Going from LA to the Southeast for residency

[plainolerichie]

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Long story short, I was born and raised in the southeast (TN) but I am going to medical school in LA at USC. I want to go into Ortho, which is A LOT to worry about in and of itself.

But anyways, my main question is, I've heard that many programs in the Southeast for residency will not think as seriously that someone will want to come from LA or the west-coast to the southeast other than the whole "pan-applying" ortho applicants. Does anyone have any recommendations to help show my interest in returning to the Southeast. Should I mention it in my personal statement? Should I put my address as my permanent address in TN on my application? Any other ideas and are those good ones.

My school's adviser said we should not state exclusively which parts of the country we want to go to in our personal statement/residency application IF we want to do something competitive like Ortho and that I should still apply to west coast programs and the north east, but it would seem that if it is easier get in programs in the Southeast than on the west-coast, then why not focus there? Anyways, thanks for your help!

 

[SoCuteMD]

Long story short, I was born and raised in the southeast (TN) but I am going to medical school in LA at USC. I want to go into Ortho, which is A LOT to worry about in and of itself.

But anyways, my main question is, I've heard that many programs in the Southeast for residency will not think as seriously that someone will want to come from LA or the west-coast to the southeast other than the whole "pan-applying" ortho applicants. Does anyone have any recommendations to help show my interest in returning to the Southeast. Should I mention it in my personal statement? Should I put my address as my permanent address in TN on my application? Any other ideas and are those good ones.

My school's adviser said we should not state exclusively which parts of the country we want to go to in our personal statement/residency application IF we want to do something competitive like Ortho and that I should still apply to west coast programs and the north east, but it would seem that if it is easier get in programs in the Southeast than on the west-coast, then why not focus there? Anyways, thanks for your help!

It's possible to write a personal statement specifically geared towards the southeast and ONLY upload it to those programs. It's the kind of thing you have to be very careful about, though, as you could easily upload it to a program in Chicago by accident!

 

[dragonfly99]

As I remember it, you are allowed to write multiple personal statements (even more than two, etc.). I don't think your concerns are unreasonable, and I think your idea about what to do is a good one. I actually think it would be smart to write a separate PS for the southeast, and then send it to programs there. You actually probably only need to change/add a few sentences.

 

[BOOURNS]

Unless you are superstar, I strongly recommend against limiting your applications to one region. It seems most people that don't match have made this mistake. You can always tailor your PS to each region/school (you can have unlimited unique PS's with ERAS).

 

[mcl]

My school's adviser said we should not state exclusively which parts of the country we want to go to in our personal statement/residency application IF we want to do something competitive like Ortho and that I should still apply to west coast programs and the north east, but it would seem that if it is easier get in programs in the Southeast than on the west-coast, then why not focus there? Anyways, thanks for your help!

I honestly don't look at regions when I'm considering applications for invitations to interview--we are looking for the best applicants and the interest level is implied based on the fact that you applied to our program. I generally assume that the people who are invited to interview but are not really interested in our region (or program) will weed themselves out by not scheduling an interview--visiting programs you really aren't considering can get expensive. So when applicants arrive they are given the benefit of the doubt, although they will certainly be asked why they applied to our program specifically and how they think they will adjust to the cultural differences if they come from a different region of the country.

If applicants can give some general account for their thought process in applying to our program (rather than just vaguely saying that they are "applying everywhere") then we don't really care where they come from in the end. I can't think of a region that has not been well represented in our residency over time.

 

[dragonfly99]

I honestly don't look at regions when I'm considering applications for invitations to interview--we are looking for the best applicants and the interest level is implied based on the fact that you applied to our program. I generally assume that the people who are invited to interview but are not really interested in our region (or program) will weed themselves out by not scheduling an interview--visiting programs you really aren't considering can get expensive. So when applicants arrive they are given the benefit of the doubt, although they will certainly be asked why they applied to our program specifically and how they think they will adjust to the cultural differences if they come from a different region of the country.

If applicants can give some general account for their thought process in applying to our program (rather than just vaguely saying that they are "applying everywhere") then we don't really care where they come from in the end. I can't think of a region that has not been well represented in our residency over time.

That is good. That is how it should be. There are definitely places along the fellowship interview trail where I felt like that was true (i.e. they were just looking for the best candidate they could find who seemed like a good fit for the fellowship). It definitely seemed to me, however, that at some places there was some regional bias, and probably part of it had to do with them thinking that residents from certain regions (i.e. the South where it is warm) might not fit in well with the cold weather and different attitudes in the North. Ditto for one place in the South that seemed to really like people from the South and Southeast. Also, I think some residency programs are just more familiar with med schools within their region, and they "know" what a certain clerkship grade @ a certain school means, and may be more comfortable taking grads from those places vs. a random student from a med school on the opposite coast. The same holds for fellowships in IM, which tend to be familiar with certain residencies by virtue of previous experience with their graduates, and/or knowing the faculty there.

 

[coldweatherblue]

bump and thanks for the responses everyone. I am also going to school in So Cal and look forward to hopefully returning somewhere closer to home (Chatt-town, TN) for residency.

 

[dr. maybe]

Unfortunately, being from California (as I am) or living in California (as you do) can hurt you. I have been told by a program director that he purposely did not offer an interview to someone from California because he knew it would be a waste of his time. I don't think that everyone thinks this, but there are people that wonder why anyone would want to leave California. If you are good applicant, you really should not worry. You will get interviews. Also, if you have any interest in Memphis, I have a great friend who is a resident there in Ortho. He loves it. Good luck to you. Prove them wrong about the whole California thing!!!

 

[plainolerichie]

Unfortunately, being from California (as I am) or living in California (as you do) can hurt you. I have been told by a program director that he purposely did not offer an interview to someone from California because he knew it would be a waste of his time. I don't think that everyone thinks this, but there are people that wonder why anyone would want to leave California. If you are good applicant, you really should not worry. You will get interviews. Also, if you have any interest in Memphis, I have a great friend who is a resident there in Ortho. He loves it. Good luck to you. Prove them wrong about the whole California thing!!!

But how can I prove them wrong! Would letters of interest help as it did in applying to medical school? Any other pointers?

 

[MasterShakeDO]

Unfortunately, being from California (as I am) or living in California (as you do) can hurt you. I have been told by a program director that he purposely did not offer an interview to someone from California because he knew it would be a waste of his time. I don't think that everyone thinks this, but there are people that wonder why anyone would want to leave California. If you are good applicant, you really should not worry. You will get interviews. Also, if you have any interest in Memphis, I have a great friend who is a resident there in Ortho. He loves it. Good luck to you. Prove them wrong about the whole California thing!!!

Was also told this flat out by PDs that they don't usually interview CA applicants because the chances they will come is slim. However, I did squeeze some extra interviews by e-mailing the program coordinators about my ties to the area/interest in their program after the ERAS app. With the competitiveness of certain specialties there is an increase in the amount of "pan-applicants".

I would recommend doing at least one away rotation in the SE so you can show real interest in the area. Then email program coordinators around the time they start extending interviews. Good luck. Personally I think we get the short end of the stick considering it's so hard to match in CA for competitive specialities ...we don't need extra obstacles to match elsewhere!

 

[dragonfly99]

Not a bad idea to personally contact the programs (email or call) detailing why you are interested specifically in their programs. Or you could get one of the faculty who knows you to phone there on your behalf. I also favor putting a few sentences in your personal statement about why you want to go there.

 

[RobbingReality]

I am in a similar situation as the original poster and the best way to show your interested in the program is to do a 4th yr. rotation at that hospital in something. It just happens to be that I will be doing a rotation at UT-Chatt. this upcoming 4th yr.

 

[opencomedo]

I think what Robbing is doing is prob the best thing you can do to help get interviews in the SE... do an away (or 2) in the region (especially at programs you are interested). Get a letter or 2 from those programs and include them in your application. If a program from the SE sees you are from Cali but that you have letters from attendings in the SE it may alleviate some of their concerns regarding your interest in coming to the region (not to mention that rotating at an institution helps you get an interview there usually). Good luck