The residency match : 101 biggest mistakes and how to avoid them / Samir P. Desai.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Desai, Samir P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education, Medical, Graduate.

Internship and Residency.

Career Choice.

Medicine.

Medical Subjects:

Education, Medical, Graduate.

Internship and Residency.

Career Choice.

Medicine.

Physical Description:

xiii, 88 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Houston, Tex. : MD2B, 2003.

Summary:

In late March, a life-changing day occurs for students at medical schools across the United States. On Match Day, students learn where they will be pursuing their residency training. For some it is a time to rejoice. For others, however, there is bitter disappointment when the match does not turn out as expected. Every year there are medical students who do not match at any residency program. There are many others who do match but are disappointed to learn that they did not match at one of their top programs. These outcomes often leave students wondering what went wrong along the way. During every step of the residency application process, mistakes can be made that prevent you from matching with the residency program of your choice. Although these errors have been well known to those involved in the resident selection process, they are not well recognized by students applying for residency. Now, for the first time, Dr. Samir Desai identifies the 101 all-too-common mistakes students make during the residency application process. He also shows you how to avoid them so you don't fall into the same traps. Here are some of the mistakes you'll learn to avoid: Mistakes made: On the CV. On the personal statement. When interviewing. When ranking residency programs. And much more. Take charge of the residency application process, instead of letting it take charge of you.

Contents:

Part I Commonly Made Mistakes with the Transcripts and the Dean's Letter

1. Not requesting your transcripts early enough 2

2. Not looking over your transcript/Dean's letter before it is submitted 2

3. Not confirming that the transcript/Dean's letter has been sent out 3

4. Not sending an updated transcript 3

Part II Commonly Made Mistakes with the Curriculum Vitae (CV)

5. Procrastinating 5

6. Not concise 6

7. Too long 6

8. CV is not professional looking 7

9. Not correcting spelling or grammar errors 9

10. CV is not complete 9

11. Including unnecessary information 12

12. Leaving time holes in the CV 12

13. Not using action words 13

14. Not having others review the CV before submission 14

15. Lying 14

16. Not sending an updated CV 15

Part III Commonly Made Mistakes with Letters of Recommendation

17. Not reading the instructions carefully 16

18. Not requesting letters of recommendation at the right time 17

19. Not asking the right person to write the letter 18

20. Not knowing how to ask for a letter of recommendation 20

21. Not giving the letter writer enough time 22

22. Not providing your letter writer with the information needed to write the letter 22

23. Writing your own letter of recommendation 24

24. Not thanking your letter writers 25

25. Pressuring the letter-writer to complete and submit the letter 26

Part IV Commonly Made Mistakes on the Personal Statement

26. Underestimating the importance of the personal statement 28

27. Procrastinating 29

28. Not knowing your audience 30

29. Personal statement is too long 31

30. Personal statement is too short 31

31. Not knowing what to address in the personal statement 31

32. Personal statement is poorly written 32

33. Not correcting spelling mistakes 33

34. Not correcting grammar mistakes 33

35. Exaggeration 34

36. Lying 34

37. Personal statement is not much different than the CV 35

38. Not seeking help when writing the personal statement 35

39. Not beginning your statement with an attention grabber 36

40. Not being concise 36

41. Focusing on your preclinical or undergraduate years 37

42. Personal statement is too creative 37

43. Coming across as arrogant 37

44. Discussing taboo topics 38

Part V Commonly Made Mistakes during the Interview

45. Not being considerate to the residency program's administrative staff 40

46. Not knowing when to interview 40

47. Scheduling the first interviews with residency programs that you have the most interest in 41

48. Clustering interviews over too short a period of time 42

49. Not participating in a mock interview 42

50. Not understanding the importance of the interview 44

51. Not understanding the goals of the interview 44

52. Not researching the program 45

53. Not meeting with the house staff and faculty at your own institution who have trained at the institution where you will be interviewing 46

54. Being a no show for your interview 47

55. Not bringing everything you need for the interview 47

56. Arriving late for the interview 49

57. Dressing unprofessionally 50

58. Not presenting yourself properly 51

59. Not being cordial to everyone you meet 51

60. Not knowing who will be interviewing you 52

61. Not saying the interviewer's name 52

62. Not shaking the interviewer's hand 53

63. Sitting down before the interviewer asks or does so himself 54

64. Not knowing where to look during interview 54

65. Not recognizing how important the first few minutes of an interview are 55

66. Not maintaining an equal balance of power 56

67. Not listening 57

68. Not thinking before you answer 57

69. Not having answers prepared for certain questions 58

70. Not rehearsing answers to commonly asked questions 60

71. Responding to a question with a yes or no answer 61

72. Not knowing how to handle difficult questions 61

73. Not knowing how to handle silence 64

74. Not having a case ready to present 65

75. Being robotic 66

76. Lack of enthusiasm 66

77. Being negative 67

78. Lacking confidence 68

79. Lying 68

80. Being evasive 69

81. Not being courteous 70

82. Not being aware of your own nonverbal communication 70

83. Not recognizing important nonverbal cues given to you by the interviewer 72

84. Being too anxious 72

85. Letting the stress get to you 73

86. Not asking the interviewer any questions 74

87. Not ending the interview properly 76

88. Not meeting with faculty or house staff who trained at your own institution 76

89. Not meeting with the house staff on your interview day 77

90. Not speaking with senior medical students at the institution where you are being interviewed 79

91. Not grading the residency program after your visit 79

92. Not grading yourself after the interview 80

93. Not visiting the program again 81

94. Not writing thank-you notes 82

Part VI Commonly Made Mistakes Ranking Residency Programs

95. Not giving enough thought to your rank list 84

96. Ranking a program you have doubts about 85

97. Creating too short of a rank list 85

98. Ranking residency programs based upon where you think you will get accepted 86

99. Not considering your goals for your future 86

100. Ranking a program higher because the program tells you that you will be ranked at the top of their list 87

101. Not discussing your rank order list with your advisor/Dean 88.

ISBN:

0972556117

OCLC:

52130270