"Why Our School" Secondary Essay: How to Get Started

Secondary essay prompts vary, but there are a few that are standard fare. See my recent blog entry for guidance on the familiar "diversity essay." "Why do you want to attend our school?" is also a common topic pre-meds will encounter.

Medical school admissions officers want to be assured that you know their institution, are seriously considering it, and will fit in well there. In approaching the "why-our-school" question, do your research on the institution and link something specific about you with the school's philosophy, curriculum, patient population, and/or extracurricular programs.

For instance, if you were a teaching assistant for chemistry in college, you might link your use of the Socratic method with a school's tutorial-based learning. In that way, you demonstrate knowledge of the school, show that you connect well with it, and showcase your accomplishment.  

The paradox here is that - although you are theoretically focusing your essay on one school - because so many institutions have overlapping philosophies, curricula, and objectives - you can oftentimes use the same essay framework for many different schools. 

That's one strategic way to cut down the overwhelming workload that secondary applications present. 

AAMC Fee Assistance Program Expands

In light of the COVID crisis, the AAMC has recently expanded its Fee Assistance Program income eligibility. Please take a look here for current requirements. For more information on the FAP, including an online webinar, see this AAMC page.  

To support those with financial need, l continue to offer a discount to those applicants who can demonstrate a current FAP. Contact me with questions. 

Diversity Essay: How to Get Started

I've had several questions on how to approach the secondary essay diversity prompt. In considering your strategy and content, I'd recommend you ask yourself the following question: 

What ethnic, religious, racial, gender, language, socioeconomic, or sexual orientation aspects of me, my family, or my experience make me distinctive?   

Please note that experience is part of the question I have posed. An applicant I mentored a few years back wrote me concerned that she did not fit into a minority category and thus, could not answer the prompt effectively. I suggested she consider an experience that targeted the prompt's theme, and she wrote a strong essay about her successful efforts to increase diversity during sorority rush. I crafted one of my secondary essays on my experience hearing Spike Lee speak in person. Don't be afraid to think outside the box.

How to Get Clinical Experience Safely During the COVID Pandemic

I've written before about the importance of premeds' getting clinical experience. Not only is robust clinical participation critical to obtaining a medical school acceptance, it's also important to ensure you like working with patients before heading down the long medical training path. 

During this pandemic, working as an EMT, scribe, or certified phlebotomist can be risky. So how can you get clinical experience without being in the clinic?

Here are three ideas:

1. Become a contact tracer -  I tweeted last month about a great Johns Hopkins training opportunity. Working as a contact tracer is a way to do a good deed, learn to convey difficult information to lay people, and make some money. 

2. Work on a crisis hotline (phone or text) - Many people are, understandably, in distress right now, and learning to assist those having emotional challenges will help you as a future physician.

3. Work on a COVID information hotline - There is a lot of misinformation floating about. Conveying accurate scientific concepts to the public is, again, an excellent skill to have in your tool box as a future doctor. 

Check out my goofy, less-than-one-minute video about the importance of getting clinical experience here. 

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

As William Shakespeare so wisely pointed out, being concise is critical for good writing.

I've been editing a lot of personal statements over the last few months, and I deliberately recommend a word count of 750 or fewer for my advisees for a couple of reasons:

First, I've found that that number is just the right balance of content and streamlining: Over 750 words for an admissions essay lends itself to meandering writing.

Second, your reader is likely reviewing tens or even scores of applications in a short period of time. S/he is looking to spend as little time as possible on your written materials, while still getting a good flavor for your candidacy. Don't burden your reader with verbiage.

Having trouble being brief? Here's a helpful trick: Imagine AMCAS, AACOMAS, or ERAS is charging you $10 per word. How would you keep costs down?

Choosing the Right Category for your AMCAS Experiences

AMCAS provides 18 categories in which you can classify your experiences. They are

Artistic Endeavors
Community Service/Volunteer – Not Medical/Clinical
Community Service/Volunteer – Medical/Clinical
Conferences Attended
Extracurricular Activities
Hobbies
Honors/Awards/Recognitions
Intercollegiate Athletics
Leadership – Not listed elsewhere
Military Service
Other
Paid Employment – Medical/Clinical
Paid Employment – Not Medical/Clinical
Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation
Presentations/Posters
Publications
Research/Lab
Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant  

Sometimes an activity can match two categories. When that happens, lean on the clinical categories, if applicable. (For example, if your activity is both Leadership and Community Service - Medical/ Clinical, chose the latter.) If clinical is not relevant, then choose the category in which you have the fewest activities. 

A client who came to me as a re-applicant told me that a school from which she was rejected indicated that they had not counted a clearly clinical activity as clinical because she had classified it differently. Be sure you consider the categories deliberately in crafting your AMCAS.  

Strategic Tips for the AMCAS Most Meaningful Paragraphs

Back in 2012, seemingly out of blue, a significant, new addition appeared on the AMCAS®. Applicants were being asked to identify their most significant extracurricular experiences (up to three) and support their choices with more writing. The instructions stated:

This is your opportunity to summarize why you have selected this experience as one of your most meaningful. In your remarks, you might consider the transformative nature of the experience, the impact you made while engaging in the experience and the personal growth you experienced as a result of your participation. 1325 max characters.

Now the Most Meaningful Paragraphs are par for the course, but applicants routinely make a few avoidable errors in crafting them. Here are tips to craft your best work:

1) Don’t merge the descriptors with the Most Meaningful Paragraphs because they are separate sections: You can complete descriptors for up to 15 activities with up to 700 characters each, plus up to three Most Meaningful Paragraphs of up to 1325 characters each. The fact that these are two different tasks might seem clear to some, but every year, I get AMCAS drafts to edit that include this error.

2) Do not use patient anecdotes in your Most Meaningful Paragraphs: Most medical school applicants have patient vignettes to share, which means that a patient story does not distinguish an applicant from the masses of other candidates. Also, these patient stories can sound trite or even condescending.

3) Don’t repeat what you have written in your descriptor. The Most Meaningful Paragraphs are an opportunity to delve deeper into your achievement. Let’s say you are showcasing your experience as a biochemistry teaching assistant. In the Most Meaningful Paragraph, give concrete examples of what you taught, to whom, how often, using what techniques. If you were promoted to head TA or asked to come back the next semester, showcase teaching achievements that propelled you to get the position. Did you get excellent teaching reviews from students? Did you offer an unconventional way of learning the difficult material? If so, what was it? By delving deeper, you can truly demonstrate the “transformative nature of the experience, the impact you made while engaging in the experience and the personal growth you experienced as a result of your participation.” Make sure to pick at least one of those three topics and answer it in the Most Meaningful Paragraphs. 

Bottom line: The Most Meaningful Paragraphs are an opportunity for you to demonstrate your distinctiveness and worthiness for medical school. Don’t waste this chance to further your candidacy.

An Offer you Can't Refuse: Writing Your Own Letter of Recommendation

In the last few weeks, several medical school applicants have contacted me saying that potential letter of recommendation writers are asking the candidates to write their own letters.

If you have this opportunity for medical school, dental school, residency, or fellowship, first, realize that it is not unethical to write your own letter if you're asked to do so. If you'd like to explore the scruples of this issue, take a look at this New York Times Ethicist column about the topic.

The mistake I see candidates make in this situation is that applicants don't write strong enough letters for themselves because they feel awkward about showcasing their accomplishments fully. If you have the opportunity to write your own letter, craft a glowing one. Be effusive and full-throated in your remarks about yourself. Remember that the letter-writer can choose to tone down the recommendation if s/he doesn't agree. But if s/he does, you've utilized an opportunity fully and bolstered your candidacy tremendously.

AAMC is Encouraging Both a Systemic Virtual Medical School Interview and Virtual Residency Interview Policy During the COVID Pandemic

There is no time like the present to plan how you'll practice for your virtual medical school interview: Last week the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) announced that they are strongly encouraging medical schools and teaching hospital faculty (that's you, residency programs) to conduct all interviews with applicants in a virtual setting. In an additional, reinforcing announcement on away rotations (see below), the AAMC specifically addressed the residency cycle for this coming year saying that they recommend that all residency programs commit to online interviews and virtual visits for all applicants for the entire cycle. The AAMC suggests "that the medical education community commit to creating a robust digital environment and set of tools that will yield the best experiences for programs and applicants." I applaud the AAMC for their willingness to be proactive, encourage public health, and decrease medical school and residency applicant anxiety. 

Assuming there are no in-person interviews, this medical school and residency application cycle will look completely different with no applicant visits to institutions or face to face conversations with current students/residents and faculty. Schools and residency programs will be left with quite a burden to make their institutions looks distinctive and to select qualified applicants.

For the latter, be prepared to strategically handle a virtual medical school interview. Consider getting my help. For the virtual residency interview, get my help here. 

On the same date that AAMC announced the recommendation regarding the virtual medical school interview, they also announced that for the 2020-21 academic year, because of COVID, away rotations should be discouraged and that ERAS' opening be delayed. The latter has already come to fruition: While ERAS will open on September 1 for candidates to submit their applications, residency programs will not being reviewing applications and MSPEs will not be released to residency programs until October 21 this year (compared to September 15 and October 1 last cycle). Of note, ERAS did not announce a change in Match Day yet. 

There are a lot of changes afoot. To keep up, check this web page, which AAMC has been updating regularly. 

How to Use the MSAR to Your Advantage

The Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) is an online database that allows users to search, sort and compare information about U.S. and Canadian medical schools.The 2020 MSAR came out last month, and if you are applying to medical school, I'd recommend purchasing it ($28 for one year) because it provides so much information about schools and their admissions statistics. The MSAR allows you sort and compare schools by median MCAT scores, AMCAS GPAs, and other criteria.

You should use the MSAR to help determine which schools are in your range and which are "reach" schools. While it's fine to have a lot of "reach" schools (if you can afford it), it's critical to ensure you are applying wisely to schools that match your numbers. The advantage of the MSAR is that you can make evidence-based decisions. I've found some applicants have eye-opening experiences when they thoroughly review schools' statistics and either realize that their numbers are low and that they should apply accordingly or, happily, that they have numbers that match with top schools. Either way, reviewing the data is critical to good decision making.

USMLE® Step 1 Scoring Will Change to Pass/Fail

Some students were pleasantly surprised this February to find out that the USMLE will be making a major change to Step 1: The test will be scored as pass/fail starting in 2022. Despite what seemed like a bombshell announcement to some, the USMLE had been working on the transition for over a year. Check out this piece, "Step 1 Score Change: One Small Step for USMLE, One Giant Leap for Medical Student Well-Being" on why the USMLE implemented the new scoring system, what opponents had to say, and the timeline for implementation.

Get a Better Letter: How to Get the Best Letter of Recommendation for Medical School or Residency

COVID-19 continues to upend experiences for pre-meds and medical students, as well as the entire med school and residency application process, but certain truths do not change: Submitting outstanding letters of recommendation for medical school and residency is critical for a successful candidacy. 

I see some applicants mistakenly filling the slots with faculty letter writers without thought as to whether these letters will further the applicants' candidacies. See my After Rounds piece, "How to Submit Outstanding Letters of Recommendation for Residency." It is relevant for students applying to medical school as well.  

Tips for Applying to Residency in a Competitive Field

While our minds are currently focused on our changed world, first-, second-, and third-year medical students are still plodding along through classes and rotations (albeit virtually in most cases), preparing for an eventual Match Day.

For those planning to apply in competitive specialties like plastic surgery, otolaryngology, neurosurgery, interventional radiology, dermatology or orthopedics, among others, the calculus of what needs to be accomplished for a successful residency candidacy is very different and must be planned well in advance of the ERAS open date (maybe even before entering medical school).

Please check out my piece, "Luck Is When Preparation Meets Opportunity: Strategies for Competitive Specialties" for clear guidance on the needed steps. 

The Myriad Ways COVID-19 is Affecting Current Medical Students

I've covered the adverse effects COVID-19 has had on dental and medical school applicants, but medical students' lives have been altered even more extensively. See the piece I wrote, "An Entirely Different, Very Frightening March Madness" for many details. The day before the piece posted on the Wolster-Kluwer After Rounds site, the New York Times followed up on New York University's early graduating seniors.

How is COVID-19 Affecting Pre-Meds and Pre-Dental Students?

COVID-19 has upended everyone's lives, and I really mean everyone. Last week I mentioned some issues specific to pre-meds and pre-dental students. Here's an update:

MCAT cancellations: As of last Wednesday, April 1, the AAMC extended the cancellation of MCAT testing through the month of April. (Prior, AAMC had only cancelled the March 27 and April 4 administration dates.)

Inability to acquire enough clinical, research, or volunteer hours is worsening, as applicants who had expected to get more experience this spring are being told that only essential workers should report for duties.

As the recession worsens, there is a decrease in individual wealth, leading to an inability to pay AMCAS/ AACOMS/ AADSAS fees or apply to as many schools as had been planned.

Difficulty accessing letter of recommendation writers who are no longer on campus or are, understandably, distracted with their own disruptions will continue to be a problem. 

A lack of enthusiasm for medicine (or an increase in it, for some) may rise as the great risk health care providers are currently assuming is more newsworthy. 

I've had an applicant or two ask me if this year is a better year to apply - perhaps less competitive - because of the above. I really have no crystal ball on that issue, although it's an interesting question.

Keep safe and stay in.

The Medical School Application Process and COVID

Greetings from California where we are hoping to flatten the curve by proudly being the first state to order residents to shelter in place. 

Last week I posted some truly excellent articles and a podcast on COVID. This week, I'm listing some considerations pre-meds need to ponder in the setting of the virus:

1) The March 27 and April 4 MCAT exam administrations have been canceled globally. It's unclear whether some future dates will be eliminated.

2) It is hard to get clinical experience right now. Many non-essential personnel are - rightly - being asked to stay home. 

3) Letter of recommendation writers may be harder to reach or focused on other concerns.

4) As of now, there is no indication that the AMCAS application calendar will change. 

Please stay home and stay safe.

Holding up and Holing Up

Greetings from California where we are sheltering in place. Newsom did the right thing to save lives, but this will not be easy here in the Golden State. I worked in the emergency department last week, but I was in the less acute side - not managing high risk, respiratory patients. From what I have seen, hospital systems in the area have tremendously organized plans in place. My concern is that they will get overwhelmed soon.

Like most of you, I've been reading a lot on COVID-19, both in the lay and medical press. I've compiled some of my favorites as of this writing:

A must-listen-to interview from the New York Times' Daily Podcast of an Italian ICU doctor managing the crisis in his country. Forward this one to your family and friends.

An Annals of Internal Medicine piece on incubation period of COVID-19 with a visual abstract.

A visual representation and accompanying article on hospital bed capacity exhaustion from the Harvard Global Health Institute published by the New York Times. 

A widely circulated "ICU one pager" for clinicians on COVID-19.

I'm also now subscribed to a daily update on COVID-19 from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

The St. Louis versus Philadelphia 1918 flu mortality graph with accompanying article. Send this to anyone who doesn't understand why social distancing is important. 

Please stay home as much as possible, and encourage your family and friends to do the same. 

COVID-19: Check out this Interesting Academic Lecture

I do not usually cover medical pathology in this blog, but I heard a compelling on-line lecture on COVID-19 by Amesh Adalja MD, who is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. His expertise is in emerging infectious diseases, pandemic preparedness, and biosecurity. For those of you interested in his medical career path (as I was), Dr. Adalja completed a combined residency in internal medicine and emergency medicine and then completed two fellowships - one in infectious diseases and one in critical care. The lecture does a great job of putting COVID-19 in historical, evolutionary, and policy context. One point: The lecture is about 2 weeks old, and, of course, much has occurred in that time frame, but understanding other pandemics and their lead up to this one is helpful. It's worth the time to listen. 

The Dirt on SOAP (The Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program)

Residency applicants are anxiously awaiting Match Week, starting next Monday. No matter where you stand with interviews, it's important to have some basic familiarity with the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program® (SOAP). SOAP is a standardized process affording unmatched candidates the opportunity to find residency positions. It consists of three rounds during which residency programs make offers to eligible applicants who did not match for residency or who partially matched.

Check out this piece I wrote on SOAP to understand the intricacies of the program and to ensure you are prepared in the worst case scenario. As always, in the application process, it’s better to bring an umbrella and hope it doesn’t rain than get soaked in the unexpected storm.

Burnout and Does the Patient Always Come First?

Although written somewhat tongue-in cheek, "A Totally Novel Concept: The Patient Comes Second" - sent to me by an emergency medicine colleague - is worth a quick read. Considering the huge problem with physician burnout, putting the patient second sometimes is an interesting intellectual exercise.

Guidance for Medical School and Residency: A New Publication

There's a new publication out from the medical publishing company Wolter Kluwer called After Rounds that has some good information and guidance for medical school and residency. (Full disclosure: I am an invited writer for the site.). There is a breadth of topics from Coping with Homesickness to How to Get Published in a Medical Journal to a Day in the Life of a Resident. The articles are short, streamlined pieces. Browse the newsletter and check out my February piece on Setting the Right Goals for Medical School. 

The Medical School Wait List: Can Anything Be Done?

Just when you’ve completed your interviews and feel that you can finally sit back and relax a little because – after all – the rest is out of your hands, you may be surprised by a medical school wait list notification. What can you do?

1. Realize that getting into medical school has become increasingly competitive year by year. Being wait listed is infinitely better than being rejected, and thus a positive, despite the anxiety is causes.
2. Send a letter of interest. Let the school know of your continued enthusiasm and your new accomplishments. Ensure the letter is well written, streamlined, and brief. If the school is absolutely, positively your first choice, let the admissions committee know that. Feel free to send more than one letter if you are on a medical school wait list for months.
3. Ask the school if you can set up a second look. A supplementary visit indicates to the institution that you are serious, and it offers you more data in making your decision if you're later offered a spot.
4. Do not neglect your other options. Don’t focus all of your attention on this institution to the exclusion of others: Ensure you are well-prepared for any late interview invites at other medical schools.

5. Ask a well-positioned faculty member who knows your work to make a call or send an email on your behalf. This tactic is especially helpful if the supervisor has a connection to the institution. (I do not recommend that a family friend who hasn't worked with you contacts the school.)
6. Plan for last minute notice. At some institutions, applicants are offered slots off the medical school wait list throughout the summer. I’ve even heard of acceptances being offered the day before school was to begin. Would you be able to change your living situation, move your personal belongings, and uproot if this were to happen? Be prepared. 

Medscape National Physician Burnout Report 2020 is Out - Yikes!

The Medscape National Physician Burnout & Suicide Report 2020 has been published, and its results are as interesting as past years'.

The report's most burned out specialty was.... drum roll please...urology. Fifty-four percent of urologists surveyed reported burnout. Next came neurology (50%) and nephrology (49%). The least burned out fields were public health and preventive medicine (29%), ophthalmology (30%), and orthopedics (34%). Note that my field of emergency medicine is not in the top 5 this year. (Congrats.) However, a whopping 43% of emergency physicians report burnout. 

This year Medscape compared burnout in Millenials (25-39 years old), Generation Xers (40-54), and Baby Boomers (55-73). According to the survey, Generation Xers are the most burned out at 48% compared to 38% for Millenials and 39% for Baby Boomers, although there may be other age-related, non-career issues that lead to burnout in the Xers like caring for children and aging parents.

Women suffer from significantly more burnout than men (48% versus 37%). 

Take a look at the Medscape National Physician Burnout & Suicide Report 2020 slide show yourself, and check out my Kevin MD piece on burnout here. 

No One Wants to be your Second (or Third) Choice for the High School Prom

Imagine you're back in high school, planning to ask out a fellow classmate to the prom. You approach your potential date, "Would you be interested in going with me to the dance? You're my second or third choice."

Not very compelling...The same is true for letters of intent: I've had several applicants this cycle (and in past years) ask me if it's okay to say that an institution is their "second or third choice" or "one of my top" picks.

Avoid that type of language. Instead you can say something like "I would be thrilled to be at your institution," or " I’m confident I can make a positive contribution." In other words, you can stay honest while not shooting yourself in the foot.

I do edit letters of intent and have been busy with them of late. Let me know if you need assistance.

Your Residency Application: Six Factors to Prioritize When Creating your Rank List

Creating your Match rank list can be absolutely agonizing because it feels like so much is at stake. Sometimes it helps to step back and look at the big picture. Below, I briefly note a few important considerations when making your list:

1. Make sure you understand how the NRMP algorithm works. See my previous blog post regarding errors to avoid at all costs. The key is to rank in the order you want - first goes first, second goes second, etc.

2. Consider your happiness and life balance. Blasphemy perhaps, but I would argue that they are more important than the strength of the training program.

3. Reflect on the culture, geography, size, and even maturity/age of the program. Think about whether you will fit in.

4. Consider whether you could spend your whole life at the institution or in that program's location. It's a lot to grapple with, but many residents graduate and stay for the rest of their careers.

5. Decide whether you liked the program director, chairperson, and faculty generally. They could make or break your happiness and success.

6. Realize that most programs will train you well if you work hard. Their prestige and quality may be more similar than you think. For that reason, note that your personal preferences and intuitions are paramount.

New Year's Resolution: Ten Ways to Improve your Medical School Application

It's the beginning of the year and, thus, a great time for pre-meds to redouble their efforts toward their medical school goals. As always, I recommend a very focused approach that allows you to do more of what you want and less of what you don't. Think research will help your candidacy but don't like being in the lab? Consider public health or clinical investigations. Think volunteerism will bolster your application but don't like being one of a crowd in a group project? Start your own social justice initiative. 

There are definitely necessary elements to any robust medical school candidacy (clinical experience, strong grades), but being a pre-med can also be fun, mind-broadening, and career-affirming.

Here is an article that will give you direction but also leeway to be a happy applicant - not just a strong one. 

Selling Yourself

A recent, interesting article in the New York Times written by two professors - one from Harvard and one from Yale - reviewed a study they published in the British Medical Journal that finds that male-led scientific teams were up to 21 percent more likely than women-led teams to use positive adjectives to describe their research findings. Importantly, they also found that the greater use of positive language by male-led teams was linked to more citations. 

In the NYT article, the authors point out that in many realms and fields women have been found to use language that is more tentative than men. I have found this to be true when I conduct mock interviews as well. I note that, generally, women applicants are less willing to showcase their achievements, which I do believe adversely affects their candidacies. I try to counter that in practice with applicants. 

Of course, there is an alternate assessment of this issue: The "Lean Out" crowd feels that women should not have to conform to men's patterns. While I strongly agree in theory, I have witnessed the disadvantage of being overly modest in the application process. 

This is a good discussion for your next coffee break with a friend!

Residency Applicants, Thinking about How to Create your Rank Order List? Check out this easy advice.

For those of you who are starting to think about your Match rank order list, please make sure you follow this simple strategy: Rank your first choice first, your second second, your third third, etc.

In other words, your most successful approach is to create your list in order of your real preferences. Although the Match algorithm is mathematically quite complicated, because the process always begins with an attempt to match an applicant to the program most preferred on the applicant's list, you do not want to try to "game" the system. For example, I've had applicants tell me that they plan to rank a less preferred institution higher because that program has more residency slots. That's a no-no. The applicant will actually be harming him/herself with that strategy.

Here's a video the NRMP created last year to better explain the Match algorithm. Here's also a less-than-one-minute Guru on the Go© video "NRMP Ranking to Avoid a Spanking" to emphasize your optimal strategy.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, but Risk Should Not Be...

A little off the beaten track for the holidays, here is a great NYT article called "You Could Die Today. Here's How to Reduce that Risk." It is a fantastic conversation starter for patients and family members in your life. 

Bad Advice Turned on Its Head

The end of the year is a time for reflection and a time to consider what will make you happy in the upcoming twelve months - and beyond.

When I was a medical student applying for emergency medicine residency programs, a well-meaning dean gave me some bad advice: I was determining the order of my rank list and was particularly concerned about one program that had an excellent reputation but was in a city I didn’t like. The dean told me, “You’ll be so busy during residency it won’t matter where you live.” Luckily, the advice rubbed me the wrong way, and I wholeheartedly disregarded it. Where you live for your medical training - medical school, residency, or fellowship - is as important as the quality of your training program! The reasons are several-fold:

1. Medical training is time-consuming, and you want to be in a city you can enjoy fully when you have a few moments to blow off steam.
2. Medical training is extremely stressful, and you want to be in a city where you have social support.
3. Medical training is not completed in a vacuum. Your personal life continues. If you’re single you may meet someone and end up staying in the city where you have trained for the rest of your life (gasp). If you’re in a long-term relationship you may decide to have children or may already have them. Down the road you may not want to relocate your family.

Not everyone gets the opportunity to go to medical school or train in residency and fellowship programs in a city s/he likes. But you can make choices that will increase your chances. Consider these options - and your happiness - as you make professional decisions this coming year.

Even More AAAS Fellowship Opportunities

Earlier this month I blogged on the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Fellowship, which I had the benefit of during medical school. The AAAS opportunity changed my life in many positive ways. I would be remiss if I did not highlight other AAAS fellowships that science students and professionals can enjoy. If you are interested in policy, are a star student with a disability, or are a woman researcher looking to fund her studies, the AAAS has a fellowship for you to consider. These and more can be found on the AAAS fellowship page. 

The Residency and Medical School Application Process: Moving Past Impostor Syndrome

First described by psychologists Drs. Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance in the 1970s, impostor phenomenon occurs among high achievers who cannot easily internalize their successes. They often externally attribute their accomplishments to luck and worry that others will eventually realize they are frauds.

Recognize this phenomenon of self-doubt?

You are not alone. Although many people suffer in silence (as they do not want to be revealed for what they perceive to be major deficiencies), the syndrome is quite common, especially in medical school. According to one 2016 study, almost a quarter of male medical students and nearly half of female students surveyed suffered with impostor syndrome. The phenomenon can be associated with depression, burn out, and anxiety. The American Psychological Association offers a few tips for overcoming impostor syndrome including speaking to mentors, recognizing what you excel at, and talking to a professional if necessary. 

Here's a fun article on imposter syndrome by Joelle Borhart MD, the Associate Program Director at Georgetown University. 

Paid Summer Opportunity: AAAS Mass Media Fellowship

Looking for something different to do this summer? The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is again offering their Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship, a 10-week summer program that places science, engineering, and math undergraduate and graduate students at media organizations across the nation - places like NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and WIRED.

I was an AAAS Mass Media Fellow in 1995. The program was truly fantastic and life-altering.

Take a look here for program details, including dates, eligibility, and funding. 

Applications are due by January 1st, so get moving!  

Your Residency Application: What to Do if You Receive No or Few Interview Invitations?

1. Don't panic.

2. Try contacting - in a professional manner - all institutions to which you have sent your ERAS. You can send an email and call. When you call, be calm, respectful, and enthusiastic. Do not demand to speak to the program director. Let the person who answers the phone know that you are very interested in the program and would appreciate the opportunity to interview. Offer to be on an interview wait list if necessary.

3. Prepare for the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). Note that SOAP is not a separate program from the residency Match. So a) your main residency Match user status must be active and b) your credentials must be verified by the Rank Order List Deadline in order to participate in SOAP. Here is more information on SOAP. 

4. Make a plan for what you will do if the Match and SOAP don't work out for you. What will you do next year? How will you improve your written materials, interview skills, and overall candidacy? If heaven forbid, you do not have success in either the Match or SOAP, please consider getting help from me or a faculty member who is experienced in residency admissions - the sooner the better to improve a candidacy and prepare for a re-application.

Responses from Program Directors are as Valuable as the Email They're Written On

A strong residency candidate asked me to review an email a program director (PD) had sent him after interview day. The candidate wanted to know if I had any insights to the intent of the PD: Was the PD sending a generic note or was he really interested in the applicant?

I told the applicant honestly, who knows and who cares?

I wasn't trying to be dismissive. The point is that it is impossible to know what a PD is thinking. Unfortunately, I've seen applicants heartbroken by false hope they read into a PD's comments. More importantly, what a PD says should not affect your rank list anyway. The algorithm requires you to put your first choice first and your second second, etc. (More on that in a future blog post.)

As they say, kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises. Ignore those PD notes because they don't guarantee a thing and don't change management. 

Finding - and Redefining - Balance: It's Not about Better Multitasking

This time of year, when the residency and medical school interview processes are in full swing, many of us feel overwhelmed. Here's a brief but thoughtful piece regarding balance. As you consider your future career, it's worth thinking about issues the author covers like clarifying what brings you joy, considering your goals while understanding they will change, and defining balance for yourself. 

In this day and age, one can choose a traditionally tough specialty but work in a practice setting that allows for some autonomy and flexibility. But you need to know what you want, and you need to give yourself the room to explore that in order to guide yourself in the right direction.

Accomplished, Not Lovely

A few years back I went to hear the author Nicole Krauss speak about her novel Forest Dark. I am a big fan of Krauss' writing (especially the History of Love in case you are looking for something wonderful to read). The day I heard the author speak, she had published an opinion piece in the NYT Sunday Magazine called "Do Women Get to Write with Authority?" In the article, Krauss speaks about the lack of authority that women writers have compared to men, and specifically, how female artists' work is often characterized as "lovely," a word she describes as lacking in "independent power."

I must admit that I sometimes use the word "lovely" (both for women and men) when I like someone. But Krauss made me think about the word in the context of achievement - not personality - and her point is well-taken.

What does this have to do with medical school and residency admissions? When you interview, you want the faculty member to leave the table saying you were "accomplished," not "lovely." Many applicants miss this point: You don't want to simply be liked; you want to be seen as worthy. It's important that you focus on that important goal as you practice for interviews.