How much do things other than grades/externships matter?

[air bud]

I was wondering how much extra curricular stuff matters in regards to getting the residency you want. I don't have time, nor the desire to participate in things like clubs, government and volunteering. I have joined clubs, but don't want leadership positions. So I guess my question is....If I am at/near the top of my class, at least participated in some clubs and learned a few things, have a personality and good bedside manner, and made good impressions at externships....should I be able to get the residency I want?

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[UW66]

Hey Airbud thats a great question. Im in the same boat as you here at scholls, im in 2 clubs and i attend all of their lectures/meetings/workshops but I have no desire and feel i dont have the time to do more. I look around at some of my classmates who are all but the highschool cheerleading squad of our program and have a hand in every aspect of the school from govt to clubs to you name it and i wonder if im selling myself short when it comes time for interviews.

Id like to believe that when it comes right down to it, residency directors are looking for good clinicans with quality personalities who wanna work hard, and all the other stuff is just icing on the cake. But Im sure theres programs out there who have directors who were very active themselves, and want to see that in their residents and wont accept otherwise.

So my guess to your/my question is that its really gonna vary from program to program how important all the extra fluff is. I could be wrong though. Id be interested to hear what our current residents on the forum think, if they find time to post.

 

[Feli]

A student with good grades, board pass, and clerkship performance/knowledge will be just fine for interviews/match even if they have minimal club involvement. On the other hand, lots of club/leadership involvement will not make up for bad gpa, failing boards, etc.

You have the right idea: focus on the courses/curriculum first, but it is good to learn to multi-task and help out with a bit of class/club/research activities a bit where you can. You want to really be careful of over-extending yourself, though. You might find surgery and journal clubs the most useful since their events are usually also good knowledge for clinical rotations. You can always take on more class/club postions/memberships later, but you can't ever go back and fix Cs on your transcript. JMO.

 

[165007]

I have talked to a few residency directors, and so far none of them gives a crap about ECs.



Sorry, your 200+ hours of community services will not make up for your 2.75 gpa.

 

[Feli]

I have talked to a few residency directors, and so far none of them gives a crap about ECs...

Agree 100%.^^

You have to realize that program directors and main attendings who will be ranking the applicants are VERY busy with patients to care for, teaching their residents and visiting students, doing admin meetings and duties at their hospital, maybe APMA, ACFAS, etc duties... and often much more. Yes, they prep a bit for interviews, but they have a ton on their plate at any given time. Chances are that unless a few students were all very good in both the clerkship/visit as well as the interview, they probably don't have the time to look very far past gpa, pod school, and board pass, research, and maybe a few other basic pieces of CV info as a screening for who gets an interview/spot.

They sometimes ask about a couple things on your resume (past jobs, positions, publications, etc) to get to know you and stimulate conversation, but you are best served by actively bringing those things up during the interview to show you are well rounded...

"What do you think will be your best qualities as beginning resident?"
..."As an officer in my journal club, I've really learned how to search for and analyze papers, as well as evaluate levels of clinical evidence. I also found out during my APMSA rep meetings that teamwork and compromise is important."

"So, do you think you will eventually be a good leader for junior residents, and why?"
..."Well, as president of club x last year, I was frequently involved in teaching first and second year student workshops."

"Will you have trouble with the hours we work at our hospital?"
..."I don't think so. As you see, I had TA and tutoring jobs during pod school, yet I was still named dean's list regularly."

"As a first year resident, you have limited free time. What will you do with that time?"
..."As you see on my CV, I like to stay active. Intramural soccer and basketball were good ways for me to socialize as well as stay in shape during pod school."

...you get the idea. Good grades, mediocre ECs = not a big deal if you clerk/interview well. Bad/avg (depending on the program) grades and good ECs = might not even get the clerkship/interview (which basically means no shot at matching that program).

 

[UW66]

right on, thanks for the input you two!

 

[MaseratiGT]

I agree with all your posts, but I think this: As pod schools become more competitive, and more qualified students are accepted, what is going to set you apart from all of the other hundreds of people who have the same range GPA as you do? Some of the residency directors I have spoke to really do look at the EC's to separate you from the pack.

 

[SportPOD]

Do ECs matter that much has always been debated in the past. It comes down this one simple way to look at things. If you have poor grades and have done a lot of ECs, then programs will look at that as having wasted a lot of time on outside activities, which would have been better spent studying and getting better grades.

Why do grades matter so much? If you don't have the basic knowledge concerning podiatry, you will not get to do much out on rotations. Remember, you're studying for not just a job, but a career!

 

[jonwill]

I think the single biggest determining factor is your rotation at the program followed by your interview. A bad GPA will hurt you in getting either of those.