New Beginnings

“And suddenly, you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginning.”

Meister Echkart

Hey everyone! It’s been some time since I’ve uploaded a blog post. A lot has happened since my last entry. Match Day finally came! I will be starting my journey as a Med-Peds resident at the University of Rochester this summer and I am beyond thrilled. My co-interns are an amazing group of people and everyone in Rochester has been nothing but welcoming. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Of course, moving to a different state and starting a career during a pandemic is bound to be a wild ride, but I can’t wait for this new adventure.

Now that my class is finishing up our transition to residency course and about to graduate, my friends in the class of 2022 have been choosing specialties and looking toward their upcoming application season. There are so many factors to consider: away rotations, letters of recommendation, personal statements, which programs to apply to and how to put together an application that spotlights all of your incredible accomplishments. Seriously, you all are amazing human beings and residencies will be beyond lucky to have you on their team! Here are a few things I learned as someone who recently went through the application process. I’ll talk about away rotations, letters of recommendation and personal statement now, but the process of choosing which residency programs to apply to deserves a post of its own. That’ll have to wait for my next post.

1. Away Rotations

There are a lot of mixed feelings about these. On one hand, it’s often almost expected that applicants to historically “competitive” specialties do away rotations. Away rotations can also be helpful ways to get exposure to programs in specialties your medical school has no residency. Please listen to trusted advisors in your specialty about whether you would benefit from an away. It may not be necessary. If you choose to pursue an away rotation, it does not have to be an “acting internship”. An elective rotation that allows you to get to know faculty and residents without the pressure of a high-stakes inpatient rotation can be just as effective. Solid advice I was given was to consider away rotations at programs you’re strongly interested in. An example would be doing an away rotation at a program in your home state because you’re trying to move back there. However, there are potential drawbacks to away rotations. One, they’re costly. Two, as a visiting student you’re under more intense scrutiny and need to be on your game 24/7 because the entire rotation is essentially an interview. Poor impressions can be detrimental. Another surefire way to damage your reputation is to do more away rotations than allowed by the current COVID recommendations. Programs will see that you didn’t follow the rules and taking spots from other students who need them doesn’t make you look like a team player. If the guidelines say do one away rotation only, only do one away rotation.

2. Letters of Recommendation

Ask your advisors and those of us in the class ahead of you who is known for writing strong letters! They make a huge difference. I received compliments about my letters at nearly every residency interview, so know that they get noticed. In the end, it’s important to choose faculty who know you well and can wax poetically about how incredible you are as a person and future physician. Don’t be afraid to ask whether they would be willing to write you a strong letter. If they say no or are hesitant, don’t take it personally. A lukewarm or critical letter can be detrimental, so they’re doing you a favor by letting you know they might not be the best person for the job. When you ask someone to write you a letter, it’s helpful to give them as much information about you as you can. Don’t assume your mentors know everything about you; this is your chance to ensure what you want programs to know about you is emphasized. I asked my mentors whether they could write me a strong letter, then sent them emails with the ERAS letter request form, my personal statement, CV and noteworthy characteristics once they confirmed they were willing. All three pieces drove home the themes of what’s important to me, why I chose Med-Peds and what makes me unique as an applicant. I also offered to meet with them to answer any questions. Don’t forget to thank your letter writers afterward and keep them updated. They don’t get paid extra for the work they put in and are investing in you as a future colleague.

3. Personal statement:

Personal statements are notoriously the bane of med students’ existence. It’s hard to write about yourself and many of us haven’t done much writing (okay aside from patient notes which are decidedly different) since college. As one of my mentors has put it, letters most frequently neither help nor hurt you. Most use a standard structure of telling an attention-grabbing story, talking about your journey to medicine/your specialty, talking about why you want to do your specialty and finally why you will be great at it. If you use good grammar, have few typos and portray a message that paints you in a positive light, you’re off to a good start. I would argue that my personal statement was one of my favorite parts of my application. This is your chance to let your personality shine and show programs why you will be an incredible physician in your specialty of choice. Use it accordingly! This is a good point to also mention that anything you talk about in your personal statement or elsewhere in your application is fair game to be brought up during interviews. For example, I talked about my experiences as a patient in my essay and also during my interviews. I was comfortable discussing that part of myself and it was too important to why I’m so passionate about the career I’m trying to build to leave out. If there are facets of you that you’re uncomfortable sharing, while possibly being great motivators, best to leave them out. No one is entitled to your story. You have the power to choose how much or how little you share.

            I know this has been a longer post than typical, but hopefully the advice has been helpful. I’m so excited for the Class of 2022 and can’t wait to see where you all end up. Meanwhile, I will be savoring every last minute in Norfolk with my friends before I spend some well-earned time with family prior to starting residency.