Show Notes:

This is now season 1 episode 5 - 36 weeks to go until Match Day 2017 - let’s get into it.
 
Types of residency interviews:
 
Traditional - 1 on 1, interviewer has access to all of you application and can pull questions from all information
 
Blinded - typically also 1 on 1, however interviewer is blinded from some objective information (usually school name and USMLE scores) to help eliminate bias against higher scores or school
 
Panel - group of interviewers (residents and faculty) interview single applicant at a time
 
Group - “mix and mingle” format where faculty, residents, and applicants all interact - good look into group dynamics, see who functions well in team environments, who is a good listener, etc.
 
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) - originally Canadian, great at observing “soft skills” and EQ, format similar to USMLE Step 2 CS - 5 to 10 rooms, applicant moves around, questions rage from traditional to very abstract. 
 
Telephone - falling out of favor, typically reserved for IMGs during the SOAP
 
Video - starting to emerge as an option to help keep costs down, recent studies show more programs offering it as an option, California Anesthesia program showed similar match rate for video applicants.
 
Question of the Day:
What specifics made applicants stand out for the right reasons, and what specifics made applicants stand out for the wrong reasons?
 
Dr. Olson’s: answer: Poorly coordinated and poorly communicated interview process was a strong negative. Applicants that were engaging, timely, and sincerely interested in program goals are strong positives. Knowing something about the program helps convey genuine interest.
 
Dr. Hurt’s answer: Emphasis on the disrespect for office staff / program coordinator.  The legend of Puff Daddy. Positive standouts I personally remember involve travel stories, and interests outside of medicine.
 
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.
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 also now available on Amazon - please take the time to leave a review if you enjoy the material.  Take care.

Show Notes:

Intro Music:
Ryan Little “Get Up”

Hey everybody this is Myers Hurt with another edition of “Countdown to Match Day,” the official podcast of the Match Gurus, and the only podcast aimed at helping applicants shine on interview day. Remember to send any questions you want answered on the show via twitter @theMatchGurus or snapchat thematchgurus and we will get your questions answered.
 
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
●NRMP - the numbers episode - who is applying, understand what you are up against
●Data for 2016
●Infographic
●Applicant pool is made up of allopathic US seniors, allopathic US grads from previous years, DOs, Canadian grads, Fifth Pathway, US born IMGs and foreign-born IMGs
●42,370 total applicants in 2016
●How to interpret the data
●US seniors - the odds are not only that you will match, but that you will match at one of your top three choices. Relax a bit, and really tease out which program will be right for you, and focus on standing out among people exactly like you. Even if you are an all-star at your school, you will be interviewing alongside other all-stars for a limited number of spots. Also realize that you are only about 50% of the application pool, and don’t get cocky. Even if you think you are overqualified and extremely competitive for certain spots, take the process seriously. Every year since 2012 at least 5% of US seniors go unmatched.
●Foreign grads - rejoice! We are still in a position that the number of US residency spots outnumber US allopathic senior graduates. While the odds are nowhere near as comforting as those for US grads, getting a US residency slot is far from impossible. When you do match, you are just as likely as a US grad to get one of your top 3 choices, as a total of 403 programs (over 1,000 spots) didn’t fill last year - apply correctly and you can stack the odds in your favor and avoid the SOAP.
 
The ACGME and their role:
●The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is the body responsible for accrediting the majority of graduate medical training programs for physicians in the United States. They conduct audits / site visits of each program ratings from every 1 to 10 years to evaluate each residency program.
●Duty hours, duty hour restrictions, elements of program funding, surgical and some speciality case logs, and how you will be evaluated during your residency
●Knowing this now - before you start residency - will give you a leg up during your interviews.  The faculty conducting your interviews are already well-versed in this ACGME core competency system, so you can construct your answers to fit the molds already in place. You will come across as very informed, and have a leg up.
●You may have heard the adage: to stand out during your fourth year work and act like an intern, to be a good intern work like a second year, etc.
●Stanford site - throughout your residency, you will get feedback on the 6 core competencies  of: patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, systems based practice, professionalism, interpersonal skills and communication.
●Why is this important - accreditation - does indeed impact your career both in residency and after graduation.  Stripped Hopkins Internal Medicine for violating 80 hour work weeks in 2003, Yale General Surgery in 2002
●Link to search programs
 
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.
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.

Show Notes:

Intro Music:
Ryan Little “Get Up”

Opening:
Hey everybody this is Myers Hurt with another edition of “Countdown to Match Day,” the official podcast of the Match Gurus, and the only podcast aimed at helping applicants shine on interview day. Remember to send any questions you want answered on the show via twitter @theMatchGurus or snapchat thematchgurus and we will get your questions answered.
            In true countdown style, this season we’ll release one podcast each week for the 40 weeks leading up to Match Day 2017.  This is season 1 episode 3 - 38 weeks to go until Match Day 2017. Let’s jump into today’s topics of discussion.
 
Topic 1: The 5 Simple rules of Residency Interviews
Rule #1: The program coordinator is your best friend
Rule #2: Know your goal
Rule #3: Do your homework
Rule #4: You are always being interviewed
Rule #5: Be yourself
 
Question of the Day:
Should I take out additional loans for the interview trail?
 
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.
Thank you to everyone for listening, remember to send you questions to us through our website at www.thematchgurus.com, twitter @theMatchGurus, or snapchat.  Take care.
 
Closing Music:
Ryan Little “Get Up”

​Show Notes:

Intro music:
Ryan Little “Get Up”
 
Hey everybody this is Myers Hurt with another edition of “Countdown to Match Day,” the official podcast of the Match Gurus, and the only podcast aimed at helping applicants shine on interview day. Remember to send any questions you want answered on the show via twitter @theMatchGurus or snapchat thematchgurus and we will get your questions answered.
In true countdown style, this season we’ll release one podcast each week for the 40 weeks leading up to Match Day 2017.  This is season 1 episode 2 - 39 weeks to go until Match Day 2017. Let’s jump into today’s topics of discussion.
 
Why focus on the interview?
Where and when the interview comes into play. Anecdotally, umbers get your foot in the door, interview gets you a job. To prove that, this is the Program Director Survey. This is 2014 data, but is the most recent they have available, and I’m hoping for a new document soon. If you read the introduction the response rate is just over 50% from program directors, but I would say it is still a good resource. The full doc is 148 pages, and divided into speciality-specific data sets, we can dissect those later in the season, but now I would invite you to look at Figure 1 on page 3 and Figure 2 on page 4.

Figure 1: Percentage of programs citing each factor in selecting applicants to interview.
THIS is why USMLE step 1 is so important. The USMLE is primarily a test for state medical licensing boards (NBME / FSMB), designed to see if students pass or fail, not necessarily a ranking system to see which students are best - residency programs adopted it as an objective comparison tool. DoctorsInTraining, Kaplan, Pass Program, MedQuest, USMLEWorld, Pathoma, SketchyMedical - the list goes on  - these are such successful entities for this reason.

FIgure 2: Percentage of programs citing each factor in ranking applicants.
I'm guilty of speaking in hyperbole - but this is any area I think deserves it. No exaggeration, these are the two figures that I think are life changing - they show how students with 99%ile scores don’t match, and how mediocre IMGs can get their first choice.  They answer almost every question on the ValueMD and SDN message boards.
Is Step 3 important? Look at the chart.
Should I do an away rotation? Look at the chart.
How important are letters of recommendation? Look at the chart.
If you look through the entire document at the speciality you are applying to, you will be able to tease out nuances that your speciality values, and what program directors in that speciality have explicitly stated they are interested in.
 
AAFP Strolling through the MATCH
The 2016 AAFP booklet. Admittedly, as a family practice doc I am mostly exposed to AAFP materials, but this is a document that serves all medical students, not just those interested in primary care.
My previous institution has a family medicine interest group that hosts an annual event that highlights this document.
​
General residency application timeline and checklist, listing the Table of Contents: 
Section 1 - Choosing a Specialty
Section 2 - IMG resources
Section 3 - Preparing your Credentials - CV, personal statement tips, LoR tips
Section 4 - Selecting a Program
Section 5 - The interview Process - etiquette, question types, etc
Section 6 - The Match: What is it and How it Works
Section 7 - The SOAP - Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program
Section 8 - Resources
As you can see, a fairly robust document that is beneficial to all applicants, and a good place to look for up to date answers.
 
Question of the Day:
Alistair asks: Is research I did in undergrad significant enough to “count” for my ERAS application?