[2017-2018] Official Interview Thread; Emergency Medicine

[bananasinpijamas]

I'm thinking of applying to more programs now. Any current residents know if that would be pointless at this stage?
(not asking whether it's necessary or not, just want to know the answer to the question above)
Thank you!

Maybe adding a handful of "safety programs" if you made the mistake of only applying to top programs, but it really depends on where you stand at this moment. If you applied to 50 and have 0 interviews, adding another 5 will probably not make much of a difference. If you applied to 30 and already have 3-5 interviews, just wait it out, it's still super early. In all, if this is due to a very low number of interviews, make sure you expand to include lower ranked programs (ideally in your geographical area) rather than top programs in other states that you have no connection to. Good luck!

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[phriendlymed]

I'm thinking of applying to more programs now. Any current residents know if that would be pointless at this stage?
(not asking whether it's necessary or not, just want to know the answer to the question above)
Thank you!

A year ago today I had interviews only at places I rotated at or had strong strong connections to. I panicked and applied to 15 more places. I ended up getting plenty of interviews later in October, and PLENTY more in November and December. It is early. Very early. If you are a middle of the road candidate or higher there is NO reason to worry right now unless you applied to the top 20 programs and thats it.

 

[BigGAC1]

A year ago today I had interviews only at places I rotated at or had strong strong connections to. I panicked and applied to 15 more places. I ended up getting plenty of interviews later in October, and PLENTY more in November and December. It is early. Very early. If you are a middle of the road candidate or higher there is NO reason to worry right now unless you applied to the top 20 programs and thats it.

Thank you for saying this. I need to hear more of these stories. The panic is real.

 

[Fetor Hepaticus]

So I have applied to 21 programs (mostly Northeast) and I have literally called every single one of them to explain that Medicare funding will not be an issue for me because my prior Internal Medicine training was funded by a different agency. I was surprised that most of the programs have not send out any invites yet and are still in the process of reviewing applications. =)

 

[medmedman]

I'm thinking of applying to more programs now. Any current residents know if that would be pointless at this stage?
(not asking whether it's necessary or not, just want to know the answer to the question above)
Thank you!

Totally depends. Are you thinking you need to apply more because you haven't heard back yet from many programs? If that's the case, DON'T WORRY. The majority of applicants didn't hear really start hearing back from programs until towards the middle-end of October last year. I was one of the people who got nervous and applied to more programs. Ended up getting all the numbers I needed but not a single invite came from the additional programs I applied to.

 

[17dave17]

I was hoping to get some advice. Not sure if this is the right spot so i apologize if it isn't but I don't have a home EM program to talk to. I only have 4 invites at the moment (three from aways). I am an MD candidate. My STEP scores are 224/250. SVI was 24 (whatever that is worth). Honored both my away rotations. My question is should I be worried at the moment? I figured with my low STEP 1 I would have issues but was not expecting pretty much no response.

 

[EM2be1957]

Y'all, stop worrying, for real. Last year, I had 1 interview by the end of October. I ended up having 20 invites by December, and I had pretty crappy stats. You're going to be fine as long as you applied appropriately. With those scores, you're going to get invites. But if you 'only' applied to the top 20 programs, you might want to add a few others. You need a good mix. Otherwise, breathe and continue the excruciating wait and enjoy 4th year while you can.

I was hoping to get some advice. Not sure if this is the right spot so i apologize if it isn't but I don't have a home EM program to talk to. I only have 4 invites at the moment (three from aways). I am an MD candidate. My STEP scores are 224/250. SVI was 24 (whatever that is worth). Honored both my away rotations. My question is should I be worried at the moment? I figured with my low STEP 1 I would have issues but was not expecting pretty much no response.

 

[SpacemanSpifff]

Y'all, stop worrying, for real. Last year, I had 1 interview by the end of October. I ended up having 20 invites by December, and I had pretty crappy stats. You're going to be fine as long as you applied appropriately. With those scores, you're going to get invites. But if you 'only' applied to the top 20 programs, you might want to add a few others. You need a good mix. Otherwise, breathe and continue the excruciating wait and enjoy 4th year while you can.

Couldn't agree more.

Current applicants: trust in the experience of others. 4 invites at this point is great. 1-3 is good. Hell, even none is fine. It's way too early to freak out.

 

[chillaxbro]

Y'all, stop worrying, for real. Last year, I had 1 interview by the end of October. I ended up having 20 invites by December, and I had pretty crappy stats. You're going to be fine as long as you applied appropriately. With those scores, you're going to get invites. But if you 'only' applied to the top 20 programs, you might want to add a few others. You need a good mix. Otherwise, breathe and continue the excruciating wait and enjoy 4th year while you can.

How many programs did you apply to?

 

[Fetor Hepaticus]

I finished my IM residency this past June, and I remember three years ago, I was just like you… freaking out in October because I wasn’t getting ANY invites but few rejections. I remember I initially applied to about 30-40 IM programs and around this time, I applied to 150 more because of few rejections I got (i.e., Columbia, UPenn). However, in early to mid-November I started getting invites like every week, and all were from the initial 30-40 programs I applied to. By mid-December, I had about 17 invites and was beyond what I could afford to fly around.

You have to put yourself in PD's shoe... how long will it take you to go through 100 applications thoroughly when they also have to work on the floor and do administrative work... Now image >500.

 

[EM2be1957]

So, full disclosure, I was a statistical anomaly and this will *not* happen to you--I went on 15 interviews, but did not match last year (another story for a different day). I applied to 80+, as I was a below average applicant in terms of numbers. But learn from my mistakes. I way over-applied (yes, even though I didn't match, I still believe that to be true). The programs that I would say were "extra," I did not hear from. Regional bias is real. If you chose the programs you applied to wisely, with good-ish stats, you are going to be fine, I promise.

How many programs did you apply to?

 

[MelMcT2009]

So, full disclosure, I was a statistical anomaly and this will *not* happen to you--I went on 15 interviews, but did not match last year (another story for a different day). I applied to 80+, as I was a below average applicant in terms of numbers. But learn from my mistakes. I way over-applied (yes, even though I didn't match, I still believe that to be true). The programs that I would say were "extra," I did not hear from. Regional bias is real. If you chose the programs you applied to wisely, with good-ish stats, you are going to be fine, I promise.

Que paranoia. What do you think happened?

 

[EM2be1957]

lol truly not my intention to create mass panic. You guys will be fine.

I had low stats which probably put me lower on the list just to start. I don't think I interviewed poorly at all, in fact when I reached out to programs to ask what happened, at least a handful replied they said I interviewed well and that I was ranked in a competitive spot which may have matched in previous years. A few others said our interview went fine and that nothing was 'wrong'. But I think that was the problem--I didn't interview GREAT enough to make up for my lower stats. I also think I did a bad job convincing programs that that was the place I wanted to be at. So I'd recommend making sure to really truly sell your positive qualities, particularly if you may be on the lower end of scores/grades, and be very direct and specific to the program about why you chose to apply/interview/want to go to residency there.


All that being said...


+1 for San Antonio today!

Que paranoia. What do you think happened?

 

[Vivienne]

Anyone know of any resources to coordinate room sharing on the interview trail?

 

[MelMcT2009]

Anyone know of any resources to coordinate room sharing on the interview trail?

Not sure but this would be a great idea

 

[MelMcT2009]

lol truly not my intention to create mass panic. You guys will be fine.

I had low stats which probably put me lower on the list just to start. I don't think I interviewed poorly at all, in fact when I reached out to programs to ask what happened, at least a handful replied they said I interviewed well and that I was ranked in a competitive spot which may have matched in previous years. A few others said our interview went fine and that nothing was 'wrong'. But I think that was the problem--I didn't interview GREAT enough to make up for my lower stats. I also think I did a bad job convincing programs that that was the place I wanted to be at. So I'd recommend making sure to really truly sell your positive qualities, particularly if you may be on the lower end of scores/grades, and be very direct and specific to the program about why you chose to apply/interview/want to go to residency there.


All that being said...


+1 for San Antonio today!

Thanks for the response, I wish you the best of luck this time around! Maybe I'll see yah in San Antonio!

 

[surely]

Anyone know of any resources to coordinate room sharing on the interview trail?

Haven't used it myself, but a friend of mine stumbled across www.swapandsnooze.com - Anyone have any experience with it?

 

[neurosis99]

Has anyone heard anything from Palmetto Health? Says on their website they are sending out interviews 10/1 but the google doc is empty

 

[Elevencents]

Do people really go on 15+ interviews?

 

[LostinLift]

Do people really go on 15+ interviews?

380 people ranked 15 or more places from the last data we have. 15 is my limit including all the ones from my city (several). Probably will end up doing 12/13 total.

https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Charting-Outcomes-US-Allopathic-Seniors-2016.pdf

 

[injuriesherbs]

Hey everyone... longtime listener, firsttime caller. Feeling pretty anxious over here. Not usually one for stats, but I've applied to 52 programs and have received 1 interview, 4 rejections, and 2 waitlists, so thought I'd make a post.

Stats: MD, 250s step 1, 240s step 2, top quintile, MSPE w/ only positive comments, 3 SLOEs (high/high/satisfactory although w/ very positive comments and was assured a "strong" SLOE from each), AOA (although elections were last week so only recently updated ERAS), SVI 20, no red flags that I know of

I've already interviewed at my home institution and my two aways, but the fact that my application has been out for over a month with only 1 offer has me antsy af, so over the weekend I applied to 24 more (76 total)... My advisor told me 30 programs would be more than enough, but that's seeming to be not the case. Should I go for even more? Send out LOIs? Keep waiting? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks guys.

 

[HopefulEMed]

At what point should we decline interviews? I am sitting at 18 invites, which is getting expensive. Any pointers on which ones we should decline or accept?

 

[sfwtboy]

At what point should we decline interviews? I am sitting at 18 invites, which is getting expensive. Any pointers on which ones we should decline or accept?

This is just my opinion, but this comes off as a huge humble brag and kinda rude to people who have many less invites than you. Also which places you decline is entirely subjective and only you can answer that question.

 

[DontstrainonMe]

At what point should we decline interviews? I am sitting at 18 invites, which is getting expensive. Any pointers on which ones we should decline or accept?

seriously man....some of us peasants are sitting at a few invites and you kind of know the answer already. Just reject the ones you don't want so us peasants can feed off your crumbs. Thank you kindly.

 

[avgjoe3920]

At what point should we decline interviews? I am sitting at 18 invites, which is getting expensive. Any pointers on which ones we should decline or accept?

I'd contact your advisor and ask them to honestly tell you which ones you will get outcompeted. Best to have a well balanced list of places to interview. That being said you don't need 18. 15 should be your max if you are a weaker applicant.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

18 is way too many. If you feel competitive, I wouldn't go on more than 12, you'll probably feel like that's too many by the end. Narrow it down to where you truly want to go with some safety places in there, some dream places, and then places in between where you think you'll be competitive. And let those other interviews go to someone who actually needs them.

 

[EM2018orBUST]

I just got an email from UCI about a lunch interview. They only gave me 1 date and it looks like there was a choice of venues but I only had 1 option there as well.

Is this how Irvine schedules their interviews and I'm getting a cancelled spot as the next person on the waitlist or is this an informal meeting and there's a real interview that I haven't been invited to?

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Interviewing for the chance for an interview. There's no way that can be how anyone does things.

 

[AlgernonMed]

At what point should we decline interviews? I am sitting at 18 invites, which is getting expensive. Any pointers on which ones we should decline or accept?

Tons of people on waitlists at this point would love ANY of your "supplemental" interviews.....message me and I'll tell you which ones I think you should turn down (based on my waitlisted programs. haha)

 

[doggydog]

Guys, let's not interview shame people with an abundance of interviews. Their dumb questions are just as okay as everyone else's dumb questions.

 

[EM2018orBUST]

Interviewing for the chance for an interview. There's no way that can be how anyone does things.

I agree but the email just seems to both invite me to an interview and yet avoid definitively stating that it's for the residency match.

 

[516662]

At what point should we decline interviews? I am sitting at 18 invites, which is getting expensive. Any pointers on which ones we should decline or accept?

That is actually really impressive considering your scores.

 

[EM2018orBUST]

That is actually really impressive considering your scores.

Given his reported stats and the response to his WAMC post, what I think happened is people here scared him into thinking he's unmatchable so he way overapplied not realizing he's a mid-tier applicant and now is drowning in what would have been his safeties or places he wouldn't have applied to. Would have to wait to hear how many places he applied to and I could definitely be wrong about my hypothesis.

 

[SpacemanSpifff]

Guys, let's not interview shame people with an abundance of interviews. Their dumb questions are just as okay as everyone else's dumb questions.

Yeah, don't really see a difference between this and the "oh crap it's mid October and I only have 5 invites, should I add 70 more programs?!"

 

[jw3600]

Hey everyone... longtime listener, firsttime caller. Feeling pretty anxious over here. Not usually one for stats, but I've applied to 52 programs and have received 1 interview, 4 rejections, and 2 waitlists, so thought I'd make a post.

Stats: MD, 250s step 1, 240s step 2, top quintile, MSPE w/ only positive comments, 3 SLOEs (high/high/satisfactory although w/ very positive comments and was assured a "strong" SLOE from each), AOA (although elections were last week so only recently updated ERAS), SVI 20, no red flags that I know of

I've already interviewed at my home institution and my two aways, but the fact that my application has been out for over a month with only 1 offer has me antsy af, so over the weekend I applied to 24 more (76 total)... My advisor told me 30 programs would be more than enough, but that's seeming to be not the case. Should I go for even more? Send out LOIs? Keep waiting? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks guys.

How many hookers have you been convicted of killing? You should have at least 20 interviews.

 

[sfwtboy]

Guys, let's not interview shame people with an abundance of interviews. Their dumb questions are just as okay as everyone else's dumb questions.

I would argue that there is merit in telling someone when they are being rude/insensitive to others. Just as when others ask dumb questions and everyone says to use the search function. *Insert parable about teaching a man to fish*

 

[gamerEMdoc]

How many hookers have you been convicted of killing? You should have at least 20 interviews.

That question could potential he be in the SVI next year.

 

[injuriesherbs]

That question could potential he be in the SVI next year.

Still only at one interview... no arrests, no failures, no negative comments on MSPE, no extensions, no gaps, no flags in match, internet presence looks great.... I'm at a loss, guys :/ Any more help?

 

[BigGAC1]

At what point should we decline interviews? I am sitting at 18 invites, which is getting expensive. Any pointers on which ones we should decline or accept?

You uhh... Ya got any of those interviews for us poor sub-250 folk?

 

[doggydog]

I would argue that there is merit in telling someone when they are being rude/insensitive to others. Just as when others ask dumb questions and everyone says to use the search function. *Insert parable about teaching a man to fish*

Just because you're insecure about being a worse applicant or having less interviews than another poster doesn't mean that poster is rude/insensitive.

 

[sfwtboy]

Just because you're insecure about being a worse applicant or having less interviews than another poster doesn't mean that poster is rude/insensitive.

Again just an opinion, but I think the humble bragging is an sdn wide problem and the main way I see it here in the EM forum is these kinds of questions, but wouldn't say that my thinking someone is being insensitive to others infers my own insecurity, just something I personally wouldn't do because I feel it comes off a certain way. That being said, I don't think this thread is the appropriate place for this discussion. Back to the interviews!

 

[medmedman]

Still only at one interview... no arrests, no failures, no negative comments on MSPE, no extensions, no gaps, no flags in match, internet presence looks great.... I'm at a loss, guys :/ Any more help?

Any love from your home or aways? Again it's still pretty early so I wouldn't freak out at this point. How many and what kind of programs did you apply to? Some people apply to 30 programs (which is great) but make the mistake of applying to pretty competitive places.

 

[injuriesherbs]

Any love from your home or aways? Again it's still pretty early so I wouldn't freak out at this point. How many and what kind of programs did you apply to? Some people apply to 30 programs (which is great) but make the mistake of applying to pretty competitive places.

Hey there, thanks for reaching out. I interviewed at home and my two competitive aways while I was there. Applied to 52 on 9/15 (majority geographically competitive and dissimilar from me, however) and 30 more on 10/12 due to lack of offers.

 

[Signifier]

To add to the pile of people freaking out at this point: I have 1 interview invite thus far. I applied to 44 programs, mostly in California, Oregon/Washington, Louisiana, Arizona and New York. For my 3 EM sub-I's, I have 1 Honor and 2 High Pass. I have a lot of research (multiple first author), work, and volunteer experience, as a well as a master's from a great institution. My SVI score was high (whatever that means). Main "red flag" is a low Step 2 score (Step 1: 238, Step 2: 228) and only one Honors during 3rd year, along with the 2 High Passes from the sub-I's... can't think of anything else.

The unanswerable, vexing question: how worried should I be? Should I apply to more programs? Should I just relax and wait longer? I'm thinking of contacting programs I'm especially interested in starting next week. I'm also going to meet with my PD next week to try to problem solve more, but...

 

[doggydog]

To add to the pile of people freaking out at this point: I have 1 interview invite thus far. I applied to 44 programs, mostly in California, Oregon/Washington, Louisiana, Arizona and New York. For my 3 EM sub-I's, I have 1 Honor and 2 High Pass. I have a lot of research (multiple first author), work, and volunteer experience, as a well as a master's from a great institution. My SVI score was high (whatever that means). Main "red flag" is a low Step 2 score (Step 1: 238, Step 2: 228) and only one Honors during 3rd year, along with the 2 High Passes from the sub-I's... can't think of anything else.

The unanswerable, vexing question: how worried should I be? Should I apply to more programs? Should I just relax and wait longer? I'm thinking of contacting programs I'm especially interested in starting next week. I'm also going to meet with my PD next week to try to problem solve more, but...

It sounds like most of your programs are some of the most competitive locations in the country. California/PNW is the most competitive location in the country and New York has so many medical schools that they don't really need to look elsewhere for applicants.

So it seems that even though you applied to 44 programs, over half are probably reaches simply due to location. Apply to more.

 

[jw3600]

It sounds like most of your programs are some of the most competitive locations in the country. California/PNW is the most competitive location in the country and New York has so many medical schools that they don't really need to look elsewhere for applicants.

So it seems that even though you applied to 44 programs, over half are probably reaches simply due to location. Apply to more.

Also 228 step 2? That's like bottom 20% no? That could be an issue.

 

[Signifier]

Yes - I agree, it's an issue, and I'm not sure what happened with Step 2. Also not sure whether to address it directly at any point.

Doggydog: Thanks for the direct advice. I've applied to another 26 programs, bringing it to 70 total. I've applied more broadly geographically as well.

 

[mangodroplet]

Whelp. Looking at # of invites vs scores, I'm gonna say that I'm living proof that EC's and SLOES can be just as important as step scores. There's hope for us folk who would never dream of scoring >240 on step 1!

Also as much as this process sucks, it definitely is going 1000000% better for me than med school apps did...I only had 2 invites then. ouch.

* I say hope in terms of getting invites to great programs. No, I Was not worrying that I wouldn't match.

 

[medmedman]

Hey there, thanks for reaching out. I interviewed at home and my two competitive aways while I was there. Applied to 52 on 9/15 (majority geographically competitive and dissimilar from me, however) and 30 more on 10/12 from anxiety.

Hey man - I think for now you'll be fine. As far as I'm concerned, I count home and away interviews towards my total. The 52 in geographically competitive may be part of the issue. I applied to a bunch in NY and ended up getting some decent invites but I'm a NY native and did an away in NYC. Again, for you and all other applicants, try not to freak out just yet. Having said that, I felt exactly the same way when I was in your shoes last year and I applied to an additional 20 some programs. Ended up being a waste of time and money since I got 0 invites from those additional invites (idk maybe it's because I applied late to them). Either way, I got most of my invites end of oct/begin of Nov. With your additional 30, you really should be all set. If you're really worried feel free to PM me with your stats/other info but it sounds like you're a pretty decent applicant.

Let me also echo what's been said many times before. Reaching out to programs is a GREAT way to show you're interested. Don't send out a generic email. Let them know you love them and tell them why you love them, and maybe even a little sentence as to why you think they'd love you. I ended up getting 3 invites after expressing interest (2 explicitly told me they would like to interview me because of my strong interest - though I'm sure they also liked my application haha). Ready for the kicker? Ended up also getting an interview from a place that initially rejected me. You have nothing to lose by sending out a genuine email to a program that you really want to go to - whether they're rejected you or placed you on the waitlist. Just don't send out those emails just yet.....still pretty early.

 

[boomshaketheroom]

Whelp. Looking at # of invites vs scores, I'm gonna say that I'm living proof that EC's and SLOES can be just as important as step scores. There's hope for us folk who would never dream of scoring >240 on step 1!

Also as much as this process sucks, it definitely is going 1000000% better for me than med school apps did...I only had 2 invites then. ouch.

u were 4 points away from >240, def within the realm of dreaming..