The Successful Match: The Importance of Mentoring

by Samir P. Desai, M.D., and Rajani Katta, M.D., authors of The 250 Biggest Mistakes 3rd Year Medical Students Make And How To Avoid Them

In researching our book, we asked applicants what they found most difficult about the residency application process. A number of applicants commented on the same issue. “There’s so much conflicting information out there. How do you know what to believe? Who should you listen to?”

Applicants with mentors have a decided advantage. A joint committee of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine described a mentor as “someone who takes a special interest in helping another person develop into a successful professional.”¹ In defining the term, the committee described a fundamental difference between mentoring and advising. Read more »

The Successful Match: Oral Communication Skills

by Samir P. Desai, M.D., and Rajani Katta, M.D.
Authors of “250 Biggest Mistakes 3rd Year Medical Students Make And How To Avoid Them“

Every aspiring physician knows the importance of memorization, especially in the basic science years. As you advance in your career, however, communication skills come to the forefront. Physicians with poor communication skills are more likely to be sued. (Virshup) They are more likely to be disciplined by the medical board. They may not receive as many professional referrals from colleagues or word-of-mouth referrals from patients.

Successful communication requires establishing a connection and imparting a message. Successful patient care does not end with gathering data from your patient. It revolves around imparting that information to the entire team that is involved in patient care: your team members, the consulting physicians, the nurses, the patient and family members, and even the cafeteria, among others. (“The patient’s allergies include a history of anaphylaxis to shrimp.”) Read more »

The Successful Match: Clerkship Grades

By Samir P. Desai, M.D., and Rajani Katta, M.D.
Authors of 250 Biggest Mistakes 3rd Year Medical Students Make And How To Avoid Them

Which of the following is the most important academic criterion used by program directors to select residents?

A) USMLE step 1 score
B) USMLE step 2 CK score
C) Pre-clinical course grades
D) Third-year clerkship grades
E) Membership in Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA)

Read more »

The Successful Match: Introduction

By Samir P. Desai, M.D. and Rajani Katta, M.D.

Authors of The 250 Biggest Mistakes 3rd Year Medical Students Make And How to Avoid Them

The Successful Match “Where was the career guidance I needed for the past three years? No one sat me down in my first year and told me what it would take to get the career of my choice. Had I been handed a residency application form in my first year, I would have made many decisions differently. I cannot help thinking that my medical school has let me down. I am not going to shine on my residency application, as I had hoped.”

- S. Ellen Morch (Morch SE. Students unprepared for residency applications. CMAJ 1994; 151(9): 1237-8)

Thirteen years have passed since these words were written by a fourth-year medical student, and yet we continue to counsel students who find themselves in the same position. “If only I knew then what I know now” is sadly a common refrain among residency applicants. Read more »

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