What surprised you during the interview season?

[ewells]

This probably would have been more useful to ask current residents about six months ago, but what factors did you think would be important to you when you started choosing programs to apply to, that in the end just did not matter? And what ended up being important to you when you made your rank list that never occured to you last fall?

One small thing to me was an orientation month. This was more of a tiebreaker than a dealbreaker, but I would like a chance to get to spend some time with my new colleagues before I jump into a trauma or critical care month staffed mostly with residents from an entirely different service. Also, I have Ethics and Radiology left before graduation, so I will not do any more H&Ps until July and would rather have a guarantee that I will start in the ED, where I feel relatively more at ease.

Another thing was flight time. I thought it would be very important, but after speaking to some residents from all over, the concensus was that there is no real difference between time in a helicopter and any other on-site EMS experience (other than the coolness factor), so in the end it was sort of a nonissue.

As I was finalizing my ROL, I asked some of the residents here these questions and was surprised at some of their answers. What is your feedback?

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[EctopicFetus]

did u post your ROL?

 

[ewells]

did u post your ROL?

No. I thought about it, but 1) I am being a little superstitious, 2) to me having friends of mine find out that I did not rank them highly on a public website felt a little like breaking up with someone over the phone, and 3) this way, I could tell everybody where I don't match that they were #2, really.

 

[Koko]

I was surprised at how different programs are. Prior to interviewing, many people said that it was all about location, i.e. where do you want to live, because programs are so similar. I quickly discovered that I disagree strongly with that opinion. There's a good deal of variety in the programs out there, beyond county vs. academic, etc.

One major wild card is US training. Some programs are barely getting started, while others have impressive programs that are integrated throughout residency.

Over the course of the interview season my appreciation for the subtle, and not-so-subtle, differences among programs evolved and I refined my ROL mentally, which made the final ROL easier to complete. It's a very personal process. Some people may acknowledge the variability in US training, but not care. Why I liked one group of residents may be the reason another person wouldn't care to train with the same group.

For this reason, I scheduled more interviews than I ended up attending, and would advise others to do the same so that you can learn what is important to you personally - the key is, you may not answer that question (what is important?) the same way prior to interviewing/visiting and afterward. Just be fair and respectful and cancel interviews with sufficient notice so that others have a chance.

I actually enjoyed the process, except for the occasional back-to-back-to-back flights.

Good luck to all you 3rd years out there.

 

[punkmd]

No. I thought about it, but 1) I am being a little superstitious, 2) to me having friends of mine find out that I did not rank them highly on a public website felt a little like breaking up with someone over the phone, and 3) this way, I could tell everybody where I don't match that they were #2, really.

No posted ROL = no feedback

 

[ewells]

No posted ROL = no feedback

 

[sweetfynesse]

No. I thought about it, but 1) I am being a little superstitious, 2) to me having friends of mine find out that I did not rank them highly on a public website felt a little like breaking up with someone over the phone, and 3) this way, I could tell everybody where I don't match that they were #2, really.

if you're that concerned why not just pist your list under a different screenname.

 

[sweetfynesse]

No. I thought about it, but 1) I am being a little superstitious, 2) to me having friends of mine find out that I did not rank them highly on a public website felt a little like breaking up with someone over the phone, and 3) this way, I could tell everybody where I don't match that they were #2, really.

just post under a different screen name

 

[margaritaboy]

This probably would have been more useful to ask current residents about six months ago, but what factors did you think would be important to you when you started choosing programs to apply to, that in the end just did not matter? And what ended up being important to you when you made your rank list that never occured to you last fall?

One small thing to me was an orientation month. This was more of a tiebreaker than a dealbreaker, but I would like a chance to get to spend some time with my new colleagues before I jump into a trauma or critical care month staffed mostly with residents from an entirely different service. Also, I have Ethics and Radiology left before graduation, so I will not do any more H&Ps until July and would rather have a guarantee that I will start in the ED, where I feel relatively more at ease.

Another thing was flight time. I thought it would be very important, but after speaking to some residents from all over, the concensus was that there is no real difference between time in a helicopter and any other on-site EMS experience (other than the coolness factor), so in the end it was sort of a nonissue.

As I was finalizing my ROL, I asked some of the residents here these questions and was surprised at some of their answers. What is your feedback?

I'm not sure this question is directed at me as a resident, but I'll crash the thread anyway .

As an applicant, I was really obsessed with flight opportunities, international trips/medicine, moonlighting, and fellowship exposure especially to Peds EM. I was also keen on shifts less than 12 hours, and residents' perceived quality of life and how they got along with faculty.

It is amazing how some things change. Now that I have some experience under my belt, I really could care less about flight time, though my institution does offer it. I'm also much less interested in Peds EM, or any fellowships for that matter. I'm more anxious to get out and practice rather than go through more training.

Again, with some experience under my belt, I now feel more than ever that 12s bite compared to 8s or 10s. I am still interested in moonlighting, and think quality of life and faculty relations questions are still very important.

Though I never considered it as an applicant, the orientation month was huge, as is having a night float month in the ED. $$$ for educational reimbursement is also nice.

 

[Jeff698]

Though I never considered it as an applicant, the orientation month was huge, as is having a night float month in the ED.

What is a night float in the ED? Our medicine folks have a night float system but since we already do shift work in the ED I don't see how it would work for us.

BTW, EMS was a huge thing for me during interviews. I still plan on EMS being a big part of my practice but, at least this year, I've been so focused on learning how to be an emergency physician I haven't really had time for much EMS.

Take care,
Jeff

 

[margaritaboy]

What is a night float in the ED? ....

Maybe I should say 'Night Shift Month', rather than night float month.

Basically, each month there are two EM residents that cover the vast majority of the night shifts in the ED. What this means for the rest of us is that we work primarily day and evening shifts without the pain of the overnighters. Typically, I'm schduled to do between 0-3 night shifts per month. Pretty nice. It means we are kept more or less on the same schedule, without having to flip-flop back and forth between days and nights. It is almost like we have a normal job...wow, what a concept. In return, the night team gets all their weekends off. Not a bad deal either. Also, they are also spared from having to flip-flop back and forth between shifts because they are working the same shift.

Anyway, it works pretty well for us here.

 

[Jeff698]

Maybe I should say 'Night Shift Month', rather than night float month.

Thanks, that makes much more sense now. That sounds pretty damn sweet.

What type of shifts do y'all have? I'm guessing not 12s since that wouldn't make much sense with a night float.

Take care,
Jeff

 

[Apollyon]

Maybe I should say 'Night Shift Month', rather than night float month.

Basically, each month there are two EM residents that cover the vast majority of the night shifts in the ED. What this means for the rest of us is that we work primarily day and evening shifts without the pain of the overnighters. Typically, I'm schduled to do between 0-3 night shifts per month. Pretty nice. It means we are kept more or less on the same schedule, without having to flip-flop back and forth between days and nights. It is almost like we have a normal job...wow, what a concept. In return, the night team gets all their weekends off. Not a bad deal either. Also, they are also spared from having to flip-flop back and forth between shifts because they are working the same shift.

Anyway, it works pretty well for us here.

They do (or did, don't know now) 2 months of nights at Mt. Sinai (NYC) also. I think it's a great idea, but the majority of other people in my program have bitched and complained and are unwilling to even try it. Two of us even volunteered to pilot it, and we can't get anyone to bite.

 

[Pelivar]

They do (or did, don't know now) 2 months of nights at Mt. Sinai (NYC) also. I think it's a great idea, but the majority of other people in my program have bitched and complained and are unwilling to even try it. Two of us even volunteered to pilot it, and we can't get anyone to bite.

We do a month of nights at Christiana. We spend one month all three years doing night shifts. We typically work from 12a-8a monday-friday. I love it because you have a chance to get used to working nights and it doesn't mess up your sleep so much. Like Margaritaboy said, we only do 0-3 nights shifts per normal month. It is the best month of the year for most of the interns because they staff our smaller ED alone overnight. This means they get to take care of all the sickest patients alone (and all of the toothaches).

Apollyon, you should get the other people in your program to talk to someone at a place where they have night blocks and I bet they could be convinced to change there minds.

Pelivar

 

[margaritaboy]

Thanks, that makes much more sense now. That sounds pretty damn sweet.

What type of shifts do y'all have? I'm guessing not 12s since that wouldn't make much sense with a night float.

Take care,
Jeff

We work 8s and 10s, and it works out fine. I guess I would have to show you the schdule for it to make complete sense.

They do (or did, don't know now) 2 months of nights at Mt. Sinai (NYC) also. I think it's a great idea, but the majority of other people in my program have bitched and complained and are unwilling to even try it. Two of us even volunteered to pilot it, and we can't get anyone to bite.

That is a damn shame that they don't want to try it. Having done a month of at Phoenix Children's Hospital where there is no night float/month, it seems like you loose a lot of time flipping from nights back to days. It makes your life pretty great having to work only 0-3 night shifts per month. On the other hand, I think most residents don't enjoy the night month per se, but they get all their weekends off and that is pretty good consolation. I am obviously in favor of it.