I was wondering if there was any resource that you guys could recommend for guidance in landing a top residency. I remember as a pre-med, The Not So Short Introduction to Getting into Medical School proved invaluable. Is there anything similar for residency?
Residency Guide
- Thread starter Laplace
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2011
- Messages
- 109
- Reaction score
- 1
I found a lot of good information in this thread. It would be great if they would put together a more organized FAQ, but it was very informational. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=878055
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2011
- Messages
- 256
- Reaction score
- 11
Check out Iserson's Getting into a Residency book.
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2007
- Messages
- 275
- Reaction score
- 4
You just have to hit all the checkboxes the residency program directors look for:
1. High Step 1 score: 240+ gets you in the door at the vast majority of top programs
2. 3rd year grades: the more Honors, the better. Especially in medicine and surgery
3. Research - More you publish, the better. Also acceptable: posters and presentations
4. Letters of Recommendation - make sure they're in the field you're applying to and from a big-wig in the field. Also, its best if they know you well and can write a more in-depth rather than superficial and generic letter. How do you do this? Identify a mentor as soon as possible and start shadowing them, volunteering at their clinic, and possibly doing research with them.
5. AOA - better hit the books, son
6. Go to a prestigious school. Look at the match lists thread. There is a world of difference between the UPenn list and the SUNY Downstate list. There is nary a single match on the Penn list that isnt at a top 20 institution. You think that every single person at Penn is that much better than an average student at Downstate? Prestige matters.
Obviously all the above works out best if you can identify what specialty you'd like to pursue early. It allows you to set up research, mentorships, and away rotations early and puts you in the best position to match at your ideal program.
Source: it worked for me!
1. High Step 1 score: 240+ gets you in the door at the vast majority of top programs
2. 3rd year grades: the more Honors, the better. Especially in medicine and surgery
3. Research - More you publish, the better. Also acceptable: posters and presentations
4. Letters of Recommendation - make sure they're in the field you're applying to and from a big-wig in the field. Also, its best if they know you well and can write a more in-depth rather than superficial and generic letter. How do you do this? Identify a mentor as soon as possible and start shadowing them, volunteering at their clinic, and possibly doing research with them.
5. AOA - better hit the books, son
6. Go to a prestigious school. Look at the match lists thread. There is a world of difference between the UPenn list and the SUNY Downstate list. There is nary a single match on the Penn list that isnt at a top 20 institution. You think that every single person at Penn is that much better than an average student at Downstate? Prestige matters.
Obviously all the above works out best if you can identify what specialty you'd like to pursue early. It allows you to set up research, mentorships, and away rotations early and puts you in the best position to match at your ideal program.
Source: it worked for me!
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2011
- Messages
- 385
- Reaction score
- 111
Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty by Brian Freeman. Better than Isersons.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2009
- Messages
- 1,948
- Reaction score
- 143
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2007
- Messages
- 275
- Reaction score
- 4
3 or 4.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2009
- Messages
- 1,948
- Reaction score
- 143
Do people generally get most of their LOR's from rotations, or should we be aiming to get a LOR out of a PI, etc?
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2010
- Messages
- 339
- Reaction score
- 0
The notion that AOA has anything to do with "hitting the books" is absurd. It has nothing to do with fund of knowledge, nor do clerkship grades. You need to understand politics, the game, the hidden curriculum, whatever you want to call it. The sooner you learn to surrender the self and become a good whipped dog the better.
What exactly do you mean by this? I thought AOA was awarded on the basis of grades?
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2008
- Messages
- 261
- Reaction score
- 15
At some schools, it's awarded strictly based on grades (which is how it should be).
At other schools, it's awarded based on grades + other factors such as extracurricular involvement, etc. This is the scenario where "politics" or "playing the game" might factor in.
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2007
- Messages
- 275
- Reaction score
- 4
Maybe at your school. The president of my school's AOA is a good friend of mine, and they just selected the latest junior AOA members. They get a list of the top students in the class and just go down the list. If there's anything in their file that could preclude them from being in AOA, they don't vote them in, but by and large, its just grades.
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2005
- Messages
- 552
- Reaction score
- 103
One of the 4 letters can definitely be from a PI, especially if it's someone who's known you for a while. My 4 were from my 4th year elective/AI in my specialty, another elective, chairman and my PI.
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2007
- Messages
- 123
- Reaction score
- 1
@Chakrabs, What is the timeline for announcing the junior AOAs at your school?
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2007
- Messages
- 275
- Reaction score
- 4
Not exactly what you mean by timeline. I believe they announced junior AOA about 2 weeks ago. I don't know anything else that goes into the decision. I'm good friends with the president of AOA at my school so I suppose I could ask if you have any specific questions.
Also, the general impression I've been getting is that ECs don't matter. Yet at the same time, when I look at the apps of people who matched at Hopkins, MGH, BWH, etc. I see that all of them did some sort of international volunteer work or tutored or TAed medical school classes. Would you guys say this is necessary for the top programs?
I would normally do some sort of volunteering involving teaching anyways, but I just wanted to know if it mattered at all in terms of residency apps.
I would normally do some sort of volunteering involving teaching anyways, but I just wanted to know if it mattered at all in terms of residency apps.
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2012
- Messages
- 23
- Reaction score
- 0
where do you find apps at people who matched at these places?
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2011
- Messages
- 37
- Reaction score
- 0
how important is having "ties" to a particular geographic part of the country in getting at least an interview to that program (considering we're an average applicant, from a top-med school, but shooting for a competitive residency)?
