Episode 9 - ERAS Round 2: Applying to Residency as a Medical School Graduate

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Hello, hello, and welcome to the Emotional Millennial. My name is Annie and I'm so excited that you're here with me today. I have gone through an immense amount of personal growth throughout the past year and I'm no longer not talking about it. Our world needs more authenticity, honesty, vulnerability. And with this podcast, I am simply doing my part.

(00:36)

So I graduated with my MD in 2021. My first round of eras applications I did not match. I applied into OB GYN. My second round of eras applications. I applied to family medicine and I'm really excited that I did end up matching at a program that I'm really excited about.

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I already released an episode discussing how I approached my first round of eras applications and upon reflection, what I felt I should have changed to increase my chances of matching. And in this episode I intend to discuss how I approached my second round of eras applications and what I did differently. It is definitely a different experience to be applying as a US MD graduate rather than just being a fourth year medical student right off the bat. If you are a reapplicant programs know that because it says that right at the top of your application. And of course this is considered a red flag because the question is why did you not match the year before?

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My plan going into my second round of applications was to address the elephant in the room, the red flag that I was a reapplicant. The other red flag on my application, I suppose, was the change in specialty because I had initially applied to Obstetrics and Gynecology and this time around I was applying into family medicine. And so why the change? What happened that made me decide that I wanted to switch specialties. So these two red flags, I guess you would say, were things that I address directly in my personal statement.

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And I tried to be as upfront and genuine blunt about it as possible. And I know that this was a good tactic that I used because I had multiple interviewers actually compliment me about it and say that I really appreciated that you mentioned not matching and you stated the reason why you switched specialties within your personal statement so that it was very clear. The other thing I made sure to do in my personal statement was clearly state that I was applying only to family medicine so that they could tell I was dedicated to this specific specialty and that I was not applying to other specialties and using family medicine as a backup. I know that some people tend to do that because it is easier to match into family medicine. It is not as competitive.

(03:31)

And so me laying it all out there, being very direct and saying this is the only specialty I'm applying to that lets them know that I truly am interested and I want to be a family medicine physician and I'm not using this specialty as a backup. I suppose something that's really convenient about Ebras actually is you end up using your exact same login, your US MLE ID, and you can press this button. I don't remember exactly how it was, but refill in my application from the year prior or something. And so it actually auto populated everything that I had written in from my prior application year, and it was there so that I could kind of, like, edit and mess with it as I pleased, which I thought was kind of nice. The other thing that's necessary as a reapplicant is to obtain an eras token ID, which, unfortunately, my school didn't like, follow up with me and give me my ID.

(04:34)

Like, I had to reach back out to my school and be like, hey, did match last year. Do you mind sending that over so I can apply and become a licensed doctor? Thanks. And so they did that quickly. But that's just something to keep in mind that you do have to reach back out to your school and make sure that you do obtain a new token because you need a new one for every single time that you do apply through eras.

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Something I was concerned about when I was applying was that my ACLs and my BLS certifications expired and I didn't want to pay to recertify myself because it's extremely expensive. And I knew that once I got into a residency program, they would provide that free of cost. And so I'm looking at my application now, my second eras application, and I see that they're both blank and just know that if you're in a similar boat, it's okay. I really don't think that it affected the number of interviews that I received. So moving on to my experiences, my approach this time was different because I decided to use bullet points that were not complete sentences.

(05:46)

So it was easier as someone who's reading through your application to just kind of like, skim, read it and move on. So, for example, for my medical scribe experience at a free clinic, I said supervised by a physician, that allowed me to function at the level of a resident. Next bullet point provided quality health care at no cost to the uninsured community. And then for my reasons for leaving, almost for every single experience. I hate that they have this box.

(06:13)

It's like, reason for leaving. What do you want me to say? Like, I got fired? I don't know. So I put NA for almost every single experience.

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Honestly, the only other ones that I didn't put NA for where if it was during medical school or if it was during undergrad, I just put graduated that's it just the word graduated. And it worked out for me. So a couple other reasons for leaving. I put the program ended position, term ended, just very simple and straight to the point for my research experiences, I put in, obviously, the location. Like all the things that they make you put in your position, your supervisor, and in the description boxes for those.

(07:01)

My first line is like project colon the title of the project and then underneath that I have bullet points stating what the project was about and what my role was within the project. For the hobbies and interests section at the very bottom of your application. This is definitely something that interviewers look at and they will ask you about and it feels like you're walking this weird line of how professional should I be and how much should I let you see into my personality. I don't want you to think I'm weird, but I also don't want you to think I have no hobbies and do nothing else with my time. Except how do I have any more time to do anything?

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Because I literally just study constantly. But sure, here are my hobbies and interest outside of medicine. So I'll read mine. I use dash points like just like a dash. I don't know.

(07:53)

Owner of a successful online resale business as a top rated seller on Poshmark and Macari. Next line, hiking national parks with the goal to visit all of them. Current favorite is Bryce Canyon, listening to podcasts, news, psychology, true crime, and in the process of launching my own shout out birdwatching, novice crafting Spotify playlists, attending concerts and watching music videos. And then my last bullet point is caring for my kitten mittens. That was back when I only had one cat and now I got two crazy cats.

(08:26)

So that's a brief run through of my egrass application itself. I now will read a little bit from my personal statement because I do think it is helpful for people just to hear what other people write about in their personal statements and specifically as a reapplicant. It's a very important part of your application. Honestly, I'll probably just end up reading the whole thing. So here we go.

(08:54)

My eyes fixated on the broken gaze of a middle aged gentleman as he sat on the exam table. He described his lengthy battle with insomnia and fatigue, which he recently discovered was due to depression. He felt embarrassed discussing his depression. I continued to listen as he looked down at his hands clasped in his lap, shook his head and admitted he does not like to say the name of the medication due to the stigma associated with his diagnosis. I complimented his strength for taking care of his mind and told him that I thought it was brave.

(09:24)

He sought out help. He looked up from his lap with a slight smile, and in that moment, I knew he felt less alone. When I reflect on what led me to fall in love with medicine, I remember this man his strength, his inspiration, my joy. A few months ago, I received what felt like devastating news. At the time, I did not match into an obstetrics and gynecology residency position, I felt like I had failed myself, my family, my mentors, and my school.

(09:54)

After further introspection, I recognize that this failure was actually an opportunity for growth and for reevaluation of my professional goals. Ob GYN does offer opportunities to form longitudinal patient relationships, but within a specific patient population at a certain time in their lives. On the other hand, family medicine affords the advantage of creating meaningful connections with patients of all ages across an entire lifetime. A strong patient relationship can be instrumental in guiding a treatment plan. I had the opportunity to care for a woman who was admitted with severe delirium tremens while on an inpatient rotation throughout her challenging three week hospital course.

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I took the time to foster a connection with her in a sincere attempt to understand her situation. I spent significant time listening and learning her story at her bedside. Unexpectedly, tears filled both of our eyes as she confided in me the painful details of her abusive relationship. I could feel her shame as she admitted she was unable to see a way out. She told me how appreciative she was and disclosed that I was the first person who asked about her situation rather than forming assumptions.

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With this new perspective I shared with my team, we were able to provide a more individualized treatment plan along with the appropriate resources. I felt empowered by my ability to connect deeply with others, and I was filled with excitement to continue utilizing this skill as a physician. These patient interactions are reflective of what I have always hoped I would be able to achieve as a physician. Utilizing my empathy, compassion, and medical knowledge to alleviate shame and foster a welcoming environment for my patients. The flexibility offered by a career in family medicine excites me.

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I chose to become a physician because I want to create a meaningful life by improving the lives of others and standing up for what I believe in. My experiences in medical school and a local free clinic have opened my eyes to the grave inequities that exist in our society. This has fueled my desire to use my voice and pursue positions of leadership and advocacy. As a physician, I am drawn to the endless possibilities a career in family medicine offers. Family medicine satiates my desire to broaden my impact of fields outside of medicine.

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I am very grateful I have been exposed to a diverse patient population. It has demonstrated to me the unique problems other individuals may be facing. These experiences have given me insight, perspective, and a strong belief that all lives hold equal value. Every person is deserving of individualized, comprehensive, and thoughtful health care. My intention is to provide this for those under my care and to advocate for those who are not.

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For this reason, I am applying solely to family medicine residency programs. I look forward to building longitudinal and meaningful relationships with patients of all ages as I treat each individual in their entirety the end. Okay, so other, like, random details that I was worried about in my personal statement that I'll mention in case it helps anyone. The first time I wrote out Obstetrics and Gynecology, after that, I put OBGYN, and then the next time I said it, I just put OB GYN. I don't know, that was like weirdly something I thought about.

(13:24)

So maybe other people do too. And then the other thing was every time I wrote family medicine, I capitalized the F and the M because I'm like, these are family medicine doctors who are going to be reading this. So I just want to make sure that they know I respect them. Okay. The final thing I want to discuss is how I narrowed down the list of programs that I wanted to apply to.

(13:47)

I ended up applying to 72 programs, which for family medicine is definitely on the higher number end of the spectrum. But as a reapplicant, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. And I would rather spend the extra two, three, $400 because it's monopoly money at this point. Like, I'm so in debt that who cares? And I would rather just match, to be honest.

(14:14)

So for me, location is very important. I live in the Midwest and my boyfriend is in a residency in the city that we're currently in. And so I wanted to stay local because I obviously want to stay near him. And also my family is around here. So yeah, it just made sense.

(14:34)

Other things I was looking for was the number of residents. I really wanted to be at a program that had at least six residents at it. I just didn't want to be at a program that I felt there was only like three other people that were in my cohort. Like, I wanted at least, I don't know, five other people where I could try to be friends with them. And so at least six was my minimum.

(14:59)

When applying to residencies, I also looked for mental health support, obviously, from my podcast. That's something that's really important to me and it's something that I really value. And so I wanted to be at a program that I felt equally valued that. And luckily in family medicine, that is like a huge thing that a lot of programs offer support for. So go family medicine.

(15:24)

I wanted the ability to individualize my curriculum. So when it comes to electives later on, were there opportunities for me to create something new, create something different, kind of like seek out my own route, you know, pave my own pathway, because that's just who I am. That's just like what I do and I like to have that independence. And then the last thing that I looked into was academic versus community. And this is tough because there are pros and cons to both.

(15:56)

I applied to both large academic centers and smaller community hospitals. At academic centers, you have more people that are more specialized, and you're going to have maybe more medical students there with you, more fellows working with you. But you're also going to have a lot of other residency programs, most likely. And so that means as a family medicine resident, you might be competing with another resident in a different specialty to take care of a specific patient. That's like an opposed program, whereas an unopposed program is a program where family medicine residents are the only residents at the entire hospital.

(16:43)

So if someone's delivering a baby, if someone's in the emergency Department, you are the only resident there. So you're not competing with other residency programs to take care of that patient, which can be a huge plus as well. So there are pros and cons to both. To each their own. I applied to both because I honestly was drawn to both for different reasons.

(17:08)

So, yeah, I really research programs a lot before applying, and that helped me a ton, because then once I got to interviews, I was able to use that research and be like, oh, yeah, these are the details about this program and blah, blah, blah. And it was like a quick refresher for me. I also want to mention that I did not personalize any of my personal statements. I know that a lot of people lately there's been talk online about you have to personalize every single personal statement. And I applied to 72 programs.

(17:44)

That is a lot of work. And to be honest, I don't think it's worth your time. Some people are going to disagree with me, and that's fine. But I had a very successful interview season, and I did not personalize a single personal statement. So I ended up applying to 72 programs.

(18:04)

I ended up receiving 34 interview invites, and I ended up completing 22 interviews, definitely a nice little increase from my four interviews the year before. So that was quite a change for me, to be honest. It was just such an incredible feeling to feel desired as an applicant, because the year prior, when I didn't match and I only had four interviews, I was cold calling programs, begging for interviews. And I felt like, I don't know, like crap. I felt like nobody wanted me.

(18:43)

And so to feel so desired by programs was just a really special, incredible feeling. And it is something I do not take for granted. And I think that every medical student who is graduating from medical school deserves to feel that way. You have worked so hard to get to where you are, and programs should be reaching out to you and really trying to get you to come interview with their program because you deserve it. All right.

(19:11)

Well, I think that's all that I have for this episode today. I want to thank you for taking the time out of your day to listen to this episode. It means the world to me. I would love to hear from you if you have more questions, if you have feedback, if you have comments, whatever you can email me at theemotionillennial@gmail.com that's th eemotionalmillennial@gmail.com and transcripts are available for every single one of my episodes on my website which is emotionalmillenial.com. I would love to hear from you I made this podcast because I want to help people that are in this situation because it sucks.

(19:55)

I feel your pain. You are not alone and I hope nothing but the best for you in your eras application cycle. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. Bye.