our residency anyway.
One thing that can jump you up in our evaluation is how well you understand family practice and its lifestyle; community involvement is extremely important.
Q. Do I really need a letter of recommendation from my department chair?
A. How well does the department chair know you? It may be better to have a letter of recommendation from a junior faculty member who's been important in your training than from a chair who barely knows you.
Q. What are the pros and cons of a program in a health system with multiple residencies versus a program that's the sole residency in the institution?
A. Way too much is made of the distinction. Don't assume that all stand-alones are similar or that all affiliated programs have too much competition. Look at both types.
At the affiliated programs, ask the family practice residents whether they learn from the OB-Gyn residents. Ask whether the internal medicine residents always get the first call when an IM patient comes to the ER or whether family practice residents get called first. The residents are the ones in the trenches; they'll tell you the situation.
Q. How many programs should I interview with?
A. Between eight and nine is typical. Residents say the best way to cut down on the interviews is to invest lots of effort in planning ahead, studying programs' materials, making contacts.
Q. When should I schedule interviews?
A. Some schools ask you to wait till January; we start seeing applicants in October. When we see early candidates keeping in touch with our team, we know they may be a good match with our program.
Don't cram five interviews into one week; they'll all flow together in your mind. Don't do more than three a week; two is better.
Finally, you may feel more comfortable if your first interview is at a program that's not on the top of your list. You can go through the first interview and find that it can be interesting, that we will enjoy getting to know you. That will help you get over the sweaty palms and anxiety.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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