MD & DO co'21 Residency Panic thread

[Lawpy]

Random thought since a thread got me thinking: what do you guys think of a hypothetical scenario where appliants are guaranteed to match and avoid SOAP based on their SOAP notes? Bad idea?

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[Oo Cipher oO]

Random thought since a thread got me thinking: what do you guys think of a hypothetical scenario where appliants are guaranteed to match and avoid SOAP based on their SOAP notes? Bad idea?

So like a high stakes OSCE. Hard pass

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Random thought since a thread got me thinking: what do you guys think of a hypothetical scenario where appliants are guaranteed to match and avoid SOAP based on their SOAP notes? Bad idea?

**** that.

 

[Lawpy]

So like a high stakes OSCE. Hard pass

**** that.

Welp that's what i thought but couldn't think of other ways to combine SOAP and SOAP notes

 

[getfat]

I'm so over the "Okay, tell me about yourself. Great, do you have any more questions for me?"

YEAH, WHY DID YOU NEED TO INTERVIEW ME IN THE FIRST PLACE

yeah i've had two interviews like that. Website hasn't been updated in years. Nothing clear about the curriculum. No social media presence. Immediately placed on the bottom of my list. In any other year I would've placed them on DNR.

Many applicants are worried about SOAPing. A ton of programs are doing stuff like this and will be shocked when they go unfilled.

 

[Espressso]

I need an update from @libertyyne, haven't heard from him in quite some time

 

[sunshinefl]

Just received invite #11 !!!! (trickle week #5 for those playing along at home).

Edit: And #12 now too!

 

[ilovemydog]

I want some more anesthesia trickle invites 😭. I guess I’m just banking on my top 3.

 

[AspiringERMD]

Just received invite #11 !!!! (trickle week #5 for those playing along at home).

Geeeeeez, we get it, you're a badass

Congrats!!

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

Post-LOI II from a TY I sent about a week ago. Strong family ties to the region.

Not too late to send if you're genuine!

 

[Neopolymath]

Just got rejected from a prelim program after they decided to not participate in the match on 10/22. I withdrew my app from them over a month ago.

The ****. First you con me and take my money. Now you're just trying to hurt my feelings. The ****, man

I had it happen to me too.

 

[CavsFan2016]

Just received invite #11 !!!! (trickle week #5 for those playing along at home).

Edit: And #12 now too!

Pumped for you

 

[Naruhodo]

Edit: And #12 now too!

Way to go! I'm also at 12 and officially calling it, though if WashU decided to throw an invite my way perhaps things could be rearranged

 

[deleted645092]

Way to go! I'm also at 12 and officially calling it, though if WashU decided to throw an invite my way perhaps things could be rearranged

Seriously, I’ve capped myself at 15 but there are still a couple heavy hitters I have the pipe dream of interviewing at who haven’t rejected me yet.

 

[FindersFee5]

So my first interviews are next week, and I finally got off my @ss and started preparing. I really feel like I struggle with "Tell me about yourself." What approaches have y'all taken with that question?

 

[redsox93]

So my first interviews are next week, and I finally got off my @ss and started preparing. I really feel like I struggle with "Tell me about yourself." What approaches have y'all taken with that question?

My answer is pretty generic. Hi I'm Redsox93, I was born and raised in (city) and then went to (other city) for college where I studied x. I then went to medical school at x. Outside of medicine, my hobbies include blah blah blah. And then I tell them that I'm couples matching and my partner is applying FM. That's about it

 

[Banco]

So my first interviews are next week, and I finally got off my @ss and started preparing. I really feel like I struggle with "Tell me about yourself." What approaches have y'all taken with that question?

This question is hard because you can and should rehearse it a bit, connect it to the specialty (why X specialty) a bit etc. but you also need to read the room and length of interview. For some interviews a generic few lines will suffice. It's truly a funny question because how is my 2 minute summary better than the entirety of my application? But alas.

 

[curbsideconsult]

So my first interviews are next week, and I finally got off my @ss and started preparing. I really feel like I struggle with "Tell me about yourself." What approaches have y'all taken with that question?

What people want to know, subconsciously, when they say this is how you view yourself. My own rough guide for what people mean when they answer this request:

"I was born and raised in the South/California/New England/etc." = culture in some form is very important to this person
"I have a spouse and X number of children" = family is very important to this person
"I was born in [place] and I'm the [birth order number] child in a family of [occupation/religion/etc.]" = heritage is very important to this person
"In my spare time, I like to X" = this person has a life and interests outside of medicine
"What do you want to know?" = this person is very annoyed at me asking a generic question

 

[FindersFee5]

My answer is pretty generic. Hi I'm Redsox93, I was born and raised in (city) and then went to (other city) for college where I studied x. I then went to medical school at x. Outside of medicine, my hobbies include blah blah blah. And then I tell them that I'm couples matching and my partner is applying FM. That's about it

This question is hard because you can and should rehearse it a bit, connect it to the specialty (why X specialty) a bit etc. but you also need to read the room and length of interview. For some interviews a generic few lines will suffice. It's truly a funny question because how is my 2 minute summary better than the entirety of my application? But alas.

What people want to know, subconsciously, when they say this is how you view yourself. My own rough guide for what people mean when they answer this request:

"I was born and raised in the South/California/New England/etc." = culture in some form is very important to this person
"I have a spouse and X number of children" = family is very important to this person
"I was born in [place] and I'm the [birth order number] child in a family of [occupation/religion/etc.]" = heritage is very important to this person
"In my spare time, I like to X" = this person has a life and interests outside of medicine
"What do you want to know?" = this person is very annoyed at me asking a generic question

Thanks y'all, this is really helpful and feels more aligned with my personality. I was reading through the Big Interview guide to it, and they were basically telling you to present it as an elevator pitch selling yourself. I thought it was kinda bad advice to start an interview off by selling yourself, I felt like that could turn a lot of interviewers off. A bit more generic where I'm from, college, medical school, personal connection to specialty feels a lot less artificial to me.

 

[redsox93]

Thanks y'all, this is really helpful and feels more aligned with my personality. I was reading through the Big Interview guide to it, and they were basically telling you to present it as an elevator pitch selling yourself. I thought it was kinda bad advice to start an interview off by selling yourself, I felt like that could turn a lot of interviewers off. A bit more generic where I'm from, college, medical school, personal connection to specialty feels a lot less artificial to me.

Yeah I think its my least favorite question just because I overthink it haha. And I've been asked it pretty much every time.

 

[CavsFan2016]

What people want to know, subconsciously, when they say this is how you view yourself. My own rough guide for what people mean when they answer this request:

"I was born and raised in the South/California/New England/etc." = culture in some form is very important to this person
"I have a spouse and X number of children" = family is very important to this person
"I was born in [place] and I'm the [birth order number] child in a family of [occupation/religion/etc.]" = heritage is very important to this person
"In my spare time, I like to X" = this person has a life and interests outside of medicine
"What do you want to know?" = this person is very annoyed at me asking a generic question

"I really enjoy eating cake" = cake in some form is very important to this person

 

[deleted697308]

This question is hard because you can and should rehearse it a bit, connect it to the specialty (why X specialty) a bit etc. but you also need to read the room and length of interview. For some interviews a generic few lines will suffice. It's truly a funny question because how is my 2 minute summary better than the entirety of my application? But alas.

I never connect mine to the specialty because I have some unique things I want to focus on instead lol.

 

[sunshinefl]

So my first interviews are next week, and I finally got off my @ss and started preparing. I really feel like I struggle with "Tell me about yourself." What approaches have y'all taken with that question?

I’m non-traditional so mine is sort of an evolving story of my adult life from high school dropout through my education/work background/ reason for medicine in general (which kinda lends itself into my specialty and career goals).

What people want to know, subconsciously, when they say this is how you view yourself. My own rough guide for what people mean when they answer this request:

"I was born and raised in the South/California/New England/etc." = culture in some form is very important to this person
"I have a spouse and X number of children" = family is very important to this person
"I was born in [place] and I'm the [birth order number] child in a family of [occupation/religion/etc.]" = heritage is very important to this person
"In my spare time, I like to X" = this person has a life and interests outside of medicine
"What do you want to know?" = this person is very annoyed at me asking a generic question

oof I’m none of the above.

 

[Banco]

I never connect mine to the specialty because I have some unique things I want to focus on instead lol.

Which is fine, it's an open ended question and can go different ways.

 

[FindersFee5]

Thoughts on bringing up kids during 'tell me about yourself' for a surgical sub? I feel that my son is a very important piece of my life and story, but I don't want to scare off programs.

I know people always say "you don't want to be at a program that wouldn't support your family" but I'm not sure that's accurate. I think there are a number of programs that would prefer to choose somebody with no kids if they had the choice between two other relatively equal applicants, but are also super willing to support their own residents in terms of family. It's all about how they treat people who are 'in' their group vs those who are currently not (applicants).

 

[sunshinefl]

Thoughts on bringing up kids during 'tell me about yourself' for a surgical sub? I feel that my son is a very important piece of my life and story, but I don't want to scare off programs.

I know people always say "you don't want to be at a program that wouldn't support your family" but I'm not sure that's accurate. I think there are a number of programs that would prefer to choose somebody with no kids if they had the choice between two other relatively equal applicants, but are also super willing to support their own residents in terms of family. It's all about how they treat people who are 'in' their group vs those who are currently not (applicants).

Yeah that’s tough. I don’t have kids but I do bring up my husband sometimes (not during “tell me about yourself” but sometimes it comes up otherwise). But I’m applying IM and it’s another adult, not a dependent.

 

[AzBasRad]

What people want to know, subconsciously, when they say this is how you view yourself. My own rough guide for what people mean when they answer this request:

"I was born and raised in the South/California/New England/etc." = culture in some form is very important to this person
"I have a spouse and X number of children" = family is very important to this person
"I was born in [place] and I'm the [birth order number] child in a family of [occupation/religion/etc.]" = heritage is very important to this person
"In my spare time, I like to X" = this person has a life and interests outside of medicine
"What do you want to know?" = this person is very annoyed at me asking a generic question

Excellent guide! This addresses key points to include in your "tell me about yourself" if the interviewer gives a brief introduction first.

I approach it something along the lines of, "I was born in X, went to college at Y. I discovered my passion for medicine late and thus I did post-bac at Z before pursing medical school at A. I became interested in radiology during my third year of medical school after . . . . "

All of this is done in 2 minutes or less. You don't want to take too long since most interviewers use this as a springboard to ask a follow up. "So I see that you have done research/volunteering with . . . . Tell me about that."

 

[Neopolymath]

Thoughts on bringing up kids during 'tell me about yourself' for a surgical sub? I feel that my son is a very important piece of my life and story, but I don't want to scare off programs.

I know people always say "you don't want to be at a program that wouldn't support your family" but I'm not sure that's accurate. I think there are a number of programs that would prefer to choose somebody with no kids if they had the choice between two other relatively equal applicants, but are also super willing to support their own residents in terms of family. It's all about how they treat people who are 'in' their group vs those who are currently not (applicants).

In my experience, men who mention having kids in healthcare are automatically considered mature/responsible and it's a good thing on the scoreboard. I'm not saying the double standard is right but I have noticed this consistently.

 

[Ho0v-man]

Thoughts on bringing up kids during 'tell me about yourself' for a surgical sub? I feel that my son is a very important piece of my life and story, but I don't want to scare off programs.

I know people always say "you don't want to be at a program that wouldn't support your family" but I'm not sure that's accurate. I think there are a number of programs that would prefer to choose somebody with no kids if they had the choice between two other relatively equal applicants, but are also super willing to support their own residents in terms of family. It's all about how they treat people who are 'in' their group vs those who are currently not (applicants).

It’s a maturity thing. Maybe be prepared about talking about the demands of the field and balancing that with being a parent. Something along the lines of how miserable you were working half as many hours in a clinic or on IM and even though you’ll have less time for family in surgery, you’ll be happier during that time and can be a better parent because of it blah blah blah.

 

[FindersFee5]

It’s a maturity thing. Maybe be prepared about talking about the demands of the field and balancing that with being a parent. Something along the lines of how miserable you were working half as many hours in a clinic or on IM and even though you’ll have less time for family in surgery, you’ll be happier during that time and can be a better parent because of it blah blah blah.

Oh I really like this - it actually sounds a lot like something my wife has told me. And I did feel more energized and present coming out of a 12 hour case than a 6 hour day on my psych rotation.

 

[Naruhodo]

I’m non-traditional so mine is sort of an evolving story of my adult life from high school dropout through my education/work background/ reason for medicine in general (which kinda lends itself into my specialty and career goals).

Ditto. Mine is kind of a "here's how I spent the decade that I am older than the rest of the applicants you're probably considering."

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Thoughts on bringing up kids during 'tell me about yourself' for a surgical sub? I feel that my son is a very important piece of my life and story, but I don't want to scare off programs.

I know people always say "you don't want to be at a program that wouldn't support your family" but I'm not sure that's accurate. I think there are a number of programs that would prefer to choose somebody with no kids if they had the choice between two other relatively equal applicants, but are also super willing to support their own residents in terms of family. It's all about how they treat people who are 'in' their group vs those who are currently not (applicants).

I bring my kids up every time. All but one time it caused the interviewer to go off about how family friendly they are and how much their own kids like living in the area, how good schools are, etc. and the one time it didn’t the dude basically just asked how I balanced family life in med school and how I planned to do it in residency.

 

[olderbrooklyndoc]

Ditto. Mine is kind of a "here's how I spent the decade that I am older than the rest of the applicants you're probably considering."

I do this too!

 

[deleted697308]

ACS Program Updates, Resources and Announcements
"It May Be Too Late to Avoid a Crisis in the Surgery Match This Year"
Lol. As if they didn't have months prior to ERAS opening to prepare for this and come up with a plan. Don't appreciate that the "burden" of going to more interviews falls on the applicants. Like everyone is going to do as many as they can to maximize their chances and you can't blame people for it.

 

[Banco]

ACS Program Updates, Resources and Announcements
"It May Be Too Late to Avoid a Crisis in the Surgery Match This Year"
Lol. As if they didn't have months prior to ERAS opening to prepare for this and come up with a plan. Don't appreciate that the "burden" of going to more interviews falls on the applicants. Like everyone is going to do as many as they can to maximize their chances and you can't blame people for it.

They really couldn't have anticipated this earlier? No kidding it's too late, some places are already done with all their interview days. It's a bad system for this situation and neurotic medical students have also worsened it by hoarding.

On the bright side, it'll probably be easier to match at top programs this year.

 

[Oligodinero]

Interviewed with my #1 rank today. I think it went pretty well. The PD did tell me they're interviewing 150% of their normal amount of applicants this season, but didn't tell me why they're doing so. Maybe the programs feel just as uncertain about everything this season as we do.
The other thing that was odd were a couple of remarks about my age (I'm in my mid 40s). They weren't necessarily negative remarks, indeed they mentioned my "very impressive application"....but I have to wonder how prevalent ageism is in the match process overall. The PD himself did say that a sizable amount of shifts are PM shifts and asked how I felt about them......to which I replied that I used to work exclusively PM shifts in my previous life and actually preferred them as admin was never around telling us we couldn't have food and drinks at our work stations and JCAHO was never bothering us with inspections at night. So I hope I have a good chance of matching there...my wife and I both really like this residency. I haven't been sending many thank you notes afterwards, but will for this residency...both because it's my top pick and because the PC told us during the interview wrap-up that we can send all thank you notes to her either by email or snail mail and she'd distribute them to the interviewers....so I inferred they expect thank-you notes.

 

[Naruhodo]

I'd think your answer was a good one regarding night shifts. The one time I brought up my age in an interview (the fact that I am older than a recent graduate of their residency who is now an attending at my institution and that I guess I could have been more expedient in getting to my dream career) the PD literally laughed it off. It may have been the only time I made him laugh actually. So I'm hoping ageism won't be that large a factor. Mostly it has been people pointing out that I've done a lot of things (like living outside the US) and wanting to talk about that.
Yeah, I'm with you on limiting my thank you notes. I'm thanking the program coordinator everywhere, since they're the ones who I know worked hard to put together my schedule, actually correspond with me, etc. Other than that I just sent thank you notes to most (not all) of my interviewers at my top 3 programs. I just interviewed at what I think is my new #4 program and was torn because I loved the people and it felt culturally like a good fit, but has a less prestigious reputation. The PD seemed amazing and I was tempted to thank him individually and say how much I loved the interview day, but I feel like that's giving them false hope if it remains my #4. I always do at least thank them in person.

 

[Espressso]

Does anyone have any programs they've interviewed at that they come away thinking they really don't want to rank this program? I have two programs I really don't want to rank. Malignant-ish cultures, bad locations, uninspiring interview day. I'm already thinking about this internal battle between ranking every program I interview at vs keeping these two off my list.

 

[Oligodinero]

Does anyone have any programs they've interviewed at that they come away thinking they really don't want to rank this program? I have two programs I really don't want to rank. Malignant-ish cultures, bad locations, uninspiring interview day. I'm already thinking about this internal battle between ranking every program I interview at vs keeping these two off my list.

I'd love to have so many IIs at this point that I have the luxury of not ranking a program. But I don't....I'm sitting at 10 IIs and 1 wait list. Unless things change, I'll have to rank a place I really don't like last as an insurance policy. If something changes and I start getting more invites....well, that's a different story. I didn't spend all this time and money not to match into a residency, because, after all, you can't get a license unless you've at least finished your intern year.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Does anyone have any programs they've interviewed at that they come away thinking they really don't want to rank this program? I have two programs I really don't want to rank. Malignant-ish cultures, bad locations, uninspiring interview day. I'm already thinking about this internal battle between ranking every program I interview at vs keeping these two off my list.

Yes. I was about 15 minutes through my first interview with a program I had gone back and forth about keeping and realized my gut was right and I should have cancelled it beforehand. The training just wasn’t worth it to me. I will not be ranking them.

 

[12jas]

Does anyone have any programs they've interviewed at that they come away thinking they really don't want to rank this program? I have two programs I really don't want to rank. Malignant-ish cultures, bad locations, uninspiring interview day. I'm already thinking about this internal battle between ranking every program I interview at vs keeping these two off my list.

It all comes down to whether you would rather train at that program or SOAP? That is really the underlying question. If you match there that's it no do-over you are contracted in. If you fail to match well the SOAP is its own kind of hell. So ask yourself and go from there. I have two programs on my list that I want to not rank but at the end of the day for me personally, I would rather suffer through a terrible program than risk not matching my desired specialty and have to SOAP.

 

[Neopolymath]

It all comes down to whether you would rather train at that program or SOAP? That is really the underlying question. If you match there that's it no do-over you are contracted in. If you fail to match well the SOAP is its own kind of hell. So ask yourself and go from there. I have two programs on my list that I want to not rank but at the end of the day for me personally, I would rather suffer through a terrible program than risk not matching my desired specialty and have to SOAP.

I will walk through glass before I show the audacity to no-rank a program and possibly soap into ***shudders*** another specialty.

Edit: obviously this is personal preference but it's my nightmare.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Interviewed with my #1 rank today. I think it went pretty well. The PD did tell me they're interviewing 150% of their normal amount of applicants this season, but didn't tell me why they're doing so. Maybe the programs feel just as uncertain about everything this season as we do.
The other thing that was odd were a couple of remarks about my age (I'm in my mid 40s). They weren't necessarily negative remarks, indeed they mentioned my "very impressive application"....but I have to wonder how prevalent ageism is in the match process overall. The PD himself did say that a sizable amount of shifts are PM shifts and asked how I felt about them......to which I replied that I used to work exclusively PM shifts in my previous life and actually preferred them as admin was never around telling us we couldn't have food and drinks at our work stations and JCAHO was never bothering us with inspections at night. So I hope I have a good chance of matching there...my wife and I both really like this residency. I haven't been sending many thank you notes afterwards, but will for this residency...both because it's my top pick and because the PC told us during the interview wrap-up that we can send all thank you notes to her either by email or snail mail and she'd distribute them to the interviewers....so I inferred they expect thank-you notes.

Fellow non-trad old person here. You'll find your age and experience comes in pretty handy when dealing with the daily bullshyte most of our younger colleagues have never dealt with.

 

[sunshinefl]

I currently only have 1 program on the very bottom of my list that I’m debating ranking or not. I honestly might rather SOAP than go there. My next 2 interviews are at the 2 places on my list right above that one so we’ll see.

 

[FindersFee5]

Just got my step 2 score back, wondering if/how I should update programs?

 

[PatchA]

I will walk through glass before I show the audacity to no-rank a program and possibly soap into ***shudders*** another specialty.

Edit: obviously this is personal preference but it's my nightmare.

Completely agree. Definitely personal preference but I cannot imagine liking a program so little I’d rather be unemployed/ soap/ not get to do my chosen specialty.

 

[nervousbreakdown247]

Hey everyone,

Been on SDN for a long time now but this is my first post. I'm hoping someone can offer me some sort of advice or anything. I'm getting incredibly nervous and scared about this cycle.

I'm applying to FM and Peds - I only have 5 interviews so far (4 FM and 1 Peds) and have not really heard back from many other schools. Taken part in 3 of the 5 interviews so far and loved all the programs. I've only got about 10 rejections and applied to about 250 programs. I am a non-US IMG and will be graduating this year. Step 1 score is on the lower end (200-210 range) but went up 21 points on my CK (220-230 range), first pass for both. I have research experience, great work experience and a lot of volunteer experience. I honoured or got an A in all my clerkships. LORs are from IM PD, FM APD, Peds APD and FM doctor I shadowed for years. I'd say I'm an extremely friendly and normal individual so I feel like my interviews and future interviews (hopefully) should be great.

My last invite was 2 weeks ago and have barely heard anything since then (only got like 2-3 rejections during this 2 week period). I'm getting nervous with this cycle as I thought I applied broadly enough to have received more invites than this. My goal was to get 10-15 invites which I thought was very reasonable..

I sent out a few letters of interests to my top programs, which are IMG friendly and very within my reach I would say based off their stats, but have not heard back from anyone yet. I keep telling myself that no answer is better than a rejection, but god spending my time on SDN and Reddit is slowly crushing all my hopes with everything.

Hoping someone could help me out with some advice here or even tell me if that number of interviews is appropriate at this stage? I know some of you USMD/DOs have >10 invites so I'm just very anxious about all of this lately.

Thank you all and good luck!

Update: Still have the 5 interviews total. Starting to get a little stressed out and worried. I sent out some LOIs but only 2 programs replied letting me know they'd forward it to the recruitment committee.

Should I start to get worried? Anything more I can really do at this point? Any advice from anyone... pls

On a more positive note: 4/5 interviews complete at this time - I am pretty confident that the interviews went really well. The most recent interview had amazing conversations and PD & psychologist sent back thank you emails saying that the team really enjoyed their experience and talking to me.

 

[veebo]

Just got my step 2 score back, wondering if/how I should update programs?

tattoo score across lower back, send pic

but really you can just upload the updated USMLE stuff and it will send automatically and if there is programs you're very interested in letting know just send a LOI letting them know you have updated info

 

[steadyhand]

sent a letter of interest to one of my top IM program a little over a month ago. thinking of calling the PC to ask about update on status of my app and express my interest over the phone. feels like i have nothing to lose at this point. any thoughts?

 

[efle]

sent a letter of interest to one of my top IM program a little over a month ago. thinking of calling the PC to ask about update on status of my app and express my interest over the phone. feels like i have nothing to lose at this point. any thoughts?

do not do this