In true countdown style, this season we’ll release one podcast each week for the 40 weeks leading up to Match Day. This is season 1 episode 4 - now 37 weeks to go until Match Day 2017. Let’s get started:
We got some feedback about poor audio quality in the first few episodes, so I upgraded the microphone and added a pop filter - hopefully it is a bit more crisp now for all of our listeners.
Residency timeline update: now is the time that all of our DO listeners can start submitting applications for AOA residencies - for all MD candidates - you won't start until September so hang tight. If you wanted to start working on anything, you can start exploring MyERAS by using your token to register, complete your profile, and researching programs.
NRMP Numbers
The ACGME and their role:
Question of the Day:
How important is undergraduate, medical school geography in my application?
Dr. Olson’s: answer: communicate how each location has influenced you, and how it will reflect in your training, also communicate clearly why this geographic region fits with your goals.
Dr. Hurt’s answer: You need to make it very clear that you would do well in any geographic region you want to train in. Residency is very difficult - having friends or family nearby communicates to programs that you have a sort of built-in support system, and can be seen as a strength. In your specific situation, if you are far from friends and family - mentioning that you were able to live far from home in the past and adjust well, and achieve success can be seen as a strength - it’s all how you present it.
I would also mention future goals when geography comes up - where you want to practice when you graduate, as even a subconscious bias exists trying to recruit top talent to the region, or even stay on as faculty where you trained. (Exactly what I did - family medicine in Texas while training in New York) Also consider what you would learn being in a certain region you couldn’t get elsewhere - training near a coal mine in West Virginia exposes you to lung pathology not seen other places in the country, Emergency medicine programs in Chicago are likely to have higher percentage of gunshot wounds than others, and coastal regions may have more fish hook trauma and jellyfish stings. Make sure to highlight exactly why the region is right for your situation now, and will benefit you moving forward.
Closing:
Unfortunately that’s all the time we have for today’s show. Please subscribe to catch each new episode as they are uploaded each week. If you find the content valuable please take a bit of time to leave a review on iTunes to help get the word out to other med students looking for answers. Also feel free to give us some feedback on what you think we could improve on.
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Thank you to everyone for listening, remember to send you questions to us through our website at www.thematchgurus.com, twitter @theMatchGurus, or snapchat. Our book is now available on Amazon - please leave a review there as well. Take care.