20 Questions: Timur Durrani [Preventive Medicine/Medical Toxicology]

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Dr. Timur Durrani

Timur Durrani, MD, MPH, MBA, is currently a medical toxicology fellow at UCSF. Dr. Durrani, who specializes in preventive medicine, attended University of California Irvine, where he received a Master of Business Administration with a focus on Health Care administration in June 2008. Prior to that, he received a Medical Doctorate from University of Arizona College of Medicine in 2004, and a Master of Public Health with a focus on Community Oriented Public Health from the University of Arizona, College of Public Health in 2004. Dr. Durrani served a family medicine residency at the University of California Los Angeles from July 2004 – June 2007, followed by a preventive medicine residency at the California Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Public Health Department, from July 2007 – 2008. He also speaks Spanish.

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The Successful Match: Getting into Obstetrics and Gynecology

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There are 4,815 total residents training in nearly 250 ACGME-accredited obstetrics and gynecology training programs.1 Of these, 71.8% are graduates of U.S. allopathic medical schools, 19.9% are international medical graduates, and 8.1% are osteopathic graduates.  In recent years, over 1,100 categorical positions have been available in the Match.

We recently discussed the obstetrics and gynecology residency selection process with Dr. Eugene Toy, the Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and residency program director in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX.  Dr. Toy is widely known as the creator, series editor, and primary author of McGraw-Hill’s popular Case Files Series.

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Premedical Preparation

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premedical preparation

By Dr. Lisabetta Divita

While the profession has changed over the past few decades, being a physician is a challenging and esteemed calling.  As such, medical school admissions are quite competitive.  Medical school applicants are required to complete the AAMC or AACOMAS applications, take the MCAT and fly out for interviews. Even with all of these requirements, sadly, many excellent candidates are rejected each year.  This can be a blow to your ego but if you are determined to reach your dreams, your premedical preparation cannot begin too early—some important decisions are made in high school.

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Personal Statement Myths

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You have read every thread on SDN about personal statements, but you still aren’t sure what you should or should not do. A ton of conflicting information is “out there” and whether you are applying to medical school, pharmacy school or anything in between, you need to be aware of some common myths about what you “must” do.
I hear about most of these myths from medical school applicants: “But my advisor said I should NEVER write about that!” “But, my fourth cousin once removed who is in medical school at a top 10 school said I shouldn’t do that.” Like everything else in the medical admissions process, personal statements have few absolutes or formulas so always take such definitive advice with a grain of salt. So, what are some of the myths I hear most often?

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Acing Your Residency Interview

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Most residency applicants have not found themselves in the interviewee seat since they applied to medical school. Well, the residency interview is somewhat different from the medical school interview. Because you have now nearly graduated from medical school (for the traditional applicant), no one is trying to assess your commitment to medicine; rather, they are specifically evaluating your commitment to the specialty to which you are applying. They also are evaluating your ability to perform well as a resident and if you will be a good fit for their program. This article will provide some tips to help you succeed, whether you are applying to residency this interview season or in the future.

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How to Work with Pre-Health Advisors and Committees

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Have you ever noticed that many schools note that they want a letter of recommendation from a “pre-health advisor or committee if available to the student”?  In this article, I’d like to give you the basics of what a pre-health advisor is from my perspective and why they can be your ally in the application process.

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The Successful Match: How to Succeed in your Residency Interview

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three tips mmi

For most residency applicants, the arrival of November marks the beginning of the interview season. This often brings back memories of the medical school admission interview, with the ubiquitous “Why do you want to be a doctor?” question.

Four years later, you find yourself in a similar situation – this time, hoping to land a position in the specialty and residency program of your choice. “Why do you want to be a doctor?” is now replaced with “Why do you want to go into [this specialty]?” and “Why are you interested in our residency program?” While the questions will differ to some extent, you may be experiencing the same gamut of emotions – uncertainty, nervousness, and perhaps even fear.

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The Successful Match: Getting into Dermatology

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As the Paul Gross Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. William James directs the dermatology residency program at the University of Pennsylvania, which recently was found to be the highest ranked academic dermatology department in the United States.1

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Why I Chose Podiatry School

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For many students looking for a career in healthcare, allopathic medical school is the only option that they have considered. While information exists on podiatry as a professional career choice, it can be missed behind the stacks of information on allopathic and osteopathic medicine.

Podiatry school, or podiatric medical school, is very similar to its allopathic and osteopathic medical school counterparts, with some key differences.  The biggest difference is the degree earned.  A graduate of podiatric medical school receives a doctoral degree of podiatric medicine, or a DPM.  This degree certifies the graduate to be a complete and specialized physician of the foot and ankle.

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Residency Match Success: Lessons Learned

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With medical students starting to think about the upcoming residency match season, it’s a good time to review what residency applicants can do to improve their chances of matching. Many students think that how they write their residency personal statement is all that matters, but this simply is not true. As September looms, I want to focus on factors that are still (for the most part) within the residency applicant’s control.  This article should also be useful for anyone who may be entering the match in the future.

  1. Do away electives
    These “audition electives” can really help your chances of matching at a program. Some applicants with whom I speak are often fearful of doing away electives because they believe a less than perfect performance may actually hurt their chances of matching at the program where they rotate. Indeed, this is often not the case. As the associate director of a program, I often found that applicants who demonstrated a solid (or even mediocre) performance when rotating with us were ranked higher than other applicants with slightly better stats. Most program directors would rather take a student whom they know will be a solid, “no-problem” resident than take a risk on someone with whom they have not worked.

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