Thank You Notes Necessary?

[jdgmu33]

I have heard in more competitive specialties the PDs will explicitly say not to send thank you's as they will get filed in the waste basket

Is family med different? Do you need (not should, but *need*) to send thank you notes? And, do you need to send 'em to each person you interviewed with, or is 1 note to the PD or res director enough?

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[deleted87716]

I think it's a good idea to send a thank-you note to the PD. You don't have to send one to every resident you met, unless they did something unusually helpful. Multiple repetitive thank-you notes tend to sound insincere, anyway. We kept thank-you notes in the applicant's file.

 

[sophiejane]

I sent them to PDs and all faculty I interviewed with, and e-mailed a quick note to residents and the program coordinator. I think it's just good manners, since they did take time out of their day. True, they have a large stake in the outcome, but it's just a courtesy that I felt was easy enough to do.

As for multiple notes sounding insincere, I tried to make each note unique to my conversation with that person. I also don't think it's right to send a note to one person and not the others...after all, as one PD told me, on the selection committee, she's just one vote.

I got feed back from one PD who really appreciated my note, so I think it's worth it to write them. By hand. With sincerity.

 

[elizabeth5863]

I think it's a good idea to send a thank-you note to the PD. You don't have to send one to every resident you met, unless they did something unusually helpful. Multiple repetitive thank-you notes tend to sound insincere, anyway. We kept thank-you notes in the applicant's file.

Do you keep thank you notes sent to each person (program director, faculty, and resident) in the applicant's file? Or do you just keep the note sent to the program director? I've handwritten about 100 thank you notes and am sick of writing them. I've used similar opening and closing statements in each card I write but I do try to write something different in the body. Is that okay? Or is the similar opening and closing statements going to hurt me (since most people just read those anyway?)

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[deleted87716]

Do you keep thank you notes sent to each person (program director, faculty, and resident) in the applicant's file? Or do you just keep the note sent to the program director?

Well, I've been out of residency since 2001, but when I was there, we kept all thank-you notes in the file (assuming that the residents who received them turned them in to the PD, which they were supposed to do.)

That's why I suggest limiting the number of notes you send, unless you truly personalize each one to make it unique. Also, be aware that if you send thank-you notes to everyone you met, you could wind up offending somebody by leaving them out.

 

[sophiejane]

Also, be aware that if you send thank-you notes to everyone you met, you could wind up offending somebody by leaving them out.

I'm not suggesting sending one to everyone you meet, rather everyone who interviewed you. Normally this is about 3-4 people, most of whom are likely on the selection committee.

I very much doubt the intern who took you to lunch or dinner would feel left out for not getting a hand written thank-you note (though I did e-mail some of these folks, especially the ones who were particularly honest or helpful). If anything, they should thank ME for getting to eat out on the residency's dime.

 

[elizabeth5863]

Oh well... most of the thank you notes have already been done and I just finished the last set. I don't see what's wrong with using the same opening and closing, especially when most of the residency programs send me form letters. And it's pathetic when they even spell my name wrong or said that they enjoyed having me on a rotation when I didn't even rotate there.

 

[lowbudget]

Email is good. Less clutter, less wasteful.