PCCM 2008 Match Thread

[Heliox]

Hi everyone,
I thought it was time we kick started the 2008 PCCM Match process. It would be nice if ppl started sharing where they have reached vis a vis preparing their applications. I will begin by saying I have my CV in place. Yet to make my PS. Would be glad if someone gave pointers about how to prepare one for fellowship. How important are step scores? How important is your visa status? What programs sponsor H1B?
Waiting to hear from everyone! Past years' applicants' advice keenly awaited too
Heliox.

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[arsa]

hi guys,

agree with heliox. i am in the same boat. no lors. no ps as yet. but gotta apply this yr as i am on H1B. how imp is research? and definitely, which programs sponsor H1B. how can that be found out?

 

[McLovin]

hey guys,I matched this past cycle, and here is my take: in terms of preparing your application the most important thing at this time, in my opinion, is to make sure that your letters are requested and being done. Everything else you can control and get done by the deadline, but the letters are not in your control.

In terms of your actual application, the single most important thing is who will vouch for you. In the fellowship game its all about who you know. When I was at Mayo, one of the first things Specks (their program director) said to me was "well you're here because you have outstanding letters from people we know and trust".

good luck guys

ps heliox -- in terms of PS, dont sweat it. I re-read mine after the match process and determined it was trash. It was straight forward three pragraphs, one paragraph detailing why I loved a)critical care b)pulmonary and c)research.

 

[arsa]

hey mclovin,

thanks for ur 2 cents. for a person like me who is doin PGY2, do u think it would b premature to ask for lor with just the internship "show-off" or should i wait a little longer? isnt dec the deadline for application?

also if u know it, can u tell me how i can find if a program sponsors visa for the fellowship?

 

[McLovin]

Arsa -- It all depends on how well the attendings know you. I finished my first year in the ICU and asked the chiefs to start me there so that I could know the staff. I also always made it a point to strike up conversations with the guys I planned to ask to write me letters so that I would be a bit more memorable. In any event, I asked for LoR end of august. Though, your right december is the deadline: so if you dont feel as if the attendings know you well enough and you have a roation between now and then, it may be advisable to wait.

as for visa, sorry, cant help you there

 

[gutonc]

also if u know it, can u tell me how i can find if a program sponsors visa for the fellowship?

I think that FRIEDA has this info but as w/ the rest of the site, it's probably hopelessly out of date or just wrong. The only sure way to know is to find the info on the program's website or just ask, send an email to the prog coordinator.

 

[Heliox]

Thanks McLovin. when do you think I should have my letters ready so that it can be uploaded on time. I agree it is not in my hands. I will request letters this week.

I thought of writing to programs too. I was not sure if I should mail program co-ordinators or program directors.

 

[Heliox]

Any thoughts on which are the top programs, and which ones not so?
How many programs does one apply to? Advice from last years' applicants would be awesome!

 

[Heliox]

Hi there,
To continue the list of questions..
When is the ideal time for your attending to make that important phone call.. to get you an interview/before the day of interview/after the interview? Any thoughts on this?
Hate the fact that contacts mean everything in this process!

 

[McLovin]

interesting question. I never asked my attending to make that call (two of my letter writers were on the decesion committee, so I essentially knew that it was up to them wethere I was ranked high or not).

I would say AFTER the interview. And its tough for them to make that call. They have to either know somebody at the program, be well known in the field, or be in a position of power in your program (program director, chief of medicine, etc...) to have their call mean anything.

 

[Heliox]

Thanks McLovin. Did you match at the same program you did your residency in? How much of a say can an attending from a place where one did an external rotation have?
Just curious, exactly how competitive is PCCM?

 

[Heliox]

Hi there,
Could anyone enlighten me on which is the best Pulmoanry text around? I am caught between Murray Nadel and Fishman. I know a lot out there will say journal articles are the best. But I believe one GOOD text to follow is always a comforting feeling
Please help!

 

[Heliox]

This thread seems to be so slow. It would be good to see ANY posts by the so many people visiting this thread. Please do contribute. We are in the same boat now, hope to feel better knowing we all face the same challenges.

 

[Heliox]

Hi everyone,
When it comes to Personal Statements, how many should one make? Or is it a one PS fits all? Any thoughts?

 

[Heliox]

Hey, so many visits and nothing to show for them? This thread is so very slow!

 

[argh]

I hear about Murray and Nadel from the fellows who do read out of textbooks; not a lot about Fishman going around. The thing is, most of the fellows don't really read textbooks. I guess if you were the kind of resident who read Harrison's, you'll be more likely to read a textbook in fellowship as well.

Hi there,
Could anyone enlighten me on which is the best Pulmoanry text around? I am caught between Murray Nadel and Fishman. I know a lot out there will say journal articles are the best. But I believe one GOOD text to follow is always a comforting feeling
Please help!

 

[JayneCobb]

Textbooks

Textbook of critical care: This is a textbook (obviously) so it's large, clunky and not practice to carry around. It is chock full of information and done so in nice bite-size chapter bits. It reads, IMHO, much like Harrison's, it has more attention to the bio-chemical details than many other books but is presented in a way which helps integrate the material. Out of the 3 textbooks I've perused, my personal favorite.

Critical Care Medicine: Perioperative Management. Again, another textbook, I found a copy on Amazon for $25, so I couldn't pass it up based on the above recommendation. Coming from a medicine-centric perspective, it leaves out many details and really didn't seem to offer much in the way of actual management of the conditions which it described. I had high hopes at least for the aspect of fluid management and sedation aspects of owning a book by Anesthesiologists, but the information is so chopped up and inter-dispersed in the other chapters that it isn't worth my time to really read. My personal least favorite text book of critical care.

Jesse Hall's Principles of Critical Care; Yet another textbook, and like Textbook of Critical care, much more medicine-centric. I'd call the differences between this book and Textbook of CC as being very similar to the differences between Harrison's and Cecil's. Principles of CC is a little more concise and has a less physiology to it. It starts out each chapter with a Key Points section which sums up the chapter you're about to read. It's easy to read for the most part and my second favorite of the textbooks.

Link

 

[Heliox]

Thanks argh and Jaynecobb!
I went for Murray Nadel
When do you think is the right time to click the submit button on the application on ERAS/ Nov 15 or Dec 1? especially if I think I have a chance of squeezing in a publication by the end of November?

 

[argh]

Thanks argh and Jaynecobb!
I went for Murray Nadel
When do you think is the right time to click the submit button on the application on ERAS/ Nov 15 or Dec 1? especially if I think I have a chance of squeezing in a publication by the end of November?

I say december. This is not cards, GI, or allergy. Two weeks (especially considering nobody's going to care until after Thanksgiving anyway) won't break your application.

 

[arsa]

so i guess everybody's gearing up for applications huh? i am also applying in dec. how competitive are programs in the midwest? with only scores and no major research, and from a decent community program, i feel so lame.

 

[Hernandez]

There really doesn't seem to be much reliable information out there about the stats of those going into Pulm-CC. Oh well, I won't apply until next year, but I'm already starting to get a little antsy about going through yet another match process.

 

[RTrain]

Can't think of a good reason to submit on the 15th. No one will see it for another 2 weeks anyway, and I can see myself realizing at 4am on November 18th that I forgot "XYZ" on my application and feeling like an idiot. So I'm saying December.

 

[Heliox]

Thanks all, that was really helpful. I will wait till the end of Nov before applying. How many programs are you applying to? I am thinking 40.Hope that is a safe number. I notice there is a prob in the CV on ERAS. The honors and the professional society memberships are get mixed up. This does not happen in the CAF. Wonder why? Anyone else with this prob??

 

[Marcellus]

Thanks all, that was really helpful. I will wait till the end of Nov before applying. How many programs are you applying to? I am thinking 40.Hope that is a safe number. I notice there is a prob in the CV on ERAS. The honors and the professional society memberships are get mixed up. This does not happen in the CAF. Wonder why? Anyone else with this prob??

Having completed this process last year, I don't think any programs seriously started to look at applications till January. I only had one program offer an interview before then.

Obviously, I don't recommend that you wait forever, but if you feel that you will be able to add something substantial to your c.v. by waiting a couple of weeks - then I would do so.

However, even if you have something substantial to add after you application has been submitted, it is perfectly acceptable to send a note to the program coordinator of an additional accomplishment in order for them to update your c.v.

 

[Marcellus]

There really doesn't seem to be much reliable information out there about the stats of those going into Pulm-CC. Oh well, I won't apply until next year, but I'm already starting to get a little antsy about going through yet another match process.

What kind of stats are you looking for? The NRMP publishes yearly ranking statistics. The AMA FREIDA database has specialty specific statistics.

 

[Hernandez]

What kind of stats are you looking for? The NRMP publishes yearly ranking statistics. The AMA FREIDA database has specialty specific statistics.

hmm, can you link those? I don't remember much other than numbers who applied for, numbers accepted,etc on those sites.

 

[Marcellus]

http://www.ama-assn.org/vapp/freida/spcstsc/0,1238,156,00.html
http://www.nrmp.org/data/index.html

 

[Bobblehead]

Thanks all, that was really helpful. I will wait till the end of Nov before applying. How many programs are you applying to? I am thinking 40.Hope that is a safe number. I notice there is a prob in the CV on ERAS. The honors and the professional society memberships are get mixed up. This does not happen in the CAF. Wonder why? Anyone else with this prob??

All I can say is if you make it through to double-digits you're doing better than most trying to find time during a residency to interview. There's also the inevitable interview fatigue factor although I did learn something at all of my interviews. I'd schedule interviews for the top 10 programs you're interested in and then try to fit in whatever your schedule and wallet will accomodate..

 

[Heliox]

Thanks.. that was helpful. I know what you mean by the interview fatigue factor. Just hoping I get enough calls to have the luxury! My LoR seems to be taking forever, and I don't even know if the letter has been mailed. PS seems like it's almost done, save for a few finishing touches. Wonder where everyone else is at?

 

[RTrain]

Application completed and floating in cyberspace awaiting submission. Some letters uploaded, still waiting on a couple. Told the guys the deadline was December 1, hope they took it to heart.

I'll sure feel better when everything's in and submitted.

 

[Benzo4every1]

blah. I submitted my application. And applied. im waiting for letters to roll in... let the nervous breakdown begin

 

[Heliox]

Hi, wondering where everyone is placed? My last letter is still not in. Did you get a mail from ERAS for the photograph too? I have not yet got one though they should have recieved it by now.
Everything else is ready and hopefully I should click submit this weekend.
Good luck everyone.

 

[RTrain]

Well, I'm submitted and applied. Let the ulcers begin.

 

[147church]

hello,

Have the programs started uploading your documents yet.

 

[RTrain]

Hey, has anyone else tracked their applications and discovered that all their mailed documents (LOR's, MSPE, transcript, photo) have "not been uploaded to PostOffice?" I'm sure it just takes time, since they don't upload scanned documents until you've applied, but I just want to make sure there's not a problem with my documents specifically. Programs have started to download my application and I'd like them to have my supporting documents too, not just my CAF and my stupid personal statement.

 

[PepperLeach]

It took mine about 2-3 days to become available. Doesn't sound like anything is wrong. Im fighting the urge to track my applications again and again.

 

[hoddog]

Are people submitting USMLE scores even if they are not requested by many of the programs?

 

[Heliox]

Most of my documents show up as not uploaded too. Hope they upload them fast!

 

[hoddog]

In case anybody is applying to Hopkins, just got an email that they require: application, CV, Dean's letter, ECFMG status, 4 letters of recommendation,
personal statement, transcript, and USMLE transcript.

 

[Benzo4every1]

yes they do send confirmation for photographs, since i personally sent one in myself. Im waiting on the last LOR and my medical transcript to be sent to EFDO. Blah....

 

[(Pants)^2]

I too am curious if a bad step score is used by fellowships to screen out applicants (like competitive residency spots do). It would REALLY suck if programs don't even look at my application b/c of a low step 1...

 

[PepperLeach]

at Baylor.

 

[doogle5]

at Baylor.

Vow, thats great. they already started sending interview invitations???
I am waiting for my LORs, So far ERAS has just received one LOR, Is it worth
applying before waiting for LOR, Should I wait ?
Thanks

 

[Drkmed]

Ok guys
couple of questions, how many programs one should apply to be safe,
what does it mean on Freida site when it says number of PGY1 interviews ar 28. does it mean yous hould go to 28 interviewes on average toget a spot.
I applied to 27, no respoinse yet. I guess I sould wait more.

 

[mpsonic]

I am already on nexium , this fellowhship application is making me go crazy !
neways Just wanted to updat my status , all LOR's in bag , PS needs some finishing touches but what i wanted to question was that how come uconn and MGH asking for transcripts and deans letters when rest don't ? freaking crazy ! Neways has everyone here mailed ERAS a dean's letter ?

 

[PepperLeach]

I agree, I was somewhat surprised after calling how many programs want medical school transcripts and deans letters.

 

[arsa]

did submit my application!! 2 LORs still not reached ERAS, so certainly will have to wait. applied to 20 programs, need H1. lets c what 2008 has in store for me!

 

[eFatigue]

hi,

i'm the newest member of this forum...

sent in my applications for PCCM 2-3 days ago...considering i'm an IMG and in a community hospital, what are the chances of getting a good response???

step 1 score is decent, step 2 not so much...dont have visa probs

have done 2 researches and a couple of case reports..

plz help

P.S have applied to 40 some progs

 

[Drkmed]

Applied to 38 programs, havent heard anything back, no rej and no invites, anybody heard any thing from the programs.

 

[doogle5]

Finally I sent in my aplication today, applied to 6 programs only, ERAS received my 2 LOR, one more on way...
Do we have to send Dean's letter if the programs don't mention it in their requiremnets ?