Ah Yes, Medical School

Ah Yes, Medical School

This is a fun blog I found. I can actually relate. Scary.

2007 Residency Match - Scramble Day

So I ranked this program and they ranked me. Neither of us matched (NRMP mistake?). By some "twist of fate" as some put it (I prefer - "Act of God"), I was able to get in contact with the program director and get one of two unmatched spaces before they even knew what hit them.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have been more prepared. I was thrilled when my top choice program had openings. I interviewed there, I spent a month long visiting rotation there, so as long as they still liked me, I should have no problem getting in - if, of course I can get past the voicemail...

Then I had the bright idea to find the number and call the program director directly. BINGO. I have matched on Scramble day in less than an hour.

I was going to write tips and such, but I found a phenomenal wealth of information just by googling "residency scramble 2007" (should have done this yesterday... duh)

What I did learn and would do different if this was all a dream and the scramble is really tomorrow:

1. Have all your documents ready. this means your application, deans letter, letters of recommendation all handy for faxing. In addition, you should have these electronically available because e-mail is faster if they give an address (Faxes get busy, jammed, etc.). Also most programs Scramble through ERAS, so as soon as you find out what programs are available, you should be applying through ERAS (FREE on Scramble Day)
2. Dont forget the Fax Cover Sheet. Get those ready beforehand too. My hubby was assigned this task and had major hand cramp because we could have had everything but the name and phone number ready beforehand.
3. Your school will get the list of unmatched programs at 11:30. You have half an hour to evaluate and prioritize your calling. Most places, you are probably going to get voicemail. Introduce yourself, where you are from, if they will consider you, and that you are sending documents. (My huband later suggested a pleasant "good morning" as well :) Apparently I was a little to serious during the calling (more like FREAKING OUT). Maybe even add a little teaser like a great test score, background I dont know, I didn't.)
4. If you get an offer, it is likely that you should take it. If you tell them you need to think about it, they will move on and offer the spot to someone else. Likewise YOU should continue to pursue leads and make calls to programs even if a program is taking time to consider you. (Right after I got off the phone with program #1 - they were going to get back to me as soon as they found my file-, the program I wanted called and gave me the spot)
5. If you have been actively communicating with some programs and take an offer. It would probably be polite to call the other ones back and tell them you accepted an offer from someone else.
6. Dont give up. I got a phone call at 7pm tonight from a program still scrambling. Sorry guys I'm taken.
7. Encourage your fellow scramblers. I really lucked out, but when I left the Med School later my fellow scramblers were still stressing.
8. The faculty and staff here at UND are phenomenal and really made it happen. I can't imagine trying to do everything myself.
9. Don't scramble for a program or specialty you dont want. Everyone will be unhappy and it will just waste a year of your life.
10. A verbal commitment is good as gold. Dont fret if they dont fax you a contract immediately.. Remember that their Fax machine is running like crazy too. I worried myself silly for 4 hours and finally recieved the contract (reassurance that I wasnt dreaming when they gave me the spot.)
11. YAY. Not matching really sucks. Luckily things worked out for me. The best part is that I know where I am going two days before my classmates. :)

How not to be a 3rd year

I have had the supreme privilege of working alongside a 3rd year student during my MICU rotation. I havent quite figured this person out. I think she is sharp, but I just cant figure out how she can see three ICU patients in 15 minutes and be totally up to date and ready to present. The only possible way would be to Only read the nursing notes, have the nurse tell you everything they know, only glance at the labs that got printed and placed on the chart, and Not examine the patient. The part that really really annoys me though is that this person gets away with it! The plan is to talk about nothing and skillfully avoid any pimping. I have picked up on this bs-ing during rounds. Whenever the attending asks about a lab, she never knows and grabs the chart. Whenever the attending mentions a lab, CT, CXR whatever she agrees, but I can see in her eyes she has no clue. Whatever, I tried giving her some tips, but she will slack her way through another rotation. At some point this wont work anymore and she will find herself unpracticed and alone. I must admit, when I did my 3rd year ICU rotation I was totally clueless. At least I admitted it and was willing to learn. If you just pretend you know, then you never really learn to think for yourself. My favorite conversation heard:

MS3: You want to hear about how I got interested in Medicine?

Attending: No, I never really cared much for that kiss ass crap.

Okay, so it wasn't my imagination after all. We are supposed to alternate admissions and thus get a few H&Ps each, right?. Well I would love to do them all, it is way more interesting than sitting around waiting for something to happen. When this MS3 picks up a patient, there is no H+P, hmm that's strange,it never got transcribed?!?! I personally like doing the H+Ps in ICU, otherwise you really have no idea what is going on with the patient. It would be like writing a report about some topic you didn't research. Anyway, enough of my rant. I am so glad this part is almost over. Match day is next week, I have bigger things to worry about than some slacker med student. Besides, by comparison my work looks spectacular.