Hematology/Oncology 2024-2025 Application Cycle

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gutonc said:
So…stupid….

Taking the COVID issue completely out of it, I think the money I spent on interview travel for both residency and fellowship was probably the best money I spent during my training. I can’t imagine committing to a hospital and city for 2-5 years without actually getting to see what it’s like there.

I’m almost 20 years out from my residency interviews and I can still tell you the good and bad things about the interview process at a dozen or more places.
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There's definitely good and bad. Not seeing the city and hospital in person is obviously a gigantic minus. However, the financial impact of in-person interviews can be really rough for residents who aren't bankrolled by family, so I think it does help with equity and access.
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randomhemoncpd said:
There's definitely good and bad. Not seeing the city and hospital in person is obviously a gigantic minus. However, the financial impact of in-person interviews can be really rough for residents who aren't bankrolled by family, so I think it does help with equity and access.
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Are you saying here that you’ve seen residents cancel interviews for financial reasons? Interviews that affect the rest of their lives/careers?
 
randomhemoncpd said:
There's definitely good and bad. Not seeing the city and hospital in person is obviously a gigantic minus. However, the financial impact of in-person interviews can be really rough for residents who aren't bankrolled by family, so I think it does help with equity and access.
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I went into debt to pay for it. I haven't been bankrolled by anyone since I started high school (paid for my own AP exams...but I did let my parents pay for my clothes until I left home at 18). It's debt I don't regret one bit. I never would have ended up where I did if it weren't for in-person interviews.
 
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Is anyone else having a hard time with Thalamus? Getting generic messages like "bad request" and "unable to complete login, glitches out when I try to reset my password, etc. No help line to call, no response to emails. Kind of up a creek it seems.
 
bobbyknightranger said:
Are you saying here that you’ve seen residents cancel interviews for financial reasons? Interviews that affect the rest of their lives/careers?
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I wouldn't know specifically since I'm not privy to that information (anecdotally I've heard some financial anxiety), and I am not personally all aboard the virtual interview train. However, in a field like medicine which struggles a lot with systemic inequality and its consequences, it's one barrier less for applicants. You can quibble about how it's perhaps the least significant of the many obstacles along the way, and I wouldn't disagree, but I do see the rationale.
 
People who got an original “invite” from lsu that was then rescinded, did you get an invite today?
 
It's awfully quiet still. Hope the next couple weeks brings Invites to everyone
 
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Hello, How many interviews are generally considered a "good number," especially for IMGs?
 
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dr66 said:
Hello, How many interviews are generally considered a "good number," especially for IMGs?
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As many as you can get.

Honestly, there's no magic number. You may only need one, or maybe 30 won't be enough. Impossible to say, so maximize your chances.

I will say that a person who gets 30 interviews and doesn't match has a personality issue, not a CV problem and likely wouldn't match with 100. Outside of the Top X places (where Top is subjective and X is a number <25 or so), most people would rather have an applicant with an average app but a great personality, worth ethic and references than a sociopath with a stellar CV.
 
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Univ of Fl waitlist…is it actually a waitlist? Did anyone get a rejection?
 
Any thoughts on the importance of doing fellowship at an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center? My current home program is located in a desirable location and I would love to stay, but it's not a Comprehensive Cancer Center. I am wondering if it's worth it to try to go to a fellowship program that may be less known but is based at a Comprehensive Cancer Center (such as New Mexico, VCU, Wisconsin, etc.) if the eventual goal is an academic career.
 
zealously said:
Any thoughts on the importance of doing fellowship at an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center? My current home program is located in a desirable location and I would love to stay, but it's not a Comprehensive Cancer Center. I am wondering if it's worth it to try to go to a fellowship program that may be less known but is based at a Comprehensive Cancer Center (such as New Mexico, VCU, Wisconsin, etc.) if the eventual goal is an academic career.
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This has been discussed ad nauseum here, but the short answer is that there is NOTHING that programs have to do to get the CCC designation that has ANY impact on trainees (and the only real impact it has on faculty is that it generates more uncompensated work for them).

It's a merit badge that gets some admin level folks a bonus, nothing more. Arguably, it has minimal impact on patients despite the fact that all of the CCC designation requirements are patient focused.
 
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zealously said:
Any thoughts on the importance of doing fellowship at an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center? My current home program is located in a desirable location and I would love to stay, but it's not a Comprehensive Cancer Center. I am wondering if it's worth it to try to go to a fellowship program that may be less known but is based at a Comprehensive Cancer Center (such as New Mexico, VCU, Wisconsin, etc.) if the eventual goal is an academic career.
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If the bolded is your goal, you'll most likely rank based on doximity rankings, university vs non-university, more research vs less, NCI vs non-NCI and that's fine. I just matched and didn't care about any of it as I have no interest in academia. It's a personal decision at the end.
 
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For those who have been "Wait listed" at programs, are those showing up under the "Wait list" on thalamus? M.D applicant, fine stats, 100 programs, no invites, but my wait-lists aren't showing on thalamus which leads me to the paranoid thought my thalamus account may not be functioning. I reached out to their support team and they have no functionality to send a "test" invite...
 
How many interviews is good to be comfortable? Didn't realize how difficult it is for fellow DOs competing against IMGs with so much research.
 
orthomyxostudent said:
do letters of interest make a difference?
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I think it does. My mentor who started his heme/onc fellowship 8 years ago said he called programs on the phone and it helped him get a few more interviews. I think I'll try to send some emails, I'm not sure what the best timing would be, perhaps late September?
 
Hi, does it make a big difference if you interview earlier vs later in the interview cycle? I received an interview invite for my top choice program but the only interview dates that were open for me were in October so mine is in mid-October. I'm wondering if I should keep checking Thalamus to see if earlier dates like in September open up and whether interviewing earlier makes any difference when it comes to the match. I also kind of wanted to do some practice interviews at other programs before this one in October so that also plays a factor into this. Thanks.
 
Do away rotations help in this process? Most programs have 2 positions with one going to their in-house residents.
 
orthomyxostudent said:
Do away rotations help in this process? Most programs have 2 positions with one going to their in-house residents.
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I don't think away rotations are particularly common in internal medicine residency. Any prior experience with a program has the potential to help or harm, and you're not going to know which applies to you.
 
gutonc said:
Nope. And if you have a hem/onc program at your residency, your PD will likely not approve an away rotation anyway.
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This is sad... I thought if I worked really hard I would be able to get a spot but there are only 2 positions to battle with.
 
Hats off to Cedars for stoking my hopes, and immediately crushing them 5 minutes later. I dare someone to write them back saying "No takesie-backsies"
 
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Have most places sent out interviews already? I've applied to 50+ programs and I've only gotten two interviews and 8 rejections. No answer from the rest so I'm starting to panic and want to send out letters of interest this week. For context I am a US MD grad.
 
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