Attempting to get into residency has been a journey/hard
work. 3 years long to be exact. It has been long through no one’s fault except
for mine. By failing the Step 2 CS exam, I set myself up for an upward battle.
Still with complete confidence and the right strategy I ended up getting a
residency position in a hospital and area that I really like. This is my
journey.
For my first year, I got no interview during the the regular
match period because of something stupid. I sent in my application on february 1st and at that time most programs had finished their interview season. I remember calling my friend and telling him I applied. He only said really, bro!?!? Why did I apply so late? Well I was waiting on my step 2 cs result and I wanted to make sure I passed before spending money. Anyways, I ended up getting one interview during the soap. I messed up that interview by
doing something silly, or by not doing something important. Meh.
Things looked better for my second application season. I got
interviews from 3 really good residency programs. Two were in New York and one
was in North Carolina. After my interviews, I got favorable responses from two
of the programs so I assumed that this was going to be the year for me. Opening
up my email I was shocked to see “Sorry you did not match…” I then got 2
interviews in the SOAP, but that did not pan out either. Uggh! To say I was
frustrated and saddened by this outcome would be an understatement.
What I saw when I opened up my email in 2016.
Finally for my last application season, I managed to get 5 interviews. I left nothing to chance. I planned out my year from the moment that I did not match. I practiced
for my interviews intensely. The programs where I interviewed showed stronger
interest than last year. Some programs flat out told me they would rank me during the
interview... straight to my face, during the interview. The first time this happened I don’t remember what
my response was, I only remember how shocked I was. I felt like I would match
last season too but that didn’t happen so I wary of these overtures. It turns out I worried
for nothing since I ended up MATCHING!!!! Yay!
Now that this journey is behind me, I can look back and see what I did right and where I went wrong. I have learned that your application season starts from the end of the last match -ie, if you are a repeat applicant- at which
time you start planning and working on making yourself the best candidate you
can be. Do not leave anything to chance and work hard. Looking through the
forums after matching I see people asking questions like “can I match if I do
not get any US clinical experience?” This is foolish. Do not be that guy!!! Give it your best
shot so you will not look back with regret!
Congratulations everyone that matched! Good luck to
all that are applying next season!
The post lacks any information. You could just write "do not give up"
ReplyDeleteThis post is a simple summary of my attempts at getting into Residency. I will share specific things that I thought were helpful in matching in future posts.
DeleteThanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteyou are welcome.
DeleteWhat was the key difference in your interviews between 2nd and 3rd time?
ReplyDeletePreparation was key. I spent months going over interview questions with friends, family. I was lucky to have a friend that is great at interviewing. Once you are called for an interview the program likes you to an extent - well that is if it wasn't a curtesy interview. However, once you set foot on the programs turf its your chance to shine.
Deletehi kwasi! thank you for your story. its truly inspiring. this will also be my third time applying and i have an attempt on step 2 cs too. i would like to seek guidance from u. my email is yvyamaka@yahoo.com.
ReplyDeletecongratulations again
Hi there, sorry for the late response. Sorry to hear that. Hopefully, this year is the year for you. You can shoot me an email @ step2csbuddy@gmail.com for any questions. Or you can follow my youtube channel: The successful img.
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