Follow up calls for Program Directors

[Chicago2012]

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I met with the FM Program Director from my Medical School about a month and a half ago and she suggested that I call Program Directors and leave them messages expressing interest starting tomorrow for programs I have applied to that have not offered me interviews. What type of info should I leave on such a message?

 

[organdonor]

Something short. If at all.

I am genuinely surprised that a program director gave you this advice. My residency has hundreds of applicants. Just imagine if all of them keft w voicemail and how long that would take to listen to them all!! 30 seconds x 500 applicants. You'd never do anything all day other than that.

If you must leave a message I would make it literally as brief as humanly possible.

"Hello this is billy Bob. I'm an ms4 applying from Sxhool x. I am looking forward to an interview invitation as I love (insert unique aspect of program or unique regional tie). Have a great day and please do not hesitate to contact me through my ERAS application."

Even then, I'll bet money it won't be listened to.

 

[DrMidlife]

i agree. crappy advice. if you have some legitimate basis for getting special access ("my wife's family lives in town" or "i want to keep working with addicted teens and I cited your faculty's work in my article") then you should have said so in a program-specific essay when you applied. ERAS will let you upload as many program-specific essays as you want. Failing that, don't harass a PD on the day that a huge pile of new info in the deans' letters has to get dealt with. a call can go wrong in a lot more ways than it can go right.

nobody ever talks about how many phone calls they made that DIDN'T turn into interviews, so the anecdotal "i called and they gave me an interview" stories get blown way out of proportion.

in my view it's ok to THINK about calling after Oct 15, or after you're rejected and other applicants have had a chance to give up some offered interview spots. let the programs review the damn apps before you give them more to deal with, and have a non-trivial REASON to call.

 

[Chicago2012]

Now, I am a graduate and have interviewed before. Would it be good to at least call programs that I have previously interviewed at?

 

[playingfrombehind]

I met with the FM Program Director from my Medical School about a month and a half ago and she suggested that I call Program Directors and leave them messages expressing interest starting tomorrow for programs I have applied to that have not offered me interviews. What type of info should I leave on such a message?

as an applicant this year - I have seen numerous programs - that tell you not to call them or contact them about applications updates. There was one progrma that says if you contact us this will only serve to slow down our busy application process (something to that effect, think it was WVU)

just put yourself in the program director's shoe. If some random person who you don't know, etc. etc. called you and asked for an job interview taking care of people's lives...how would you react? given you're already busy role reviewing applications would you even take the time to respond to the message?