S01E04 - Numbers, the ACGME, and geography
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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.
To join the Myers Hurt Method Course, visit https://www.drmyershurt.com/themyershurtmethodcourse
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.
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