Couples match advice?

[AceRockolla]

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My fiance and I are applying for EM and pediatrics, respectively. We applied to ~50 programs, and so far I've gotten a handful of automatic interviews for peds but we only have 1 EM.
We could use some opinions about:

*Advice on how to handle scheduling interviews, especially if EM program invites are later in the season. Right now we're just scheduling peds interviews and hoping we can add the EM's later.

*Is it too pushy to call EM programs and tell them our situation?

*How many interviews should we plan on? We're thinking about 15.

*Are we crazy? 😳

Thanks for your help!

 

[peds2006]

Been through the same scenario; it is not easy on the EM person waiting for interviews, but don't worry they will come through!

You are doing the right thing by scheduling interviews for Peds as they come in. It would be nice to be able to coordinate your travel (and save money) but this might not happen for the majority of your interviews. Also, you might find a program that will put in a good word for your significant other in EM and an interview invite may follow! (speaking from experience)

I wouldn't recommend calling all the EM programs you applied to, but it may be a good option for those that your fiancee gets interviews in Peds, and explain your situation.

The number of interviews for EM depends on how competitive an applicant you are. You will most likely end up with more interviews in Peds than EM.

You are definitely not crazy. Keep a positive attitude and good luck to both of you!

 

[margaritaboy]

My wife and I applied and matched in Peds and EM, respectively.

As mentioned above, if you want to travel together and interview on the same days, coordination is paramount. Always accept interview invitations immediately, and you may try to schedule interviews based on geography. For example, you may make December your 'Southeast' month and try to schedule all of those interviews in that time frame, with 2-3 days off between each interview. That way you'll save some time, and you may be able to drive or fly to a group of interviews without having to return to an area multiple times. Additionally, it is kind of fun if you are able to travel together and turn it into a kind of vacation along the way.

As you probably have already figured out, Peds interviews are offered early. You should accept every Peds offer. Leave a little wiggle room between interviews, realizing that your programs may not offer interviews on the same days. In November, when the EM interviews start rolling in, try to schedule them around the corresponding Peds interview. Interviewing at 15 programs is possible, but pretty ambitious. I think if you hit 10 that will be enough, but I don't know how competitive each of you are nor what programs you are gunning for. Remember that unlike the regular match, your rank lists can include a program more than once. So if you each interview at 10 programs, it can open up a lot of match possibilities as long as 3 or more of those interviews are in the same city.

You should absolutely contact programs in the same city that have offered only one of you an interview. You can simply say: Dear XXX, I've applied to your County EM program. My S.O. has received and accepted an interview at the University Peds program for January 15th, and we are very excited about our visit to NoWhere City. I'm very interested in your program, and any help in expediting the review of my application would be appreciated. Please feel free to contact me with any questions yaddy yaddy yaddy.

That way you let them know that you are interested, but also you are already going to be in their area. This strategy had a 100% success rate for my wife and I. 3/4 times, the program in question offered an interview. 1/4 times we got an early rejection, but that was also quite helpful as that meant we could cancel that solitary interview, and plan other interviews during that time. Don't waste your time or money interviewing at a place where your S.O. hasn't received an interview (at least in the same city).

Good luck, and try to have some fun on your interviews.

 

[AceRockolla]

Peds2006 and Margarita Boy, thank you for all the helpful input. I think the geographic scheduling idea is great and the advice to schedule peds interviews as they come in is sound . I was somewhat relieved to hear that contacting programs when only one person has an interview can be successful.

Margaritaboy, I see that you are at Maricopa in Phoenix. How do you like it? Maricopa and Phoenix Childrens are two places we are very interested in and would love to hear about the programs from a couples perspective. Also, what other programs did you look at here in the west? Were there any programs in general that you thought were particularly strong in Peds and ER and would suggest looking at? Thanks again for all the input and we look forward to hearing from you. 🙂

 

[margaritaboy]

Margaritaboy, I see that you are at Maricopa in Phoenix. How do you like it? Maricopa and Phoenix Children’s are two places we are very interested in and would love to hear about the programs from a couples perspective. Also, what other programs did you look at here in the west? Were there any programs in general that you thought were particularly strong in Peds and ER and would suggest looking at? Thanks again for all the input and we look forward to hearing from you. 🙂

I'm very content here in Phoenix. We were very lucky to get our first choices and match here. Interestingly, there are two other people in my class who couple's matched with their spouses who are in Peds and OB. My program has been very good about letting me schedule my vacation with my wife. I've had 100% of my vacation time with her, which was important to me. There is no guarantee of course, but it is nice that it has worked out. Also, there is added flexibility during each month you are in the ED and you can often free up some extra time by trading shifts. They have also been very gracious with maternity and paternity leave for residents. There are three of my classmates that are having babies in the next 6 weeks, and the schedule was tweaked so they can have some time with their families.

From an EM perspective, you'll be relieved to know that the vast vast majority of all programs will offer a good experience and training that will prepare you for the real world as long as you are a hard worker. I've said it before, but I think there are more similarities between programs than differences. It will probably boil down to where you want to live, and what biases you may have for a county vs. university program.

I know far less about Peds programs. I don't know if Peds as a field enjoys the same continuity and quality of training that EM has across different programs. You guys will have to explore that question yourselves. Phoenix Children's does seem to be a solid program with a lot of bright residents. They just added 5 residency slots for a total of 21 per class, so they are definitely getting bigger and there is plenty of patient traffic to support it. Overall, I think my wife's schedule has been a little less flexible than mine, but I think this will be true of Peds in general since it is not the shift work that we enjoy in the ED. On the other hand, she does have 4 weeks of vacation this year, so its not all bad. 🙂

I don't have any specific program recommendations for Peds and EM combos. I will add that you should make sure you know what facilities that you and your wife will be working at. There were 1 or 2 we interviewed at where she was split between two hospitals that were located quite far from one another, especially considering traffic. There was another EM program, for example, that had the EM program split between two different cities for 3-4 months. Not exactly couples friendly given your already hectic schedules. Usually the training facilities are listed on the program websites.

By and large, you will simply have to feel out programs and talk to the residents. Figure out where you want to live and where you will be comfortable living and working.

 

[docflanny]

acerockolla,

if i remember right, your husband just received an interview invitation from grand rapids. although i'm biased, i think that you both would be quite happy here. both programs- peds and emergency are excellent. our hospital is one of the most technologically advanced and aesthically pleasing in the country. residents are treated well here. the town is fantastic. hopefully, i'll have a chance to meet you both soon. p.m. me when your husband has chosen an interview date.

p.s. even though it won't be completed until after you're done with residency Spectrum is building a new children's hospital budgeted at $190 million...440 beds, if I remember right. they break ground this coming fall and it's scheduled to be completed by 2010. might be promising if you're looking to stay on as an attending for both of you. there will also be a separate children's ED, surgery, radiology, etc. www.grmerc.org