This month we focused exclusively on
the process of applying into Emergency Medicine. We talked to two
specialists in this arena, Andy Lichtenheld and Chris Rackoff, who
recently matching into EM. I also included tips from our peers who
answered a survey with their stats and tips as well.

Applications:

-figure out what’s important to you
(geography, community/county/academic, 3-4 years)

-talk with mentors, residents, MS4s
in your program for help

-great series of videos on
Academic life in EM

-helpful to start your CV early
(even first year!) to keep track of hours/dates/contacts

-there are weird formatting issues
in ERAS, attention to detail is helpful

-try to get feedback on your
personal statement from your school’s EM faculty

Scheduling
interviews:

-set up an alert for all emails with
“interview” in the subject/message and respond quickly

-if you don’t get your first choice,
keep checking back, spots open up

-consider a more flexible rotation
in November as you may be starting to go on interviews during that
time

-if you need to decline or cancel
interviews, do it as soon as possible and as politely as
possible

Interviews:

-anything on your application is
fair game

-think about the 1-3 specific
messages you want to convey to the program

-one of the most common (and can be
most difficult) question was “what questions do you
have?”

-preparing a list of generic and
program-specific questions ahead of time can help with
this

-try asking the interviewer about
their responsibilities so you can ask role-specific
questions

-make sure to thank and appreciate
the support staff along the way

Logistics:

-whether or not you’re the type of
person who carries a folio, at the very least bring a pen and paper
to take notes after each interview so you can reference later as
you write thank yous and think about the program

-bring a small steamer and lint
roller for your suit, especially if you have back-to-back
interviews

-Uber/Lyft, airbnb, and Google
Calendar were indispensable to have on your phone

Socials/Shadowing during
your Interview trip:

-socials were really helpful for
getting the “vibe” of the program, and in the extremes

-shadowing in the ED was somewhat
helpful, but added a lot to an already busy day

-if you miss the social, there are
other low-key social times during the interview day

Post-Interview:

-write thank yous! (email or
handwritten seems okay)

-try to write to at least the
program director(s) and coordinator, consider writing to all
interviewers

Rank
lists:

-get input from your
partner!

-difficult to reconcile two big
columns: logistics (city, family, fit for partner) vs.
program

-try thought experiments where you
think about pulling program A vs. program B out of a match envelope
and think about how you feel

Resources:

Advance Data Tables, 2016 Match:

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Advance-Data-Tables-2016_Final.pdf

Charting the Match, 2014:
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Charting-Outcomes-2014-Final.pdf

Academic life in EM Videos, Match
Advice:
http://www.aliem.com/category/non-clinical/em-match-advice/

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