Visiting a residency program before interview season

[HiddenGentleman]

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Hello, I'll be applying for anesthesia residency this year and am very interested in a program that is several states away. It is actually in the city I was born in, however I did not grow up there because my family and I moved when I was only 6 months old. I will be going on vacation/visiting family in the city at the end of August and am wondering if it would be considered unprofessional for me to contact the program director to see if I can come in and introduce myself and check out the hospital. I was not able to do an away there because I did not want to deal with the complicated logistics of it. I am wondering whether this would increase/decrease/not affect my chances of getting an interview at a later time. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[mdquestion]

Hello, I'll be applying for anesthesia residency this year and am very interested in a program that is several states away. It is actually in the city I was born in, however I did not grow up there because my family and I moved when I was only 6 months old. I will be going on vacation/visiting family in the city at the end of August and am wondering if it would be considered unprofessional for me to contact the program director to see if I can come in and introduce myself and check out the hospital. I was not able to do an away there because I did not want to deal with the complicated logistics of it. I am wondering whether this would increase/decrease/not affect my chances of getting an interview at a later time. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

Not sure of how it will affect your chances, but the situation just sounds awkward to me. What exactly are you going to do in your meet and greet. Walk around the hospital and say "Hi?" to the residents. What exactly will you talk with the director about? A point of residency interviewing is to give you these experiences once a school deems you an interesting candidate. I'd talk to your anesthesia director and ask for his advice.

 

[Gheorgia]

Hello, I'll be applying for anesthesia residency this year and am very interested in a program that is several states away. It is actually in the city I was born in, however I did not grow up there because my family and I moved when I was only 6 months old. I will be going on vacation/visiting family in the city at the end of August and am wondering if it would be considered unprofessional for me to contact the program director to see if I can come in and introduce myself and check out the hospital. I was not able to do an away there because I did not want to deal with the complicated logistics of it. I am wondering whether this would increase/decrease/not affect my chances of getting an interview at a later time. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

I disagree with the other person's comments. As long as your USMLE scores and clerkship grades are competitive for this specialty and the program that you're interested in is not at a supercompetitive program (Mass General, Hopkins, etc) I can't think of how this introduction will hurt you. Program directors spend a lot of their time trying to recruit the best individuals as residents and do a lot of travleing and networking around the country. It'll be an extra bonus if you take the time to go an introduce yourself even if briefly so that the PD has a chance to see you as a person rather than just numbers and letters in your application. Of course this also depends on your personality and how well you introduce yourself, but at this point I don't think that would be a problem.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I wouldn't recommend it.

It's certainly not going to get you an interview if you weren't going to get one on the merits of your application, and anything you wish to express about your interest in the program can be expressed on the interview day itself.