number of interviews to attend . . .

[Coleman]

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From those most wise who have gone on to residency, what are your suggestions? I've heard that 12 is good target, and 15 is the most you should do, but even that is taxing on ones psyche.

If you get 15+ interviews, is it safe to only rank 10 or 11?

 

[gimmedog]

Also, to tack onto that Q:

I have several 234 programs and am applying to prelim and transitional. The interviews are adding up, and I was wondering how people have dealt with this EM/prelim/trans interview problem. Unlike other specialties, we aren't even going to be sure we need the separate internship so it's hard to gauge how much time and money to invest.

The approach is going to depend a lot on individual circumstances, but any input is appreciated.

 

[NeedMyCoffee]

I've applied to some 234s as well, and I applied to a bunch of prelim/TY programs in the same area as the 234s.

So far I've only heard from one of them ...what I did was email the PD and the EM program in that city that I'd be in town that week interviewing there, and whether they could schedule their interviews around the same time.

I also spoke to the coordinator at U of Mississippi, and she said the TY interview would be on the same day as the EM interview, with the caveat that they only have 3-4 spots, and it's really competitive...so plan to arrange for TY interviews elsewhere as well.

GWU in DC also does the same thing...they have arrangements with their IM dept to interview for those spots on the same day as the EM, saving you from applying separately to their prelim IM program.

Hope this helps some...how many prelim/TY interviews do you and others have? What have people done in the past?

Good luck!

 

[jazz]

i'll tell you what i did though i'm sure there are about 100 different ways to do it.

first of all, i didn't know this when i applied so i'll just let you know. when you rank the 2-3-4 programs, for each program, you can list a separate prelim/trans rank list...

so if your number 1 is bu, you can list boston area prelim/trans and your number 2 is gwu, you can list a different rank list for prelim/trans programs.

of course, that just increases the number of prelim/trans you have to apply to. in the end, i only interviewed at prelim/trans places in the city i went to med school. i figured if i matched at a 2-3-4, i would just stay one more year in philly, then move. of course, if you're trying to plan your life around a significant other/family/etc, it can get more difficult.

i applied to somewhere between 25-30 places. i think i got 18-20 interviews. i interviewed at 16 places, ranked 14. i also interviewed at 6 prelim places. lemme tell you, it got tedious real quick. looking back, i can't believe i even made it through so many interviews. if i were to do it all over, i wouldn't have applied to 2-3-4 programs for two reasons. one, the extra year or residency isn't worth it, two, if you're doing an extra year, wouldn't you rather do it in EM rather than be IM's scutmonkey. i have friends in trans years now who are going into ophtho, anesthesia, etc, and hate it. but see, they HAVE to do a year, whereas we don't... but , unfortunately a lot of 2-3-4 programs are strong and so you have to go through all this pain.

again, i think interviewing at 16 is a lot, even excessive. most people will rank in their top 3. but i think if you have a rank list of 10-12, for the most part, you should be all right. the other viewpoint, however, is you might as well suffer and interview at all places b/c stats are stats and you don't want to be the one person who got screwed -- ie ranked 12 places and didn't match at a single one. i mean, if you interview at all places and rank all and then don't match, you won't have any regrets about cancelling.

i guess i haven't told you much except given you some things to think about. good luck.

 

[DrQuinn]

For some reason I've heard that the "magic" number is around 8-10. That would make good sense, I think. If you are interviewing at ten places, you are obviously a strong candidate. I interviewed at 9 or 10 and matched #1. I most definately would try to interview atleast 6+, because it takes an interview or two to get up to gear.

Q, DO

 

[anonymousEM]

There's always the ability to scramble into a prelim spot SOMEWHERE...if you can't bear one more interview and you are up for a little adventure, you could wait until March to figure out where you're going for the first year. People at my med school did that since the prelim med didn't often fill and they just stayed if they didn't match at the ONE place they interviewed for a trans year.

 

[Apollyon]

NRMP stats say that, on average, you have to rank just a little more than 7 to assure a match (of course, you could ALWAYS be an outlier, but 8 ranks should be safe).

 

[fourthyear]

that stat depends on your competetiveness and the programs you are ranking. That average of 7 includes all the hundereds of easier-to-get spots in family practice (where people usually get their top 1 or 2 choices) and all the other specialties where there are plenty of spots to go around.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

19=Way too many. I wouldn't do less than 10 though.

 

[DrQuinn]

I agree with Desperado. 19 is a LOT to interview, not to mention a lot of money. Unless you have absolutley NO IDEA where you want to end up, I think 10-12 is about right. (I think most applicants have SOME idea of what region they want to go to)I had originally scheduled 18 to go to, but I ended up cancelling about 8 or so, just because, well, I felt safe with 10 under my belt, and I was real burnt out from interviewing!

Q, DO

 

[Apollyon]

Originally posted by fourthyear
that stat depends on your competetiveness and the programs you are ranking. That average of 7 includes all the hundereds of easier-to-get spots in family practice (where people usually get their top 1 or 2 choices) and all the other specialties where there are plenty of spots to go around.

No, that stat is all applicants, all programs - irrespective of competitiveness and program. It takes into account the FP, IM, and the 4 out of 5 people that apply for derm, that don't get it, rads, ortho, optho, gas, and every other tough get The 7 ranks is akin to the US average temperature of 52 degrees - from all weather stations, from every day in a year.

Since EM essentially fills, AND virtually every US senior that applies for EM gets a spot, the 7.2 or whatever is pretty well spot-on.