Category: Residency

A word of advice from one chief resident to another

Chiefs, remember, one of those interns is going to fill your shoes in a few years. They may model you in that role, so you want to raise them well! As a former chief resident, I have lots of pearls for those entering residency. However, what I will tel…

So, are you committed to medicine — or your baby?

I had just received a call that I had been accepted to medical school, and I had immediately pulled up a Google search: “best time to have children in medical training?” I was certain that this was not how most people celebrated news of the…

10 ways to help PGY-1 spouses and partners new to your medical program

As medical programs across the country welcome new residents and celebrate the beginning of the medical new year, they cannot ignore the influence of the family’s adjustment to the success of a physician’s new role in residency. Between leaving behind …

Reflections from a former intern

July 1 is a day that marks the new era when student truly becomes doctor, where hundreds of residency programs start day one of the three-year or longer residency, a life-changing rite of passage. Where the initial hours start the tens of thousands of …

Bracing for change: the escalating importance of USMLE Step 2

It’s a well-known fact that medical school has grown increasingly competitive over the past decade. While this is true that getting into medical school has become somewhat harder, what is more concerning is that for many students, admission to, and pay…

The future of residency interviews

Programs and applicants displayed incredible adaptations during the 2020-2021 virtual residency interview season despite the adversity they faced due to COVID-19. Moving forward, virtual features may be integrated with traditional methods for a more eq…

A transformative year for GME recruitment: How the process has changed forever

The 2020-2021 GME recruitment season was transformative. While it was full of new and old challenges for stakeholders, the impact of the first-ever entirely virtual recruitment season will be substantial and long-lasting. Before COVID-19, the long-stan…

Best practices in virtual residency interviewing

The 2021 residency match “capstoned” the inaugural virtual interview season. Interviews may likely continue to incorporate some virtual aspects given the realized efficiencies. But these efficiencies come at a cost: limiting the applicant&#…

Match Day: Leaving behind my polished applicant identity and becoming a physician trainee

On Friday morning, I will receive an email that tells me where I will go for residency. I have spent most of the last year preparing for this email. Over the summer, I completed my sub-internships where I hoped to impress members of my chosen field (ps…

You competed your rank order list. Celebrate the moment.

I certified my rank order list (ROL), but … What if I messed up? What if I don’t match? What if my list doesn’t get processed? What if I should have ranked programs in a different order? What if, what if, what if … These thoughts, and their assoc…