Getting into residency isn’t easy and medical students are often left to figure out the roadmap to residency on their own. In the past I’ve given out general advice for free but with increasing numbers of people who message me I’ve been spread thin and haven’t been able to provide the highest quality personalized advice that each medical students needs. That’s why I’ve started an hourly advising service. Anyone can read my blog posts but sometimes you need a personalized touch and that’s what I want to give to you. For a small fee I will make your application to residency in the United States a priority. By signing up for my personalized advising services you get to talk with me and get personalized advice on how to build your roadmap to residency and improve your chances of matching in the specialty of your dreams.
I know firsthand how expensive medical school is and I don’t want to bleed medical students dry. That’s why I balance affordable and customizable fees and services. Here’s what I offer:
Application analysis
Fee: $100
One hour session via cell phone
You went to medical school to become a doctor. Getting a residency position is how you get there. Unfortunately not everyone matches into a residency position. In 2018 only 52% of US international medical graduates matched into residency. With my guidance you will have a clearer understanding of what a strong application looks like and will be able to traverse medical school and the residency application process with confidence.
Personal Statement Review
Fee: $225
30 minute advising session
2 revisions of your personal statement
Personal statements are one of the most difficult parts of the application process. Most people don’t enjoy writing and have difficulty putting their emotions onto paper. Furthermore, a good personal statement should keep your application on par but a bad one can sink you. Working with me will give you clarity on how to write a stellar personal statement and help you get a residency position.
Interview Prep
Fee: $325
Two hour interview advising session
One online practice mock interview with feedback
For medical students actively applying for residency, the interview is the last step in securing your future career. Acing the interview will leave a strong lasting impression on each residency program you interview with and help you secure a residency position. In contrast, a bad interview can secure you a post-interview rejection. Work with me to understand how to properly answer the most common interview questions and help you ace the interview to get the residency of your dreams.
I recently came back from a trip to Barbados where I gave the incoming first semester class of Ross University some advice on how to succeed in med school. Here’s a summary of my top med school blog posts broken up into various categories:
The most frequently asked question that I receive from students from around the world is ‘should I apply to a Caribbean medical school?’. There are plenty of blog posts on the internet that provide advise without objective evidence. So before I give you my unfiltered opinion I want to first present the cold hard facts surrounding the topic as well as some information that is not common knowledge to many pre-med students, most individuals outside of medicine, and future Caribbean graduates. My hope is to arm you with data so that you can make an informed decision about applying to Caribbean medical schools and how best to prepare yourself for success when attending a Caribbean medical school. Before jumping into the benefits and drawbacks of these programs let’s first take a step back and look at the journey of becoming a doctor in the United States.
Part I: Becoming a doctor in the United States
‘What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of their class in medical school? Unemployed.‘
In order to apply to medical school in the United States you are required, at a minimum, to have completed your pre-med requisite courses which include one year of biology, one year of physics, one year of english, and two years of chemistry (usually general and organic chemistry). Many medical schools are also now requiring molecular genetics and biochemistry. For school specific requirements you can check out the Medical School Admission Requirement website. On top of your pre-med course requirements most American medical schools require a stellar MCAT score, extracurricular activities inside and outside of the medical field, and shadowing experiences of some sort. For the sake of brevity this blog post will not cover the lengthy topic of how to get into medical school.
There are two types of medical schools in the United States- allopathic and osteopathic. Students who graduate from allopathic medical schools earn an ‘M.D.’ which stands for ‘medical doctor‘ and students who graduate from osteopathic medical schools are a ‘D.O.‘ which stands for ‘doctor of osteopathic medicine’. There are differences between the two in certain aspects of their training and the standardized tests they have to take but in clinical practice they are quite synonymous and are otherwise both ‘doctors’ in every modern sense of the word.
In general, medical school in the United States is four years. This includes both MD and DO programs. However to make matters slightly more complicated there are also many medical schools that offer dual MD/PhD programs (generally speaking these are 7 year programs) as well some schools that offer or even require an additional year of research. Other medical schools also offer dual degrees. Some schools offer an MBA or MPH alongside their medical degree. So generally speaking medical school is a four year process but clearly there are exceptions to the rule if you choose to pursue a different path.
After graduating from medical school you are now a doctor, in name at least. In the United States you cannot practice medicine independently without completing residency training. This is worth repeating. In the United States you cannot practice medicine independently without completing residency training. This is the crux of issue regarding Caribbean medical schools. Acceptance into medical school ≠ a job. Acceptance into medical school guarantees you two fancy letters at the end of your name but without landing a residency position you will never practice medicine as a physician. In the remainder of this post I will explain that, based on prior residency match data and from personal experience, by attending a Caribbean medical school you put yourself at a distinct and intrinsic disadvantage in your ability to obtain a residency position in the United States compared with graduates from stateside MD and DO medical schools.
Part II: The Match
‘Like speed-dating but worse’
If we are going to understand why Caribbean medical graduates are at a disadvantage historically compared to American medical graduates we have to first understand the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), or ‘the match’.
Near the end of the third year of medical school students begin applying for residency. The program known as ERAS, or the electronic residency application system, is the online application students use to apply. It is a common application that almost every residency program uses and makes applying for residency simpler. After uploading your application and appropriate paperwork all you have to do, generally speaking, is click which school you want to apply to.
After the application deadline passes residency programs begin downloading applications. Many programs have hard cut offs. For instance, some programs require you to have a step score above a certain value and if your score is not up to par then your application simply won’t be looked at. Next the residency program picks who to send interview invitations to. Interview season generally lasts 3-4 months from October to January but varies from specialty to specialty. After interview season concludes both students and programs must submit ‘rank lists’. Rank lists are exactly what they sound like. Applicants rank which programs, from the ones they interviewed with, that they want to go to with their most highly sought after program at number 1 and then rank each subsequent program down the line. Programs do the same with applicants. Eventually a computer system attempts to ‘match’ students and programs together to make the best possible fit based on each respective applicant and programs choices. The following video is the best one that I could find that explains this quite complex process as succinctly as possible.
On the Monday of ‘match week’ applicants find out if they have matched or not. They find out where they matched on Friday. The reason for this is that if a student does not match they can participate in the SOAP, or supplemental offer and acceptance program. This is a second chance to try and match into a residency position that went unfilled. More information on the SOAP can be seen at The NRMP website.
This is why medical students ‘match’ into residency spots. It isn’t as simple as a job application. And Caribbean medical students match into residency at a far lower rate compared to their stateside colleagues.
Chapter 3: Raw Data
‘Without data you’re just another person with an opinion’
So now that we kind of understand what it means to ‘match’ into residency let’s finally take a look at the raw data from the 2018 main residency match. The NRMP data is widely available and I encourage you to take a look yourself here. The data describes Caribbean graduates with the term ‘international medical graduates’ or an ‘IMG’. These are further split into two categories: US citizen IMG and non-US citizen IMG. So if you are a US citizen and went to a Caribbean medical school then you are considered a US IMG.
In 2018 there were 37,103 active applicants and 30,232 first year and 2,935 second year residency positions. The following are the match rates for each type of applicant:
US allopathic graduates (MD’s): 94.3%
US osteopathic graduates (DO’s): 81.7%
US IMG: 57.1%
Non-US IMG: 56.1%
If you only remember one thing from this post then this should be it. Only 57.1% of US IMG’s, or people like me who are US citizen Caribbean medical graduates, match into residency positions versus 94.3% of US allopathic grads and 81.7% of US osteopathic grads. This is terrifying! Imaging going through four years of medical school, accumulate a crushing amount of debt, only to end up without a job or the ability to practice as a physician (check out prior interview posts with individuals who went through that exact experience).
An interesting graph from the NRMP data shows that not every specialty ranks equally.
This graphic shows that the specialty in which the highest percentage of US IMG’s were able to match into was pediatrics at 69.8% of applicants matching while psychiatry on the other hand was the most difficult specialty for US IMG’s to match into at 30%.
So why do Caribbean graduates have a greater difficulty matching? Let’s take a look at NRMP data from a survey of program directors. This survey is also widely available and I encourage you to analyze it yourself here. The survey was sent to 209 program directors (PD’s) and 78 responded, or 37.3%.
The data shows each individual factor that program directors find important when they choose applicants to interview and rank for residency. As you can see below the USMLE step 1 score, based on this data, is by far the most important factor for choosing applicants to interview.
So a strong STEP 1 or COMLEX 1 score gets your foot in the door but it does not necessarily get you the job. Now let’s use the data from pediatric program directors (PD’s) for the next few graphs. This next graph shows the most important factors that pediatric PD’s felt were the most important factors when ranking applicants.
This graph clearly shows that the more important component of how medical students are ranked on a program’s rank order list is how an applicant interacts with residents and faculty on interview day. Again, a strong USMLE step 1 score seems to be of critical importance in helping get an applicant’s foot in the door but how they interacted on interview day earns medical students the opportunity to walk through it. Of note, each specialty seems to vary slightly in what they rank as most to least important but grossly these trends seem consistent across the board.
The issue however is that getting a stellar USMLE step 1 score isn’t the only obstacle when it comes to matching into residency for Caribbean medical students. At the end of the day all medical students learn the same science but not all medical students have access to the same residency programs.
The same survey of pediatric PD’s (and the same specialty that in 2018 had the highest successful match rate from US IMG’s) shows that some program’s won’t even consider an applicant if they graduated from a Caribbean medical school. The graph below shows that out of the PD’s who responded to the survey only 67% of them typically even interview US IMG’s.
Broken down even more we see that an even smaller percentage of programs will ‘often’ interview and rank candidates from Caribbean medical schools. This is another huge point that you should take away from this blog post.
Again, the match rate for US IMG’s in 2018 was 57.1% versus 94.3% and 81.7% match rate for allopathic and osteopathic grads respectively. I believe that part of that intrinsic disadvantage is that some residency programs simply won’t touch Caribbean medical school graduates. You simply can’t get a job if they won’t interview you for it.
Another unfortunate aspect of being a Caribbean graduate is that it seems to impact the fellowship match too, although to a lesser degree compared to the residency match. If we take a look at the results of the 2019 fellowship match data we can see a clear trend that does not favor Caribbean graduates. The following are the match rates for fellowships in 2019:
US allopathic graduates (MD’s): 89.4%
US osteopathic graduates (DO’s): 78.9%
US IMG: 68.5%
Non-US IMG: 71.4%
For the sake of brevity I won’t delve too much into this data because the fellowship match is a little bit more complicated and not so clear cut. I’m not certain as to why Caribbean medical graduates have a tougher time matching into fellowships but I am certain that some fellowship programs won’t touch a Caribbean graduate just like how some residency programs don’t.
Chapter 4: Informed Consent
‘Without consent surgery would be considered assault’
In medicine before we perform any test or procedure we are required to get informed consent from our patient. Informed consent is the concept of understanding all of the possible consequences with full knowledge of the possible risks and benefits of said procedure. I think the same should be true about applying to Caribbean medical schools and after getting through all of that data I think we’re closer to fully understanding the implications of attending a Caribbean medical school.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to scare you away from applying. I graduated from a Caribbean medical school, matched into an internal medicine residency program, and successfully matched into a cardiovascular disease fellowship. There are plenty of success stories that originate in the Caribbean and I’ve interviewed nearly a dozen of my colleagues who matched into competitive specialties like emergency medicine and surgery. But Caribbean medical schools aren’t for everyone and you should understand that before you sign up or apply.
Chapter 5: The Caribbean Stigma
‘Some stereotypes originate in truth but are exaggerated by myth’
There is a common misconception in the pre-med community about the ‘Caribbean stigma’. This myth that there would be a doctor or nurse in the hospital you are rotating in that would choose not to work with you because of where you went to medical school. Or that Caribbean medical students are not as qualified as their stateside counterparts. Unfortunately the stigma is steeped in truth.
Caribbean medical students go to the Caribbean because they could not get into a US MD or DO program. That’s why I went to Ross University. I applied to 36 medical schools and Ross University was the only one that accepted me. Caribbean medical schools typically have lower standards and thus not every medical student makes it to graduation. I could not find the statistics on the attrition rate from stateside or Caribbean medical schools but I can speak from experience.
Out of the 440 students who started with me in my first semester of medical school only 76% advanced to their second semester. Although this is only one anecdotal piece of evidence and shouldn’t be used to grossly generalize against all Caribbean schools it does in fact happen. Furthermore, the fact that some Caribbean medical schools are for profit organizations is worrying to me and further underlines the fact that they accept too many students who otherwise wouldn’t be accepted into stateside medical schools. Not to mention that medical school in the Caribbean is just as expensive as medical school in the US. So if you are unable to secure a residency position you will be left with massive loans and a hard road ahead to paying them off.
So although the ‘Caribbean stigma’ exists when applying to and while attending medical school once you make to the hospital nobody cares where you went to med school. In the hospital I’ve met incredibly passionate, intelligent, and competent medical students, residents, fellows, and attending physicians from both Caribbean and allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. I’ve also met terribly incompetent individuals from Caribbean, allopathic, osteopathic medical schools too. Just because you attended a certain medical school doesn’t make you a better or worse doctor. Sure, it certainly impacts your ability to match into residency but there isn’t a single nurse, physician assistant, or doctor out there who will treat you any better or worse just because of what med school you went to.
Chapter 6: The Life of a Caribbean Medical Student
‘It doesn’t really matter where go to medical school because it’s always 72 and fluorescent in the library’
The ‘big four’ Caribbean medical schools are:
St. George’s University (SGU)
Ross University
American University of the Caribbean
Saba University
I won’t delve into the specifics of each individual Caribbean medical school and this list is not exhaustive but each of these schools share many similarities with the majority of Caribbean medical schools. In general when you go to a Caribbean med school only the first two years are spent ‘on the island’, or in the actual Caribbean. These first two years are spent in the traditional classroom where we are taught the same basic sciences that allopathic and osteopathic med students learn in preparation for USMLE step 1. It’s really not that bad. I enjoyed my time on the island. I remember being stressed out before my first major exam so I took a stroll on the beach to relax. After leaving the island most medical students rotate in hospitals across the US that each respective medical school has affiliations with. I rotated in hospitals in New York and Florida.
Chapter 7: The End Game
Measure twice, cut once
Your first choice should be to get into a US allopathic or osteopathic program. People who are not accepted at first often work on improving their weak spots in their resumé or work while they study to retake the MCAT. Often students will work a few years, do research, get various master’s degrees, or do a post-baccalaureate degree. Others, like me, don’t want to wait and choose to attend a Caribbean medical school instead.
This is a viable option for certain students but it might not be the right fit for everyone. Some residency specialties, like neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, urology, and dermatology, are some of the most competitive medical specialties that exist. Even US graduates often have difficultly earning these residency positions (my osteopathic colleague took three attempts to match into derm and he was a PhD too!). By attending a Caribbean medical school you are again giving yourself another uphill battle to fight. So if your heart is truly set on one of these specialties understand that although it is not impossible to match as a US IMG it will make it increasingly more difficult to do so. That being said, if you know you want to go into primary care fields like internal medicine, family medicine, or pediatrics then a Caribbean medical school might be the right fit for you. Again many residency, and fellowship, programs simply won’t look at you because you are a US IMG. So you might not be able to go to an ivy league internal medicine residency or fellowship program but you certainly can still become a doctor.
The ironic part of all of this is that in order to be a good doctor at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter where you went to medical school or what you got on your USMLE step 1 (as this blog post points out). In residency nobody care what your test scores were and when you are an attending your patients won’t care that you went to an ivy league school if you aren’t compassionate, kind, caring, or intelligent. And yet if you don’t do well on your exams, especially coming from the Caribbean, you hurt your chances of ever being able to treat future patients. Whether you like it or not this is the current status quo. So if you go to the Caribbean be ready to work hard, crush your step exams, and get great letters of recommendation.
I hope this post helped uncover some of the hidden curriculum of medical school and residency and didn’t scare you away from applying to Caribbean medical schools. Ross University was the only medical school I was accepted to and they gave me the opportunity to pursue my dream of becoming a physician. It’s up to you to make the best decision for your future career and then make the most of that opportunity. Hopefully now you can do so with confidence and informed consent.
You can also check out my YouTube video on the topic below:
Drop me any follow up questions that you may have below and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss my next post!
I’ve been getting a lot of messages on Instagram about how to study for USMLE step 1 so figured I would put all of my answers into one concise blog post. First off, take my advice with a grain of salt. Actually, you take anyone’s advice on how to succeed in medical school with a grain of salt. What worked for me might not work for you. That being said, I hit my goal of getting a +240 score on USMLE step 1 and this is how I did it.
Step studying starts day 1 of medical school
I struggled a lot my first semester of medical school because I had to learn how to learn. Everything you see from day one of medical school can show up on your USMLE’s. So my biggest advice on how to study for step 1 or step 2 CK is to learn everything right the first time around. Remember that at the end of the day you aren’t studying to pass your classes. You’re studying for your step exams.
Start using question banks early
I’ve previously written about how to study in medical school,my favorite resources in medical school and my favorite resources for USMLE Step 2 CK. A recurring theme is question banks. Again I will reiterate 2 things: (1) that question banks are meant to challenge you to apply your knowledge and find gaps in your knowledge to then go back and study and (2) UWorld is the gold standard. Save UWorld for when you are truly in your two months of intense step 1 studying. But when you are in medical school I encourage you to use other question banks like Kaplan. I used Kaplan as a second year medical student while I tutored gross anatomy to supplement my knowledge base and show me the scope and depth that I truly needed to know for the test. Incorporate question banks as early as possible.
Use your resources consistently
Just like question banks the rest of your study resources are important tools for success. The more you use them the more valuable they become. For instance, if you plan on using Picmonic you should start using it early in medical school. It loses its value if you only start using it in the months leading up to USMLE step 1. Similarly, don’t stop using whatever resources you found valuable during medical school. If you used Pathoma then keep using it. If you used FirstAid then keep using it! And if you found that you didn’t like certain resources then don’t use them!
My background
If you don’t already know, I went to Ross University School of Medicine. Back when I started at this Caribbean medical school it was strictly an accelerated program. We did the first two years of medical school in 18 months (they now have a ‘slow’ track too). This gave me 2 full months of strict step 1 studying before I started third year clinical rotations. On top of those two months, we finished our last semester of 2nd year a month early to allow us to study for a comprehensive exam that we had to pass in order to leave the island. So I was refreshing my knowledge for one month before I started my non-stop, pedal to the metal step 1 studying.
My resources
I used everything that helped me succeed in medical school. That included the following:
I had 2 months of strict step 1 studying time. I used Doctors in Training (DIT) which acted as the backbone of my study curriculum. DIT created an awesome two month calendar for me. Inside that timeline I put one true weekend off for a snowboarding trip. Other than that I isolated myself and didn’t really go out much.
My daily schedule consisted of the following:
730am – 745am: review Picmonic
745am – 8am: review notes from yesterday
8am- 9am: 1 full UWorld question set
9am- 12pm: reviewing UWorld
12pm-1pm: lunch break
1pm – 5pm: 4 hours of DIT videos
5pm – 8pm: exercise, dinner, relax
8pm – 10pm: relax and passively review topics
I hope this helps! If you have any more specific questions drop them below. As always don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss my next post!
One of the most frustrating aspects of medical school and residency is the hidden curriculum. The stuff you kind of just figure out along the way and wish you knew from the beginning. One part of the hidden curriculum of medical school and residency is research. Here are my tips on how to successfully get published.
First off, why bother doing research?
If you are a medical student it will make you stand out when applying to residency and if you are a resident applying for certain fellowships it might as well be mandatory. So the first reason is for your resumé. The second reason is that research forces you to learn a topic more extensively than you normally would otherwise. That’s my favorite reason to get involved in research. You end up learning so much more compared to just reading topics and doing practice questions. Additionally, you also learn to
Find a topic or field that interests you
The only thing worse than doing research is doing research on a topic or in a field that bores you. That’s why all of my research is in cardiology. So find a research project in a medical specialty or disease process that you find interesting.
Find a mentor
Okay, so I’ve sold you on the idea of doing research. Next, you found a field that interests you. But how do you just start a research project? The best way to approach finding a research project is approaching someone who is already doing research in that field or specialty. As a medical student, I asked the cardiologist I was working with if he knew of any interesting research going on in the cardiology department. He put me in touch with the right people who pointed me in the right direction. Ultimately, I got two publications out of the experience and learned a lot about cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.
Fast forward to residency and some of the best advise I’ve received has been from my senior residents and fellows. These are people who have already done what you want to accomplish. They are probably the most valuable resources you’ve got so use them! Better yet, get involved in their research projects to get your feet wet.
Additionally, don’t forget your co-residents or medical students. Some of my close friends and colleagues are doing amazing research and their tenacity to publish their work inspires me to get on my grind. They are another valuable resource. Some of my colleagues who already have a few research projects under their belt know the system and how to maneuver it. So don’t be shy or too proud and ask your successful colleagues how they did it.
Be curious
If you don’t understand something then ask! Be curious about medicine and uncover the reasoning behind clinical decision making. As much as we know about the human body there is still so much that we don’t understand and your questions on rounds one day might be the beginning of your research project.
What did I miss? What tips do you have to help medical students and residents get published? Comment below and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss my next blog post!
It’s been awhile since I used Picmonic. It was my go to medical school resource when I was a first and second-year med student and was even more valuable while I was studying for USMLE step 1 and step 2 CK. The more I used it, the more valuable it became. It is still to this day one of my three favorite medical school resources, which is why I was so excited to team up with Picmonic to help spread the word!
Picmonic is an online app that helps make studying easier, more efficient, and a little bit more fun. Let’s face it; medical school challenges you with a relentless barrage of information that requires absolute dedication to memorizing. And the worst part about studying in medical school is a simple fact that some stuff doesn’t make sense. You just have to memorize it. I’m talking about subjects like biochemistry, nutritional deficiencies, pharmacology, and microbiology. That’s why Picmonic is so amazing. It uses vivid pictures, stories, and wordplay to get all of that expensive medical school facts that you just have to know into your brain!
Let me just show you what I’m talking about
Each subject has a unique Picmonic ‘card’ that uses visual storytelling and pictures as mnemonics to help you remember more. They’re even better than flashcards! This is the Picmonic card for erythema nodosum, and I still remember it and use it to this day during residency. Inevitably during morning report, noon conference, patient presentations, or when I’m teaching my medical students this subject pops up. And my co-residents are just as shocked as my friends in medical school were when I rattle off the disease associated with erythema nodosum, represented by the Nodosaur with red bumps on its legs.
What I also love about Picmonic is that its cast of characters stays consistent throughout the Picmonic universe. For instance, take a look at the erythema nodosum card again down below. You’ll see a ‘cock (rooster) at sea’ representing coccidiomycosis circled in red.
Now check out the card for coccidioidomycosis. It’s the same rooster at sea, again circled in red.
Now take a second look at the coccidiomycosis card, but this time check out the granny-llama representing granulomatous inflammation, circled in yellow below. Now check out the same granny-llama circled in yellow on the Picmonic card for granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegeners).
And again, we see the same granny-llama representing granulomatous inflammation on the card for granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegeners).
Buy Picmonic Now!
Ultimately, I wholeheartedly believe that Picmonic helped me pass and succeed in medical school and helped me ace USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2 CK (and even bails me out every once in awhile during residency). The more esoteric and difficult to memorize a subject is the more Picmonic flexes its muscles.
So if you’re tired of reading about Picmonic and ready to try it out, here is what you should do:
Initially inspired by a blog post from LifeOfAMedStudent.com about how to write your residency personal statement I wanted to share a few tips and tricks on how to write a great personal statement. By no means is the following all inclusive as the complete scope of writing your personal statement is beyond just one blog post. But hopefully any of my followers from medical schools in the Caribbean, United States, or around the world wondering how to write a residency personal statement will have a little bit more guidance. Oh, and also a copy of mine. So here are a few pearls of wisdom about how to write your residency personal statement.
I’ve pushed this book before and I’ll do it again now because I truly feel that it was the best book to read when applying for residency with regard to understanding the process. It explicitly spells out objective data about the match based on surveys filled out by program directors. No hearsay. Just facts. It’s a big book but you don’t have to read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Snag a copy and peruse through it when you need it because it helps you during each step of the residency application process, including the personal statement.
Just stay par
Don’t let your personal statement harm your application. In my opinion, personal statements aren’t going to get you an interview that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. However, a really bad personal statement might kill your application like a shot of potassium to the heart. You want your personal statement to keep you par. So don’t use overly eloquent wording or try and reinvent the wheel. Be conservative and try to just hit onto the green. Don’t go for a whole-in-one.
You are applying for residency- not medical school or a fellowship
When you applied to medical school you were expected to draw on past experiences that made you want to be a doctor. This is not that time. We already know you want to be a doctor. They want to hear why you want to become a specific type of doctor. Write about why you want to go into your specific field. Additionally, don’t get ahead of yourself by writing about fellowship opportunities. Sure, you might only be going into internal medicine so you can become an interventional cardiologist. But you need to sell yourself on why you want this specific specialty right now. Just remember what job you are applying for.
Know your audience
Are you applying for orthopedics or pediatrics? Because I’m willing to bet that those personal statements are going to be quite different. Not because of the style of the essay but because of what attributes those essays will convey. Surgical residencies generally value ‘compulsive, high energy, confident, hardworking, committed’ applicants while pediatrics value ‘team players, well-organized, well-rounded, flexible, positive attitudes, and flexible’ applicants1. Organize your personal statement to convey attributes attractive to your respective specialty.
How to design your personal statement
Further detail of how to construct your personal statement is outside the scope of this blog post but let me give you the basic foundation. First you need a backbone. It’s that story you think of when people ask you why you went into medicine and it should be something that happened during your clinical rotations. You know, something you probably made a Facebook status or Instagram post about. Next, you need to think a about which attributes you want to put on display (i.e. what attributes do you have that your future specialty finds attractive). Then tie those attributes back into the backbone of your story to build the rest of your skeleton. Then close it off with a strong summary and don’t be shy to tell them what you want! Here’s an example of a rough outline:
Paragraph 1: I have 3 attributes that make me an ideal candidate for this specialty. For instance, this one time…
Paragraph 2: I demonstrated attribute number 1 when I did this
Paragraph 3: Then I used attribute number 2 when I did that
Paragraph 4: And then I displayed attribute number 3
Paragraph 5: I want this specialty and attributes 1, 2, & 3 make me an ideal candidate for it.
Optional: in your closing paragraph tailor your personal statement to a specific program. I personally didn’t do this…but I also applied to way too many programs. My advise is to do this for one or two programs if you know with 100% certainty where you want to match. It can be exhausting and not worth the effort to do it for every single program.
Size matters
Make your personal statement one page. It will be visually appealing to the eye and will be short enough to keep the reader’s attention. Don’t forget that the program directors are reading hundreds of personal statements. You don’t want to bore them to death.
Make them want to meet you
Personal statements are the epitome of the humble-brag. You’re being asked to humbly tell a compelling story that paints you in a positive light. That doesn’t mean your personal statement has to be a bore. You want to make the reader want to meet you. You strike that balance with two main elements- (1) having a unique story and (2) the manner in which you tell it.
For instance, a goal I set in my personal statement was to paint a picture of a patient without sharing the underlying diagnosis. And just like clockwork every program director who brought up my personal statement during my interview asked me the same question, “what was the diagnosis?”. So write vividly about an impactful experience and make them want to meet you (even if they just want to know if they got the diagnosis correct).
Lastly, check out a copy of my personal statement from when I applied to internal medicine in 2015:
While screaming incoherently and sprinting off of her boarding flight my patient suddenly collapsed. She was immediately brought to the hospital where I was given the responsibility of her care. I remember her well because her case inspired me to pursue internal medicine as a career. I was intrigued by her unique presentation, motivated to understand the pathophysiology of her illness, and humbled by her family’s fears. My leadership experience and enthusiastic persona helped me overcome challenging scenarios while I provided quality care to my patient. Overall this experience cemented my decision to apply for an internal medicine residency, especially after my first day on her case.
My patient had been suffering from strange psychiatric manifestations, labile blood pressures, and recent-onset echolalia and athetosis. Walking into her room I immediately noticed her multiple family members at her bedside. My previous leadership experience had prepared me for this scenario. I had to communicate complex concepts that I intrinsically understood to individuals who saw it as alien. Although healing my patient’s illness was my paramount priority, I also had to effectively communicate my plan with her and her family in order to make sure that they felt that I heard their concerns and that they were safe in my care. I discussed my assessment and plan with my patient and her family while they peppered me with questions about her case. Their initially palpable anxiety began to abate as I answered each of their questions. It was heartwarming to have a positive impact on this family and showed me the value of possessing effective communication skills in building the patient-doctor relationship.
I left the room and a calm, focused tenacity propelled me to find an underlying cause. It was exciting to explore such a seemingly unrelated constellation of symptoms and it is one of the reasons why I enjoy the prospect of internal medicine. General internists have the opportunity to diagnose and treat patients with illnesses affecting them from head to toe. For my patient, every organ system was a potential culprit and I excitedly dissected each clue to find a potential suspect. Eventually though I found myself scratching the back of my head, staring blankly at the puzzling results of my patient’s lab work and sought help from more experienced minds.
Working with my resident and attending physician we were able to find the epicenter of my patient’s autoimmune battle. I took it upon myself to research the biochemical mechanism of her disease process and was happy to see that even my experienced attending physician was interested in learning about the disease pathophysiology. It showed me that every day in medicine is a school day because there is always something new to be learned no matter how much experience you have. After two months of medical management my patient was stable enough to fly and continue treatment at home. It was awesome to see the impact that treating patients medically can have on their quality of life and I look forward to learning the intricacies of the medical management of chronic illnesses during residency.
Ultimately, this case stroked my interest in internal medicine and illustrates why I will be a unique candidate for an internal medicine residency. My amazement at the body’s innate ability to harm and heal itself fuels my passion for understanding the underlying mechanism of disease and conversely of wellness. I am able to communicate in a clear and concise fashion with laypersons and medical professionals alike. Being a safe physician is a top priority of mine as well. Although I am confident in myself, part of being a safe physician is knowing your limits and asking for help when you need it, both of which are qualities that I possess. In the end, I’ve become cognizant of the fact that that the best way to practice medicine is to care for your patient, both physically and mentally. My unique perspective and skill set leave me with a strong foundation for future growth as a medical professional and I am excited to continue my medical education through an internal medicine residency.
1- Katta, Rajani, Samir P Desai, and Samir P Desai. The Successful Match. 1st ed. Houston, Tex.: MD2B, 2009. Print.
What to do before starting medical school is one of the most commonly asked questions I hear from students about to begin their first semester of medical school. It’s the same question that I wrangled with after graduating medical school before starting my internal medicine residency. Here are my top three things to do with your last remaining days of freedom before starting medical school or residency.
Travel
Before starting residency I explored Thailand for two weeks and my only regret is that I didn’t stay longer. Traveling is a source of sustenance for the soul that can never truly be satiated. Traveling pushes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to grow as a person. You learn a lot about yourself when you remove your familiarities and submerge yourself in another culture and society. Who knows what a few weeks in another country will do for you. Go get lost so you can find yourself.
Nothing
As a resident we average one day off per week each month. That means we get, at minimum, four days off per month and sometimes that’s exactly what you get. So during residency, when you finally have free time on your hands you are often forced to be productive despite your zeal to just stay in bed and sleep all day. You have groceries to buy, laundry to fold, and an apartment to clean. Not to mention that research project you’re working on because you want to go into a competitive specialty. The work never stops. And after medical school you think your days of studying are over but step 3 and your specialty specific board exams always loom in the background. So if you want to sit and do nothing before you start medical school or residency then go sit and do nothing. You earned it and you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone.
Work
Med school is expensive and residency doesn’t pay too well so it certainly won’t hurt if you can muster up some extra cash while you can. I worked as the most overqualified AP bio tutor prior to starting residency. A friend of mine worked at our medical school as a standardized patient. A colleague of mine worked as a scribe in the emergency department. There are opportunities out there if you seek them out. Ultimately everyone’s financial and social situations are unique and you may not have the luxury to choose to work or not, let alone go on a vacation. For instance, the extra money I earned prior to residency helped me pay for my vacation while my friend who was a standardized patient used his money that he earned to pay for step 3 while my colleague used his extra money to pay for his kid’s braces. So work if you can but don’t overdo it. You don’t want to squander these last few weeks of sanity and freedom if you can afford to.
Take USMLE Step 3
Okay this is residency specific and should only be performed if you have so much extra time on your hands that you can do the aforementioned (1) Travel, (2) Nothing, and (3) Work and then still have more free time before starting residency. I would not advise anyone to take step 3 in lieu of traveling or doing absolutely nothing. Step 3 isn’t a particularly difficult test in my opinion. However, it is difficult to find the time and energy to study for it during residency. So do yourself a favor and if you have the time and money to take step 3 then register for the test, finish UWorld, and take it already (more detailed post on how to prepare for step 3 and when to take it is in the works).
What did you do the summer before medical school or residency?
These are my favorite resources to help you learn EKG’s proficiently and efficiently without breaking the bank.
A cardio rotation!
Okay I know this isn’t a resource. But my favorite month of med school was during my cardio rotation. A month of ‘hey this EKG looks weird. Mind reviewing it with me?’ and then BOOM a cardiologist was personally going over EKG’s with me. Your attendings, fellows, residents, and yes…even some interns, are great resources of knowledge so be curious and ask them questions!
Read EKG’s!
Every patient’s EKG that you read is practice for the next. If you want to get better at interpreting EKG’s then read EKG’s! You should look at every patient’s EKG that you can get your hands on. First get a systematic methodology of reading objective EKG’s down pat (see below for more). Next you should work on interpreting the EKG’s. This is the part that takes years to perfect and is why cardiologists exist. Practice makes perfect so check out the following website and books for more practice!
This is my favorite website by far. It gives you longer but succinct explanations of almost everything cardiology related for people in medical school and residency.
This wasn’t my first EKG book that I ever read but it should have been. It’s perfect for beginners at any stage of medical school. It goes back to the basics of cell membrane conductivity and slowly walks you through the process of understanding the biological basis behind EKG’s. It then provides you an easy and systematic process to reading those squiggly lines. By the end of this book you should be able to read EKG’s proficiently. Interpreting them will take more time and much more practice. This book forces you to be active in how you process the information and should be the first EKG book that you read.
This one is a little more advanced and I liked it for that reason. Better suited to someone who has a little bit more background in EKG’s (e.g. has read Dubin’s) and wants to know more about the minutia. This book also comes with a code for an e-copy that can be linked to your tablet and smartphone through a common app. LPT: download chapters on your smartphone to read during downtime (much more conveneient when on-the-go).
Great website purely for EKG’s. Their goal is to increase your level of ‘ECG literacy’. This website gives you a short clinical description and then asks you a relevant question about the rhythm strip. It’s my new favorite site for EKG’s because it’s a quick and easy way to increase your exposure to EKG’s.
This site is a huge resource. It’s probably the best all around website that I’ve found for EKG’s and more. It has everything from beginners all the way to advanced stuff. It goes into more detail than EKG maven. It gives you more information on the topic besides just an EKG. Check it out to learn about EKG’s and other detailed cardiology topics
This ones for leisure. A well written memoir of what it was like to train as a female cardiac transplant surgeon in a seemingly male predominant arena. She juggles a family and career as she shows us how she has found her way toward a rewarding and uplifting career and managed to make her personal life work too. It’s not easy but her family makes it work. Worth the read for anyone who has ever wondered if it’s possible to have a rewarding career and also have a family. Or if you just wanted to know what it’s like to be a heart transplant surgeon.
If you want more medicine related books to read for leisure then check back next week. I’ll be reviewing my five favorite medical books to read for leisure. Subscribe so you don’t miss it!
Your two years of classroom basic sciences are drastically different than your clinical years. Studying in your first two years is somewhat easier because your primary responsibilities are all geared towards taking tests, culminating in the USMLE or COMLEX. Third year sucks because you are still studying for step 2 but fourth year hits that sweet spot between ‘done studying for tests’ mentality and ‘almost got a job’ swagger. These were my favorite resources that I used outside of my step studying.
Super small and lightweight. This is great for beginners on the wards. It comes with a pocket eye chart which is probably the only place you will find eye charts in hospitals. Also comes with good on the go guides for shorthand notes and labs.
The purple book is an intern’s favorite friend and mighty helpful too for med students. I don’t know when the new version is coming out but I didn’t feel like waiting for it. If nothing else, it’s a quick reference guide to everything you will see in the hospital. Differential diagnoses, work-up, treatments, etc. Pocket guides are also available for surgery, OB/GYN, peds, and such. I am going into internal medicine so I chose not to get any other pocket guides but google away if you want them.
Just buy it. It is the best $5.99 I spent in med school. This app provides concise and easy to journals that changed patient standard of care. You can also check them out for free online at Wiki Journal Club.Cardiology Trials is also a good site specifically aimed at cardio stuff.
It’s like Google for doctors! Okay, I’m starting to be redundant but its a great site that I’m sure you use already.
Moleskin Classic Notebook
Classic Hardcover Black Notebook, boxed: 5 x 8.5 inches– fits in your white coat, great for taking notes during lecture, or during rounds. Sturdy hardcover and classy appearance. My favorite notebook during medical school.
Did I miss anything? What apps or resources have you used s/p step 2?
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