Residency Program Websites

[futrEDdoc]

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Greetings 3rd and 4th year students ( and recently matched interns)...
As you search diligently for a residency home - I have a question for you.

What sorts of info would be most helpful for you to find on the ever-popular program websites?

Would more info about the city be helpful - direct quotes from current residents - info on where graduates go specifically - indepth descriptions of off service rotations and what you get to do - details on how traumas/airways/procedures are allotted - or anything else???...

I'm currently a PGY2 and have blocked all memories of residency search from my brain - and I am in the process of helping with the revision of my program's recruitment website. Any input either posted to the forum or directly to me would be very helpful.

Thanks, Carolyn

 

[wook]

FutureERDoc:

An in depth descriptions of off service rotations and what you get to do would be very helpful. Other information about the program would be helpful, for example can residents participate in aeromedical service, is there an option to learn about tactical medicine, are there any fellowhips, etc..

Details on how traumas/airways/procedures are allotted would be nice, as would information on who does the admitting to the hospital.

Statistics relating to the hospital (e.g. acuity rate, trauma level, #ED visits, etc) and program (e.g. board pass rate, number of people in the program).

Out of curiousity which program are you involved?

Wook

 

[aliraja]

All the program info mentioned by wook is well and good - but the kind of life you'll have outside of the hospital is just as important and, I think, lacking in most departments' webpages. Especially in EM where, after I'm done working my shifts, I'm going to want to live in a place that has the kinds of things I like to do, see, play, eat, etc...

Most places think that they're doing this by posting a "links" site that links up to the city that they're in but all that shows is what's available to everyone - not what your program's residents actually do. Post a whole lotta pictures - keeping the text to a minimum - of everything from crazy-fun canoe or skydiving trips to more tame average nights on the town. Let your fellow residents pick the pictures that they think would represent the program best and put them up - applicants will like them for the same reasons that the residents did and they'll come to see that the program allows its folks to live life in addition to teaching them great medicine.

Good luck! 👍

 

[NinerNiner999]

www.emramatch.org

Great site for breakdown of em criteria filled out by em residents at their programs. As for the details - apply and see where you interview first. No need to make your application choices limited early by ruling out those programs that you think may not meet your needs. Apply broadly and choose your interviews as you get them - that will save you much stress and time in the long run. Remember, wherever you go, your intern year will be tough and your free time there will be limited. After that, you will be surrounded by people just like you who know how to make the best of their abundant free time. Oh - you can't go wrong in a big city either - there is always something great to do when you are not working!

 

[jsmith123]

Let me throw something in here that's not related to CONTENT but is more important than you think. DESIGN IS IMPORTANT. This is often overlooked. I used to do Web design before I went to Med School and it is very similar to EM in that everyone thinks that they can do it as well as a pro. Do youself a favor and hire a good firm to do your site. You can find really quality folks around if you look. (I could even recommend one or two...)

We had a lot of students last year say that how nice a page looked affected their decision to look into the program. A lot of that may be unconcious, but the theory out there is that if a program puts some $$ into and takes pride in it's web site, then the program is probably decent. (Same applies to other buisnesses. Think about it, advertising quality affects how you think about a buisness...)

So, do yourself a favor and get someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[futrEDdoc]

Thanks for the helpful advice on updating our website. Luckily for us we have a few professional web designers that can concentrate on the user interface portion and I will be concentrating on the content portion.