In this episode we sit down with Dylan Morris and Shannon Lee, two EM interns at OHSU who were fresh off the interview trail and only a few months into the entirely new experience of being MDs.  We explore their experiences applying and interviewing with residency programs, get their advice, and gain a little insight into what their lives are like as emergency medicine interns.

Summary points from Dylan and Shannon

Applications

There are many paths to emergency medicine, both before and during medical school– so don’t be afraid to go for it!

Do well in school, but make sure you are a well rounded person with interests outside the ED.  

Listen to your gut when you’re interviewing, consider the people you’ll be working with and watch how they interact with each other.

Try before you buy: Try to shadow while you’re visiting schools to interview.

Be real with yourself about your application and find advisors who will do the same.  Use this information to determine the right number of schools for your application.

Life as an Intern

Turns out, you do have some control over your schedule as an emergency medicine intern– especially in the ED.

Intern year is actually something to look forward to– you may be surprised how much fun you’ll have.

Your co-interns are your family, which also came up in the conversation about what to look for when you interview.

Make sure you spend enough time throwing paintballs at the wall, but activities outside of school can be just as important.

Dylan and Shannon recommend the following resources for researching residency programs:

1. EMRA match website– best resource, including surveys filled out by deans, application statistics, location details, more.

2. Residents at your school– talk to people who have recently applied; if there are 10 new interns at your school, they may have combined knowledge of 50+ different schools based on their interview experience

3. FREIDA website, by the AMA.  Another resource, but not a primary source for information.

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