The Program Director ???

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

yesmeena

Member
10+ Year Member
7+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2006
Messages
92
Reaction score
0
just a thought ;

programs at FRIEDA include contact info for both ,

the Program Director & the Residency Coordinator ,

would I be better off contacting the PD from the start ( eg. to make my name familiar , show I'm interested )

or should I just send my questions & introduce myself to the RC ( & avoid getting on the PD's nerve with typical inquiries ) ??

all replies appreciated , thanx in advance ! 🙂
 
What's the purpose of your contact? They will know you are interested if you apply, contacting the PD just to let him know you are interested is excessive.

If you have questions about the program, you could contact the PD but often the coordinator will be able to answer them better.

The time for meeting the program director and kissing butt is during the interview and afterwards.
 
i don't mean taking shortcuts , just directing my time/attention efficiently . if we're compatible to each's expectations , fine . if not , i wouldn't want to be stuck there either !!

in other words ; is the decision soley upto the PD ( if applications were equal ) ? would it be useful to establish contact early on ?

what brought it to mind , is that a few programs only have the PD's contact info included (no RC) , so it made me wonder if it's them that really count ?

still appreciative , still thankful .
 
yesmeena said:
i don't mean taking shortcuts , just directing my time/attention efficiently . if we're compatible to each's expectations , fine . if not , i wouldn't want to be stuck there either !!

in other words ; is the decision soley upto the PD ( if applications were equal ) ? would it be useful to establish contact early on ?

what brought it to mind , is that a few programs only have the PD's contact info included (no RC) , so it made me wonder if it's them that really count ?

still appreciative , still thankful .


I'm going to assume you are looking at applications for next year, correct? Please do remember that programs are dealing with candidates and matching for this year. You might wait at least until after the match to make your inquiries. Your name and your interest are unlikely to stick in either the PD or coordinator's minds right now. Just my opinion.
 
yesmeena said:
i don't mean taking shortcuts , just directing my time/attention efficiently . if we're compatible to each's expectations , fine . if not , i wouldn't want to be stuck there either !!

in other words ; is the decision soley upto the PD ( if applications were equal ) ? would it be useful to establish contact early on ?

what brought it to mind , is that a few programs only have the PD's contact info included (no RC) , so it made me wonder if it's them that really count ?

still appreciative , still thankful .

Very few PDs operate in isolation. That is, decisions are committee based - while the PD will certainly have a say in who is ranked, several other faculty members do as well.

RC are the best to contact for application/administrative information, but its good advice above to wait until after this year's match as you will find most programs less than receptive to new inquires at this time of the year.
 
thank you all for your input, you've helped me better understand the process.
 
Won't make a bit of difference. If you contact the PD early it won't make your grades, boards, and letters somehow shine in a better light. If you wanna show them that your interested show up for the interview and send them a letter or email in febuary (which also probably doesn't make a bot of difference)...so just show up and chill out 😎
 
Top