EM Match Advice 39: Mailbag Q&A as a Mid-Interview Season Check-In

The holiday season is soon ending, but the residency interview season is only at the half-way point. Based on your recently submitted questions, you are encountering unforeseen dilemmas about navigating the interview and post-interview season. Dr. Sara Krzyzaniak (EM program director at Stanford) hosts this quick Mailbag Q&A episode with Dr. Michelle Lin (ALiEM Founder/UCSF) and featuring the ever-wise Dr. Matt Pirotte (EM program director at Vanderbilt). We discuss the nuances around:

Preference signaling
Writing letters or emails of interest
Meaningfully connecting with busy program directors

We also answer the perennial question of “Really, how important IS the interview in my overall application?”

Thank you to EM program directors from Wisconsin, Northwestern, Denver, University of Virginia, University of Massachusetts, St. Johns Riverside, Loyola, St Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, Mount Sinai-Elmhurst, Maimonides, Brookdale, University of Chicago, and Hackensack, who also contributed their insights and answers to your questions.

Match Advice Podcast 39: Mailbag Q&A

Reference

Jewell C, David T, Kraut A, Hess J, Westergaard M, Schnapp BH. Post-interview Thank-you Communications Influence Both Applicant and Residency Program Rank Lists in Emergency Medicine. West J Emerg Med. 2019;21(1):96-101. 2019 Dec 9. doi:10.5811/westjem.2019.10.44031. [Open access link]