Yeah so I think last year and this year are a little different with the timing. Last years ACEP residency fair was Sep 30th. This years is Oct 26th. That's a pretty big difference in timing when you consider when programs send out a big portion of their invites. I can tell you, I hadn't even looked at any applications or sent invites yet to anyone other than people that rotated prior to last years residency fair. I wound up interviewing several people that I met at the fair.
I think with the fair being later this year, the interview yield will be overall a little less than last year. I'm sure the bulk of programs have sent out a good portion of their interviews. There's still interviews to be had, no doubt about that, as people decline/cancel. November traditionally has another wave of invites. But I still think with the fair being a month later, the overall yield from this years fair to last years fair will be less.
On the other hand, just getting on a waitlist helps. I can tell you, when there are late cancellations, finding someone on a waitlist to actually take the interview is often hard since they either already have a conflicting interview scheduled, or they've already had enough interviews by then. By Dec/Jan, everyone is tired of interviewing, and most that you offer the interview to just decline. So we usually build a pretty big waitlist, that way we can eventually find someone who will take a cancelled interview.
In terms of a plan, I'd have a list of places you want to hit up that you think you'd have a chance at least getting on their waitlist. I'd just stop by, discuss why you are interested in their program and usually they have a signup sheet so there shouldn't be a need for a business card.
