Your residency interview is your chance to show your target programs that you’ve got what it takes to join their team. Everything in your application, including your medical student performance evaluation (MSPE) and evaluations, is fair game for interviewers. These are some of the most common questions you’ll hear: You’re also likely to be asked…
M3 Journaling: How It Can Help Your Residency Application
As you begin your third year of medical school, what are you doing to prepare for the residency match? Chances are, you’re up to your eyeballs in rotations and exams and everything else that goes into the third year of your medical degree. Chances are, you’re not really thinking much about your personal statement or…
All You Need to Know About Residency Applications and Matching
You’re busy juggling med school and life, and if you don’t stay organized, one of those balls is going to come crashing down. Let’s take a look at what you need to do so you can stay focused, motivated, and completely on top of your juggling act. What are the Components of a Residency Application?…
Make the Most of Your Experiences for ERAS
The 2024 ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) application has some big changes for residency and fellowship candidates. Some of the most significant are a limit on the number of experiences one can list, a new section for one’s most meaningful experiences, and a chance to explain “impactful experiences” that have affected one’s career path. This…
First Drafts of Residency Personal Statements: Let Yourself Go
For many residency applicants, writing the first draft of their personal statement is probably the most difficult part of the entire application process. And the most difficult part of writing that first draft is often getting the first few words on the page. Don’t fret – even accomplished novelists and famous journalists struggle to get…
What to Expect After Medical School
For this section of our What to Expect After Medical School series, I’ll provide a brief rundown of what happens after you graduate from medical school. As you have probably realized by now, medicine requires a commitment to lifelong learning. There will always be new procedures, new medications, and new lab tests to learn about….
It’s A Match 2023
Each year on Match Day, thousands of medical school students and graduates discover where they will receive their specialty training. The matching process, overseen by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), is determined by an algorithm that pairs eligible applicants with available residency training positions. With a record 42,952 applicants for 40,375 certificated positions, Match…
13 Essential Do’s and Don’ts for Your Residency Personal Statement
Residency applicants can submit applications via ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) starting September 7th. Don’t wait until the last minute – get cracking on those residency essays now! Why is your residency essay so important? Your personal statement is a vital part of your residency application; it’s where you’ll explain why you’ve chosen your specialty…
It’s a Match
Each year on Match Day, thousands of medical school students and graduates learn where they will receive their specialty training. This year’s Main Residency Match took place on Friday, March 18th. And with events at many medical schools – many of them in-person this year! – it was a cause for celebration for many participants…
How an Orthopedic Surgeon Survived and Thrived in Med School [Episode 418]
Achieving balance: A resident’s advice for succeeding in medical school without sacrificing your personal life [Show summary] Dr. Wendell Cole, a Morehouse graduate and orthopedic surgical resident at Tulane, shares the personal experiences and med school survival strategies that led him to write The Med School Survival Kit. How planning and time management pave the…
Residency Admissions: What if I Didn’t Match
Participation in the residency match process has risen steadily for the last several years, with record-high application rates in each of the last few years [nrmp.org]. But what’s next if you didn’t match? What happens if you don’t get matched for residency? Think about why you may not have matched, so you can strengthen your…
Navigating Medical School and Residency With an Interest in Cultural Psychiatry and Forensics
Learn how real students navigate their way through the medical school admissions process and med school itself with our What is Medical School Really Like? series. Meet Angeline, a psychiatry resident with a goal of advocating for mental health awareness within the Asian community. Angeline, thank you for sharing your story with us! I understand…
Tips and Insights for Residency Applicants from a Motivated MS4
Learn how real students navigate their way through the medical school admissions process and med school itself with our What is Medical School Really Like? series. Meet Abby, an MS4 on the residency interview trail. Abby, thank you for sharing your story with us! What have you loved most about medical school so far? What are you…
3 Tips for Requesting Residency Letters of Recommendation
Have you started collecting recommendation letters yet? The LoR Portal explains the process of submitting your letters to ERAS, but how can you ensure that you receive the strongest possible recommendation letter? 1. Ask as early as possible. Your recommenders are busy people, and you don’t want to wait until the last minute to add your request…
7 Tips for Matching at an Ob-Gyn Residency
One of the best things about being an Ob-Gyn is that you get to be both a surgeon and a primary care doctor. If you are having trouble choosing between these two areas, Ob-Gyn is the only specialty where you can do both. On the flip side, the hardest things about this specialty is that…
Where MedEd Tuition Goes? This Resident Has a Surprising Answer [Episode 331]
Interview with Dr. Daniel Barron, MD/PhD, resident physician at Yale University and writer for Scientific American [Show Summary] Dr. Daniel Barron is Chief Resident at Yale’s Neuroscience Research Training Program and Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit. In today’s episode he shares the various twists and turns in his med school education and career that helped him…
Life by Thea: The Fascinating World of Product Design and Medicine
Learn how real students navigate their way through the medical school admissions process and med school itself with our What is Medical School Really Like? series. Meet Thea, a PGY-1 Physical Medicine and Rehab resident. Thea, thank you for sharing your story with us! Where did you go to medical school? Where are you currently doing your…
A Conversation with Carly About Life as a Peds Resident and the Importance of Being Organized
Learn how real students navigate their way through the medical school admissions process and med school itself with our What is Medical School Really Like? series. Meet Carly, a second-year pediatrics resident at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Carly, thank you for sharing your story with us! Was there a particular person or experience that…
Dr. Calvin Sun, ER Resident, Entrepreneur, and Adventurer [Episode 254]
Warning: Our guest today has done so much that it’s going to be really hard to give his background succinctly, but here goes. Dr. Calvin Sun earned his bachelors in 2008 at Columbia where he held numerous leadership positions. In 2014, he graduated from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine and served as graduating class president….
Family Practitioner, Author, Advocate: An Interview with Dr. Alexa Mieses [Episode 303]
Interview with Dr. Alexa Mieses, family medicine resident, mentor & writer [Show Summary] Do you want to be a clinician? Are you concerned about your ability to gain acceptance to med school? Listen in to today’s interview with the author of The Heartbeat of Success: A Med Student’s Guide to Med School Admissions, Dr. Alexa…