Guide for 4th year/residency applications?

[Corali]

I’m a current MS3 who has just come to the realization that I know absolutely nothing about what is expected of us as 4th years, other than sub-i’s and residency apps—does anyone know of a helpful guide/site for all the requirements and suggestions for what to do as a 4th year in order to be set up well for residency (ie LORs, how many sub-i’s should be done, basic info like that??)

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[slowthai]

I've got time (and energy, very important, lol) as a fourth year now to answer this. This is a haphazard guide I slapped together. I aim to disappoint

LORs
You want to ask for like double the amount of LORs required for your specialty (usually 3) because people are just flakes or do last minute nonsense (I was unfortunate to experience both lol).

Sub-is/Aways
Number of sub-is depends on specialty and your goals (ending up at a specific program or region).

PS
I'd recommend working on your personal statement as soon as you settle on a specialty. Just word vomit whenever you feel inspired by a patient interaction or the subject matter, etc. Keep doing that until you have enough for a page or so, then edit it into a coherent narrative. Make sure to include your why this specialty and real life examples to support it.

ERAS
ERAS apps are actually pretty straightforward for the most part. There are some glaringly stupid things like your photo not uploading automatically, but you can mitigate that stuff by being thorough and triple checking your stuff.

For the hobbies section, people really love "unique" stuff, as dumb as that sounds. Whatever. I'm guessing it's one little thing that separates applicants. Regardless, most of us are not expert windgliders or whatever, so you want to describe your hobbies in an engaging way. They say be specific, so if you like cooking, talk exactly about what kind of cuisine you enjoy cooking. Let your "passion" show through if possible.

Program Elimination
I eliminated a ton of programs just based on cost of living. I'm not willing to be stressed financially on top of being stressed as a resident. I also did my due diligence with the name and shame threads of course, those programs were gone off my list immediately.

Signaling
Signaling is a new thing this year for a lot of specialties; people have had varying levels of success with program and regional signaling. Programs and applicants are still trying to figure this thing out.

LOIs
People get into intense debate over sending LOIs. I didn't send any. Not sending a love letter either

Interviews
For interviews, it's smart to get in a mock interview at some point, especially if you're not confident in your interviewing skills. Some questions that are extremely important to prepare for: why this specialty and why this program.

Your Rank List
For ranking, it's vibes and lifestyle all the way. I just went based on what I felt observing everyone on pre-interview socials and on interview days, along with call schedule, of course.

Electives
Make sure to load up with the chillest electives possible after sub-is/aways. Gas, DR, path, research. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

Missing Days for Interviews
Whatever you do, don't tell admin. Admin is there to follow braindead rules and they are fundamentally at odds with your enlightened self-interest, actually matching. Just tell your immediate senior and there should be no problems.

Any questions for me? Even if you don't, you actually do. Get used to this

 

[Corali]

This was super helpful, thank you!! Who would you recommend asking for LORs typically (I’m assuming your main resident and attending for any sub-is or aways but who else? Research PIs? People you work with on electives??)

 

[slowthai]

This was super helpful, thank you!! Who would you recommend asking for LORs typically (I’m assuming your main resident and attending for any sub-is or aways but who else? Research PIs? People you work with on electives??)

For sure. Main source of letters would be from third year, your sub-is/aways, and regular electives (if necessary). Only ask attendings, residents don't count. Most of your letters should be from someone you worked with clinically, but if the program you're applying to allows a fourth letter, you can include the research one. It's best to just upload all the letters ASAP and assign to programs as needed.

Oh yeah, and make sure to ask them ace-freakin-sap, because you don't want them to forget who you are and write a crappy letter. So like ask them right at the end of the rotation. If it's before you get your ERAS tokens (needed to upload LORs), just have them sit on it until you get them and have them upload it as soon as humanly possible. Some people, you have to be on their neck, like qweek reminders, otherwise they'll leave you in the lurch.

 

[Corali]

Thank you!! Guess I gotta start worrying about those now then lol