Tracking Applications/Program Visits

[freddydpt]

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Hi,
I'm curious what everyone will be using to keep track of information on programs they interview at. Excel sheet? Web application? Your brain?
Thanks!

 

[mlw03]

i'll take notes during the interview day and then summarize those notes for myself after the interview. for my top 10 or so i'll probably make a spreadsheet with numbers to compare: salary, vacation time, other benefits, etc.

i don't trust my brain alone to maintain this volume of information.

 

[fantasty]

I haven't used it much, but I signed up for

http://www.myinterviewtrail.com/

I'm using excel right now to compare the basic program details. But, I think that website has areas for free text, comments, etc, plus it's supposed to be good for helping keep track of your travel itineraries.

 

[DOctorJay]

what are you including in your excel spreadsheet? i signed up for myinterviewtrail but it hasn't been working in a while. any match veterans have any excel spreadsheets they'd like to post to help us out???

J

 

[fantasty]

what are you including in your excel spreadsheet? i signed up for myinterviewtrail but it hasn't been working in a while. any match veterans have any excel spreadsheets they'd like to post to help us out???

J

Well, I pasted the info I'm using from three spots:

from the program's website, I pasted their website, whether or not they have a research track (something I'm considering), the website for that if they have one, and other special programs they have related to my interest areas (preventive medicine, research requirements, training in teaching, etc). I also noted their explicit requirements (# of letters, etc)

from FRIEDA, I took the address, phone, program director name, and then went down the page grabbing the info I thought would be helpful. This includes start dates (which all ended up being only June for my programs), affiliated hospitals, # of positions, interview dates, # of interviews last year, most taxing call schedule, beeper call, # hours in conference, % outpatient, % ambulatory, stipends, and vacation. I also have "yes/no" for those indicators on Frieda (program characteristics offered, benefits, evaluation types, etc).

then I went to city-data.com to check out some of the information about the location / demographics. Population, % change (growing, decreasing?), median income, median housing cost, rent, % in poverty, % w/ BS degrees, crime index, cost of living index, etc.

I'm only applying to 10 places, though 🙂 But, it only took me a few minutes per program once you get the spreadsheet set up.

 

[DOctorJay]

that was helpful, thanks for posting!

 

[MSI-Scrub]

Well, I pasted the info I'm using from three spots:

from the program's website, I pasted their website, whether or not they have a research track (something I'm considering), the website for that if they have one, and other special programs they have related to my interest areas (preventive medicine, research requirements, training in teaching, etc). I also noted their explicit requirements (# of letters, etc)

from FRIEDA, I took the address, phone, program director name, and then went down the page grabbing the info I thought would be helpful. This includes start dates (which all ended up being only June for my programs), affiliated hospitals, # of positions, interview dates, # of interviews last year, most taxing call schedule, beeper call, # hours in conference, % outpatient, % ambulatory, stipends, and vacation. I also have "yes/no" for those indicators on Frieda (program characteristics offered, benefits, evaluation types, etc).

then I went to city-data.com to check out some of the information about the location / demographics. Population, % change (growing, decreasing?), median income, median housing cost, rent, % in poverty, % w/ BS degrees, crime index, cost of living index, etc.

I'm only applying to 10 places, though 🙂 But, it only took me a few minutes per program once you get the spreadsheet set up.

Wow. Thanks for that! Good stuff...stuff I didn't even think about

 

[yaah]

Don't forget, most programs will give you packets of information with lots of the important info in there. Of course, some of the questions you guys posted above (like the questions you would ask residents) would not be in there, so it's good to keep track.

I dunno though, if you're like me you don't need to keep track of the "details" to know which programs are best for you. You'll know. The details are important, but they are unlikely to be the big sway in your decisionmaking. I should say though, this works best if you are prepared and read about the program beforehand (usually they send you something in the mail, or they have a website).

 

[Blade28]

I used a big ol' Excel spreadsheet.

 

[melmc]

I have a similar spread sheet to what dantay described.
Also, the tracking sheets in First Aid for the Match seemed useful, so I recently re-vamped my excel spreadsheet with those categories as well:

Program Name
Date of Interview

Factor
Location (comments, stats: http://www.city-data.com/)
Setting/number of hospitals and proximity
Reputation
Stability
Subspeciality strengths

Education
Conferences/rounds
Faculty teaching
Recent Grad's Plans
Research/Teaching opportunities

Work Environment
Patient pop/load
Patient responsibities
Call frequency/hrs per wk
Ancillary support
On-call support (nt float, caps, senior staff)
Annual stipend
Health benefits
Non-health benefits (perks: child care, life insurance, pda's, paid time for conferences/books)
Vacation/sick leave/parenting leave

Other factors/Notes
Gut feeling
Pros
Cons
Preliminary Rank
Names/Addresses

 

[normansatx]

OK, I am posting this at the risk I will be ridiculed as anal retentive and very very nerdy, but oh well, I figure there are lots of people like me out there. First a preface. I made it b/c I always tend to weigh the last thing I did most heavily, consciously and unconsciously. I made this to take that out of the picture.

Loosly based on the Iserson template.
Various factors listed in column A ranging from salary, geography, insurance, what your significant other thinks, etc (if you dont like one then just highlight the column and delete it, it shouldnt affect the end product.)
Column B is the weight this plays in my decision. For instance, fellowship placement and overall 'feel' are extremely important for me so they get a high weight of 8, they all range from 1-9, all these weights add up to 150. Column C is my rating of that factor AT the program I just interviewed, on a scale of 1-10.
Column B and C are multiplied together for column D and all D's are added together at bottom for a max score of 1500. I figure it should be a decent way to more objectively quantify the programs if this is done IMMEDIATELY after my interview.

Check it out, hope it helps.
View attachment Residency Rating Worksheet.xls

 

[nykka3]

OK, I am posting this at the risk I will be ridiculed as anal retentive and very very nerdy, but oh well, I figure there are lots of people like me out there. First a preface. I made it b/c I always tend to weigh the last thing I did most heavily, consciously and unconsciously. I made this to take that out of the picture.

Loosly based on the Iserson template.
Various factors listed in column A ranging from salary, geography, insurance, what your significant other thinks, etc (if you dont like one then just highlight the column and delete it, it shouldnt affect the end product.)
Column B is the weight this plays in my decision. For instance, fellowship placement and overall 'feel' are extremely important for me so they get a high weight of 8, they all range from 1-9, all these weights add up to 150. Column C is my rating of that factor AT the program I just interviewed, on a scale of 1-10.
Column B and C are multiplied together for column D and all D's are added together at bottom for a max score of 1500. I figure it should be a decent way to more objectively quantify the programs if this is done IMMEDIATELY after my interview.

Check it out, hope it helps.
View attachment 9227

thanks!