Year of Directed Studies and Personal Statement?

[cowspot83]

Hi!

I was hoping those of you who have successfully completed the residency application process might be able to give some advice regarding my situation. Long story short- I had a baby and took a year of "directed studies" between my 3rd and 4th year. During this time I did some research and clinical rotations as usual, they just didn't count for academic credit towards graduation. Now, I am struggling with my personal statement because I am not sure whether to mention this year of directed studies or just ignore it entirely. Part of me feels like I did an extra 8 months of rotations and that should be mentioned...... but the other part worries that bringing it up might just lead to more questions to a really complicated situation, and they might frown on me taking an extra year to graduate.

So- any advice? Mention the year of directed studies or not? Thanks so much

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[smq123]

Hi!

I was hoping those of you who have successfully completed the residency application process might be able to give some advice regarding my situation. Long story short- I had a baby and took a year of "directed studies" between my 3rd and 4th year. During this time I did some research and clinical rotations as usual, they just didn't count for academic credit towards graduation. Now, I am struggling with my personal statement because I am not sure whether to mention this year of directed studies or just ignore it entirely. Part of me feels like I did an extra 8 months of rotations and that should be mentioned...... but the other part worries that bringing it up might just lead to more questions to a really complicated situation, and they might frown on me taking an extra year to graduate.

So- any advice? Mention the year of directed studies or not? Thanks so much

You need to address it. Any gap or extra time taken during medical school has to be addressed; if not, prepare to get a lot of questions about it. Not addressing it can be a red flag.

There's nothing shady about it. You had a baby and took some extra time. You didn't sit at home eating bonbons during that year, you did some research and some shadowing/rotations/observerships. I think you're over-thinking this.

 

[235009]

Hi!

I was hoping those of you who have successfully completed the residency application process might be able to give some advice regarding my situation. Long story short- I had a baby and took a year of "directed studies" between my 3rd and 4th year. During this time I did some research and clinical rotations as usual, they just didn't count for academic credit towards graduation. Now, I am struggling with my personal statement because I am not sure whether to mention this year of directed studies or just ignore it entirely. Part of me feels like I did an extra 8 months of rotations and that should be mentioned...... but the other part worries that bringing it up might just lead to more questions to a really complicated situation, and they might frown on me taking an extra year to graduate.

So- any advice? Mention the year of directed studies or not? Thanks so much

You can't just ignore it. In ERAS there's a question that asks whether your medical education has been interrupted. You must answer yes and explain.

 

[Gastrapathy]

If you don't address it, they will assume the worst. If you do, they will be unfazed. Women have babies.

 

[Crayola227]

You will have to explain it.

Hopefully they will be relieved that you've scratched the baby itch and are ready to do residency without any further inconveniencing biological functions

Or they may now be worried because you have proven that you are fertile, and may have an itch for another one

I was asked on interviews if I had any plans to have babies, you may be asked this despite it not only being forbidden by NRMP but the LAW
They tell you you can politely decline answering questions not allowed by NRMP or outright illegal
but that just makes you look like an a*hole
"so you can say you're glad you had the baby, it was really a challenge, but I think I've been able to balance medical school with being a new mother,
but I can't imagine having another for a while" - so you do not appear overwhelmed and you are reassuring them you can handle the baby, residency, and don't intend to get pregnant during residency

there really are threads on here (mostly surgical fields) where the female residents actually feel program pressure to abort, I use that as a segue into how I addressed those questions about baby-making
"No, I've personally planned NOT to have children during residency. Other people do it, but that's not for me, but I only want to focus on residency right now, so later I can have more focus on being a mother. My partner is really focussed on career right now too. In fact, if for some reason I do accidentally get pregnant, don't worry, I definitely plan to abort it for the sake of the program. I'll be sure to schedule it for my day off." (the last two sentences were actually in my mind while I laughed about the culture of residency as I answered these illegal questions with aplomb)

anyway since the baby thing is coming up for you I thought I'd be one step ahead for you on interviews