On September 14th, I hit the submit button on my residency application, the night before applications could officially be submitted. The next several weeks was a game of waiting…and refreshing my e-mail every opportunity I could get! Slowly but surely, interview invitations have rolled in, making for a busy October, November, and December ahead. As I write this blog post at the end of October, I’ve already had two of my interviews!
One of the things I love about my school’s fourth-year schedule is that we are given December off from our clinical responsibilities. This gives give us ample time and flexibility to interview during one of the busiest months of the interview season. During the other months, our classroom rules allow up to only four days missed during a month-long clerkship. It’s fortunate that many of the programs that I am applying to and interviewing at are on the east coast, so missing only two days (or even one if airlines cooperate!) in order to travel to the program, interview, and travel back to school is tight, but definitely feasible. However, many of my classmates hoping to match at residency programs on the west coast are struggling to fly across the country to accomplish the same task.
The residency interview season marks an exciting, yet somewhat frightening milestone for fourth-year medical students. There has been immense joy in being invited for interviews at programs that were reaches for me, and nagging self-questioning after being rejected from interviews from other programs. And I still haven’t even heard either way from other programs! I’m excited about the opportunities to travel, meet other people interested in family medicine, and find my dream residency program.
Let the residency interview season officially begin!
