First Aid for the Match: Insider Advice From Students and Residency Directors

273 Pages·2000·3.24 MB·English

by  Tao

T A O L E, M D
University of California, San Francisco, Class of 1996
Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Medschool.com
V I K A S B H U S H A N, M D C H I R A G A M I N, M D
University of California, San Francisco, University of Miami, Class of 1996
Class of 1991 Vice President, Community and Content,
Founder and CEO, Medschool.com Medschool.com
McGraw-Hill
Medical Publishing Division
New York St. Louis San Francisco Auckland Bogotá Caracas Lisbon London
Madrid Mexico City Milan Montreal New Delhi San Juan
Singapore Sydney Tokyo Toronto
Copyright ©2001 by Appleton &Lange.All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under
the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or
stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
0-07-141816-4
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-8385-2607-1
All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trade-
marked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringe-
ment of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.
McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate
training programs. For more information, please contact George Hoare, Special Sales, at [email protected] or (212)
904-4069.
TERMSOFUSE
This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the
work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and
retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works
based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill’s prior con-
sent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your
right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.
THE WORK IS PROVIDED “AS IS”. McGRAW-HILLAND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES
AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACYOR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE
WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIAHYPERLINK OR
OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLYDISCLAIM ANYWARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUTNOTLIMITED
TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITYOR FITNESS FOR APARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its
licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will
be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error
or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the con-
tent of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any
indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even
if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause what-
soever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise.
DOI: 10.1036/0071418164
To the contributors to this and future editions,
who took time to share their experience,
advice, and humor for the benefit of students.
&
To our families, friends, and loved ones,
who endured and assisted in the task of assembling this guide.
This page intentionally left blank.
Contributors
DARREN DON, MD NINA EISENBERG, MD
University of California, Los Angeles, Yale University School of Medicine, Class of 1999
School of Medicine, Class of 2000 Montefiore Medical Center,
Good Samaritan Hospital, Resident in Psychiatry
Resident in Internal Medicine
ROSS LEVINE, MD KEN LIN, MD
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine,
Class of 1999 Class of 2000
Massachusetts General Hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,
Resident in Internal Medicine Resident in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics
MICHELLE PINTO, MD JEANNINE RAHIMIAN, MD, MBA
Yale University School of Medicine, Class of 1999 University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine,
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Class of 2000
Resident in Internal Medicine UCLA Medical Center,
Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology
DEBORAH STEINBAUM, MD
Yale University School of Medicine, Class of 1999
The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York,
Resident in Pediatrics/Primary Care
This page intentionally left blank.
For more information about this book, click here.
Contents
Foreword...............................................................................................................................................xi
Preface to the First Edition.................................................................................................................xiii
Preface..................................................................................................................................................xv
Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................................xvii
How to Contribute.............................................................................................................................xix
Contribution Form.............................................................................................................................xxi
User Survey.......................................................................................................................................xxiii
Chapter 1: The Match.............................................................................................................1
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
What Is the Match?...............................................................................................................................2
Why Is There a Match?.........................................................................................................................3
What Other Matches Are There?.........................................................................................................4
What Are My Chances of Success in the Match?.................................................................................6
How Do I Register for the NRMP Match?............................................................................................7
What About the Other Matches?..........................................................................................................8
NRMP Publications...............................................................................................................................8
Chapter 2: Setting Up the Fourth Year...................................................................................13
How Do I Pick an Adviser?.................................................................................................................13
When Should I Schedule My Acting Internships?.............................................................................14
When Should I Schedule Time for Interviews?...................................................................................16
Should I Stick Around My School on Match Day?............................................................................16
Should I Do Audition Rotations?........................................................................................................17
What About Other Electives?.............................................................................................................17
When Should I Schedule Vacation?....................................................................................................17
Chapter 3: Your Specialty and the Match...............................................................................23
Anesthesiology.....................................................................................................................................25
Dermatology.........................................................................................................................................27
Emergency Medicine...........................................................................................................................29
Family Practice.....................................................................................................................................32
Internal Medicine................................................................................................................................35
Neurology.............................................................................................................................................37
Neurosurgery........................................................................................................................................40
Obstetrics and Gynecology..................................................................................................................42
Ophthalmology....................................................................................................................................44
Orthopedics..........................................................................................................................................47
vii
Copyright 2001 by Appleton and Lange. Click Here for Terms of Use.
Otolaryngology....................................................................................................................................49
Pathology.............................................................................................................................................52
Pediatrics..............................................................................................................................................54
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation................................................................................................57
Psychiatry.............................................................................................................................................59
Radiology.............................................................................................................................................61
Radiation Oncology.............................................................................................................................64
Surgery.................................................................................................................................................65
Transitional Year Program (TYP)........................................................................................................68
Urology................................................................................................................................................70
Chapter 4: Getting Residency Information and Applications...................................................73
Where Can I Learn About Residency Programs?................................................................................73
How Many Programs Should I Apply To?...........................................................................................78
How Do I Obtain Applications?..........................................................................................................78
What Should I Be Looking For In a Program?....................................................................................79
How Do I Organize This Information?................................................................................................85
Chapter 5: The Application...................................................................................................89
What Is In an Application?.................................................................................................................89
How Do I Organize the Paperwork?....................................................................................................89
Who Evaluates My Application?.........................................................................................................90
How Do They Evaluate My Application?...........................................................................................90
Program Applications..........................................................................................................................93
The Dean’s Letter................................................................................................................................97
Letters of Recommendation................................................................................................................99
Transcripts..........................................................................................................................................101
Photo..................................................................................................................................................101
Application Status.............................................................................................................................102
Chapter 6: The Curriculum Vitae........................................................................................105
What’s In a CV?.................................................................................................................................105
How Do I Put Together My CV?.......................................................................................................106
Kisses of Death...................................................................................................................................108
Sample CVs.......................................................................................................................................109
Chapter 7: The Personal Statement......................................................................................117
Getting Started..................................................................................................................................117
Damage Control.................................................................................................................................119
Start Writing......................................................................................................................................119
Personal Statement Tips....................................................................................................................119
Kisses of Death for a Personal Statement..........................................................................................120
Sample Excerpts.................................................................................................................................122
Sample Personal Statements..............................................................................................................131
Chapter 8: Gearing Up for Interviews..................................................................................161
How Do I Prepare for the Interview?.................................................................................................161
How Can I Travel Inexpensively?......................................................................................................165
viii
Chapter 9: Interview Day....................................................................................................179
What Should I Do the Day before the Interview?............................................................................179
Typical Events of an Interview Visit..................................................................................................179
Interviewing Savoir-Faire..................................................................................................................181
What Are Interviewers Looking For?................................................................................................182
What Do Interviewers Ask?...............................................................................................................182
What Do I Ask the Interviewer?.......................................................................................................185
What Types of Questions Should I Ask the House Staff?.................................................................185
How to Kill an Interview...................................................................................................................187
Wrapping Up the Interview Day.......................................................................................................188
Follow-up Letters...............................................................................................................................189
Chapter 10: The Rank List and Match Day .........................................................................191
How Do I Rank the Programs?..........................................................................................................191
March Matchness (“It’s Awesome, Baby!”).......................................................................................195
What Happens If I Don’t Match? The Scramble..............................................................................195
Chapter 11: After the Match...............................................................................................197
The Day After....................................................................................................................................197
What If I’m Not Happy with My Match Result?..............................................................................197
The Residency Contract....................................................................................................................198
Loans..................................................................................................................................................198
Getting Set Up..................................................................................................................................198
Licensing............................................................................................................................................200
Don’t Forget to Write........................................................................................................................205
Appendix A: Commonly Asked Interview Questions by Specialty...........................................207
Appendix B: Worksheets for Application Requirements..........................................................209
Appendix C: Program Evaluation Worksheets (PEW).............................................................215
About the Authors..............................................................................................................231
Index...................................................................................................................................235
ix