MD & DO co'21 Residency Panic thread

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bayerncat said:
I've been on two interviews and I really don't know how I'm going to get enough important information or gut feeling from quick zoom sessions to actually change any of my pre-interview rank lists spots barring like a disaster from a program on an interview day. These feel like formalities almost.
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So I asked residents and faculty what they think is the weakest thing about their program and the strongest thing. Now I'm applying EM so I had a program say their weak spot was ultrasound training and their strong spot was their EMS training. In all fairness, their EMS training is incredible. So if you were really into EMS and considering even an EMS fellowship one day, then this program would move up the list. If you're really into US however, hearing from faculty and residents that it's weak there would move it down the list.
This was rather revealing because their website doesn't convey that US is a weak link in the education there.
 
Does timing of sending out LOIs matter at all? Drafting up a bunch while watching football today and was planning on sending them out tonight or early tomorrow morning.

And to add onto that, are y'all sending them to the program PDs, coordinators, or both?
 
Doc-Thor said:
Does timing of sending out LOIs matter at all? Drafting up a bunch while watching football today and was planning on sending them out tonight or early tomorrow morning.

And to add onto that, are y'all sending them to the program PDs, coordinators, or both?
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I was told to send them only to coordinators, don't send too many, and next week is prime time to send it
 
Chibucks15 said:
I was told to send them only to coordinators, don't send too many, and next week is prime time to send it
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Yeah I didn’t get any action out of mine on Wednesday, and legit only sent to my top choices. Worried I should have waited until next week, but I saw from friends their dates were full.
 
Oligodinero said:
So I asked residents and faculty what they think is the weakest thing about their program and the strongest thing. Now I'm applying EM so I had a program say their weak spot was ultrasound training and their strong spot was their EMS training. In all fairness, their EMS training is incredible. So if you were really into EMS and considering even an EMS fellowship one day, then this program would move up the list. If you're really into US however, hearing from faculty and residents that it's weak there would move it down the list.
This was rather revealing because their website doesn't convey that US is a weak link in the education there.
Click to expand...

I have only been on one interview, but the most informative question I asked was, "What changes has your program made in response to resident feedback?" I got VERY honest information from a faculty member about how they're continuing to work on an imperfect hand-off system (a detail I never would have thought to ask about) and when I followed up with the PD you could tell he was a little flustered and started off, "Who told you about that? Look this isn't a democracy...". I still loved the program and plan on ranking it highly, but I feel like I definitely have a better sense of a pain point they're dealing with.

Main thing I wish I had asked about and didn't: Patient cap for interns.
 
Chibucks15 said:
I was told to send them only to coordinators, don't send too many, and next week is prime time to send it
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Thanks for the information. I will send some out next week then. Anyone know if there is a database for coordinators or something? I've already noticed that some websites have like no information for contacting programs...
 
Naruhodo said:
I have only been on one interview, but the most informative question I asked was, "What changes has your program made in response to resident feedback?" I got VERY honest information from a faculty member about how they're continuing to work on an imperfect hand-off system (a detail I never would have thought to ask about) and when I followed up with the PD you could tell he was a little flustered and started off, "Who told you about that? Look this isn't a democracy...". I still loved the program and plan on ranking it highly, but I feel like I definitely have a better sense of a pain point they're dealing with.

Main thing I wish I had asked about and didn't: Patient cap for interns.
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Lol I would DNR this program on the spot. PDs who can’t even fake being nice during an interview are a warning sign. You gotta put up with that leadership for several years
 
underthesun said:
Lol I would DNR this program on the spot. PDs who can’t even fake being nice during an interview are a warning sign. You gotta put up with that leadership for several years
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That’s about as large as a red flag you are going to get without one of the residents actually telling you not to rank the program .
 
One question I’ve been asking is similar, “What do you think the greatest strength of your program is, and what is your greatest weakness or one thing the program is working on” and gotten some good info from that

But ya I think if there was any defensiveness to this type of question it would be a red flag for sure
 
Neopolymath said:
How is the food and parking? That's key, particularly for intern year. Don't sleep on these high yield questions, peeps.
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Yup. Food, parking, tech allowance, relocation allowance, gym membership/allowance, Step/Level 3/DEA, training permit/state license fees, etc. All on my spreadsheet and list of things to ask. I'm also keeping track of things like health insurance: does the resident pay a portion of the cost or does the program pay the entire cost.
I'm also looking at things like cost of vehicle registration in the state. State income tax, does the state have vehicle inspection or not (my Jeep has a lotta miles....so passing smog in CA could be difficult/expensive)
 
Oligodinero said:
Yup. Food, parking, tech allowance, relocation allowance, gym membership/allowance, Step/Level 3/DEA, training permit/state license fees, etc. All on my spreadsheet and list of things to ask. I'm also keeping track of things like health insurance: does the resident pay a portion of the cost or does the program pay the entire cost.
I'm also looking at things like cost of vehicle registration in the state. State income tax, does the state have vehicle inspection or not (my Jeep has a lotta miles....so passing smog in CA could be difficult/expensive)
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Oh man. I feel bad for anyone who has to register a car in California.
 
Banco said:
Thanks for the information. I will send some out next week then. Anyone know if there is a database for coordinators or something? I've already noticed that some websites have like no information for contacting programs...
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the program coordinator email is on ERAS. And if you go to the residency website on the applicants page they usually list the name of the program coordinator with contact info.
 
sunshinefl said:
What are people wearing on these evening virtual meet and greet things?
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I wore a hoody to one lol. The residents were wearing regular clothes as well. There’s was only one person in each who ended up dressing in a tie. They’re very informal.
 
There is an inverse relationship between how formal you dress and how much I want you as a co-resident. Same relationship abides for how much I’ll advocate for you at ROL meetings. I’m just one doctor at one place though. I’m sure there are tons of bags at places who want the opposite. Be yourself.
 
MLNS said:
There is an inverse relationship between how formal you dress and how much I want you as a co-resident. Same relationship abides for how much I’ll advocate for you at ROL meetings. I’m just one doctor at one place though. I’m sure there are tons of bags at places who want the opposite. Be yourself.
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Dont tempt me, I’ll break out the neon bro tanks with no shame
 
So several people have talked about spouses being at the meet and greet. My husband is a wonderful person, but physically intimation dating and us also a member of law enforcement. Will it look bad if I don't have him with me? I had just planned on him watching our child. I am stressing too much over this.
 
raiderette said:
So several people have talked about spouses being at the meet and greet. My husband is a wonderful person, but physically intimation dating and us also a member of law enforcement. Will it look bad if I don't have him with me? I had just planned on him watching our child. I am stressing too much over this.
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Will your husband be in uniform??? That would honestly be weird if he were. Otherwise, I don't think it matters if he's there or not, he'll just be your husband. That's assuming a SO can be socially normal, not have inappropriate conversations, etc.
 
MLNS said:
There is an inverse relationship between how formal you dress and how much I want you as a co-resident. Same relationship abides for how much I’ll advocate for you at ROL meetings. I’m just one doctor at one place though. I’m sure there are tons of bags at places who want the opposite. Be yourself.
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Yeah , myself is a crazy person. I’m gonna go with formal but no tie .
 
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On Zoom, is there a way to get rid of the video box that shows your face on your screen? So you're only seeing the other people you're talking to. I'm trying to get rid of that to limit any hesitation to look at myself. Wow that sounds super narcissistic but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say here.
 
raiderette said:
So several people have talked about spouses being at the meet and greet. My husband is a wonderful person, but physically intimation dating and us also a member of law enforcement. Will it look bad if I don't have him with me? I had just planned on him watching our child. I am stressing too much over this.
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I talk about my SO at every interview, but they’ve never shown up on the zoom calls. I’ve also not seen any of the other applicants or residents with an SO on the call. I wouldn’t think they would. Of the numerous interactions I’ve had, only once did someone ask what they do. So overall I wouldn’t be too worried one way or another.
 
raiderette said:
So several people have talked about spouses being at the meet and greet. My husband is a wonderful person, but physically intimation dating and us also a member of law enforcement. Will it look bad if I don't have him with me? I had just planned on him watching our child. I am stressing too much over this.
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My husband has had to put my son down during all the socials I have attended. He also would’ve been the only SO there so I wouldn’t stress over it at all!
 
scrublyfe21 said:
So all of their invites even from the first week got rescinded and they’re essentially starting over? I applied there and never even got an accidental invite lmao
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According to the follow up email that’s what they said. They haven’t reviewed most of the apps yet so who knows.
 
Got a response from one feeler LOI that said they’ve already filled their interview season, but they’ll put me in a waitlist. So much for invites going in waves. Also at a meet and greet the PD was like “we’re a rural community program, but of course we’re getting apps from the top 2 students from UCLA - what am I gonna do, NOT invite them!?” I just feel like this year is already turning into a total bleep-show.
 
Spectreman said:
Got a response from one feeler LOI that said they’ve already filled their interview season, but they’ll put me in a waitlist. So much for invites going in waves. Also at a meet and greet the PD was like “we’re a rural community program, but of course we’re getting apps from the top 2 students from UCLA - what am I gonna do, NOT invite them!?” I just feel like this year is already turning into a total bleep-show.
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i went to a community interview and everyone was from a top school. i was like...these people aren't going to be coming here!
 
Espressso said:
On Zoom, is there a way to get rid of the video box that shows your face on your screen? So you're only seeing the other people you're talking to. I'm trying to get rid of that to limit any hesitation to look at myself. Wow that sounds super narcissistic but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say here.
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Yeah if you click on the video box and click the little “minimize” (underscore?) it will take away that view.
 
Espressso said:
On Zoom, is there a way to get rid of the video box that shows your face on your screen? So you're only seeing the other people you're talking to. I'm trying to get rid of that to limit any hesitation to look at myself. Wow that sounds super narcissistic but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say here.
Click to expand...

Nah it’s not narcissistic. Everyone does that. It is also super obvious so probably best if you can get rid of the box haha.
 
Is Thalamus working for everyone else? It's not allowing me to click most functions. Tried logging in and out, etc. Wondering if this is a system-wide issue or just a me issue.
 
Are people interview hoarding due to the extra round being added to SOAP? I think people want to hold onto more because they predict this app cycle is not going to follow the trends of previous years. I am personally self capping at 15-17 but I can easily see neurotic applicants doing >20.
 
MakeLifeHappen13 said:
Are people interview hoarding due to the extra round being added to SOAP? I think people want to hold onto more because they predict this app cycle is not going to follow the trends of previous years. I am personally self capping at 15-17 but I can easily see neurotic applicants doing >20.
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I think there will be many unfilled programs due to people hoarding and NRMP is anticipating that so that's why they added an extra round.
 
Grannywang said:
I think there will be many unfilled programs due to people hoarding and NRMP is anticipating that so that's why they added an extra round.
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Them adding an extra round is one of the major reasons why people are interview hoarding. It's like a vicious cycle.
 
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