|
|
  |
Applying to Family Practice Residency Programs
- How do I decide which programs are the best to apply to?
-
How many programs should I apply to?
- Who should I get to write my letter of recommendation?
- What are some suggestions on how to write a personal statement?
- What's in the Dean's Letter?
- How do I schedule interviews?
- What should I look for when I visit a residency program?
- What happens during the interview?
- Should I re-notify my top program of my interest?
- Is there a difference between East Coast and West Coast programs?
- Is there any difference between university-based and community
hospital-based programs?
- How do you get into a program if you don't do a clerkship
there?
- What happens if I don't match?
- How do I find additional resources for applying to residencies?
- How do I decide which programs are the best to apply to?
Initially, consider what kind of program you are looking
for: urban underserved, rural, university, or community. There
are a number of very important sources of information. First,
and perhaps most important, are members of the class who are
graduating from medical school. They have gone through the
process less than a year ago and are an invaluable source
of information.
Second, your career advisors have helped students go through
this process before. Although they may be somewhat out of
touch with the latest changes in various residency programs,
they have had a chance to discuss students' perceptions, faculty's
gossip, etc.
Third, there is a wealth of information through the web starting
with the Department of Family & Community Medicine's web
site with links to the American Academy of Family Practice
(AAFP): http://www.aafp.org/.
The AAFP web site has lists of all Family Practice Residency
Programs in the US and offers links to those programs that
have on-line sites. These sites will provide you with important
information concerning all aspects of the program and the
community.
Fourth, there are a number of print resources including:
Directory of California Family Practice Residency Programs
published by the California Academy of Family Physicians and
the Directors of Family Practice Residency Programs published
by the American Academy of Family Physicians (also available
through the AAFP website). The Department has copies of these
documents in addition to brochures for UCSF affiliated programs
and programs in California and Nevada.
- How many programs should I apply to?
The maximum number of programs you can put on your match
list (if not applying as a couple) is 10. Not everybody fills
up their match list. Historically, at UCSF,80% of students
get into one of their top three choices. Students usually
apply to and interview at more programs than end up on their
match lists. Definitely do not apply to and interview at more
than 15 programs. Most people apply to far less, but probably
not less than five. How many you apply to depends somewhat
on your time, money, interest, and family and geographic considerations.
Some students need to stay in the area, and there are four
family practice programs in the greater Bay Area: San Francisco
General, San Jose, Martinez, and Santa Rosa. If you have trouble
narrowing down your choices or expanding your horizons, talk
to an advisor.
There are 485 family practice residencies nationally and
38 in California. A program can change significantly in a
couple of years. The addition of new key faculty or a new
rotation can go a long way. A strong program for one person
may not be for another. Talk with family practice career advisors
and recent UCSF graduates at specific programs. The department
maintains match lists for recent years and can assist you
in finding UCSF graduates at various programs.
- Who should I get to write my letter of recommendation?
Most programs ask for three letters of support in addition to
the Dean’s letter. We recommend that these letters of support
be written by senior faculty members with whom you have worked
clinically. A letter from a faculty member in the program you
are applying to is often the most significant. One letter should
be from a Family Medicine faculty member; at least one should
be from a primary care department and another from a clerkship
in which you did well. Schedule appointments with prospective
recommenders in June or July. At these appointments, you will
be asked to provide relevant information for drafting the letter
and you will have the opportunity to review it. Bring the instructions
from the Office of Curricular Affairs to the appointment for
submitting the letters on ERAS.
Remember: Your letter writers will need at least one month advance
notice of deadlines.
- What are some suggestions on how to write a personal statement?
Programs require a personal statement. These
essays are important and are read. They are especially important
for the University of Washington Affiliated Programs where
they are used as screening for offering interviews and in
the ranking process.
The personal statement should be no longer than one page,
single spaced, or two pages, double-spaced. This is the place
to emphasize things that do not appear in your Dean's Letter:
e.g. your reasons for going to medical school; your interest
in family practice as well as your interest in the specific
program; activities that have demonstrated your interest in
Family Medicine; extracurricular interests and topics that
might be too humble to mention in an interview but you want
to make sure the program knows. If you are a born writer,
a joke or story might be appropriate, but don't be too off-the-wall.
Preparing your statement may help you solidify your thinking
about what you want in a residency program. It is good preparation
for your interviews. If a program asks for certain information
or asks you to address specific questions in the personal
statement, make sure you do. Students may write different
statements for specific programs - i.e., underserved, rural,
etc. Demonstrate in your letter how you have shown commitment
to these specific goals of the respective residency programs.
- What's in the Dean's Letter?
The Dean's Letter is put together by the Dean of Curricular
Affairs, and primarily includes written descriptions of your
performances on the required clerkships. It emphasizes the
clerkships from which you received honors (if any); it also
has biographical data, and information about extracurricular
activities and service on UCSF committees, etc. You will review
the letter before it is sent out and have the opportunity
to change anything you are not comfortable with. You may request
a copy of the Dean's Letter to review with your advisor, but
only you and the residency program will receive a final copy.
The Dean's Letters are fairly standard, but should give a
good flavor of your performance in medical school. UCSF students
will receive specific information and guidance concerning
their Dean's letter from the Office of Curricular Affairs.
Dean's Letters are sent out on November 1st.
- How do I schedule interviews?
Most programs interview between November 1st and February
1st. Most programs require an interview to be considered for
the match. Each program handles scheduling interviews differently.
However, it is unusual for a student not to be able to work
out a convenient interview time with a few phone calls or
letters. If you have scheduled your interviews well in advance,
it is best to confirm them a day or two before. Your career
advisor may be helpful in scheduling interviews if you are
having difficulty with a program that you are particularly
interested in.
The busiest time for interviews is November lst to January
15th. Some programs may not interview over the winter holidays,
when there are fewer faculty available. If you are planning
to interview then, check on dates well beforehand.
- What should I look for when I visit a residency program?
Every student looks for different things, but in general we
recommend the following:
- Do the residents have an active role in the management
of the program? Do they have input into their schedules,
selection of new residents, etc.?
- Is there a defined curriculum with specific behavioral
objectives for each month's service?
- Are the specialty faculty supportive of family medicine,
and are they good teachers?
- Do residents have responsibility for inpatients on all
services? Are relationships well worked out between departments?
- Do the family practice centers provide good patient care?
Is there time for teaching communication skills, practice
management, preventive care, etc.? Are there adequate numbers
of Family Practice and behavioral science faculty? Would
I feel comfortable working in this clinic? Is this the patient
population with which I want to work?
- If you have an interest that requires special learning
opportunities (such as doing C-sections, learning family
therapy, earning a M.P.H.), are those opportunities available
to you? The best thing is to have this interest actually
integrated into the program for interested residents.
- Do the residents seem well-satisfied, is there minimal
conflict between residents, and are the working hours and
benefits reasonable? Could you picture yourself working
with these people as close colleagues?
- Is there a resident support group? Are faculty supportive
of residents?
An example of a rating form is available in pdf* format. You
may copy the form for your interviews. This form lists questions
about the strengths and weaknesses of the program. You may find
that it is helpful to fill out this form after you visit each
program so that you will have some personal notes to review when
it comes to fill out your match list.
Download rating
form 
*Portable Document Format permits a document to be viewed
across platforms with the formatting intact. While sometimes difficult
to view on screen, these documents can be printed on postscript
printers without loss of formatting.
Acrobat Reader is necessary to view and print PDF files. The
Adobe Acrobat Reader software is available for DOS, Microsoft
Windows, Macintosh and SUN UNIX computer operating systems. You
may download it and use it at no charge. Download
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- What happens during the interview?
Interviews vary a great deal by program. Some interviews
sare highly structured, with the faculty member asking the
same questions of each interviewee, while others are free
flowing. Rarely are interviews stressful, or are you put on
the spot to answer specific medical questions. Most programs
have you interview with one or two faculty members and a resident.
The resident interviews are often just as important as those
with the faculty. You should have some good questions to ask
(i.e., be sure to have read their program materials beforehand).
If you have some uncertainties about what you really want
to do with your life, it is probably best not to reveal too
much about these uncertainties in the interview.
Program Directors also want somebody who is likely to be
there for all three years, and will be hard working, energetic,
and dedicated. You might schedule your first interview at
the place you think you are least interested in so you can
try out some of the questions and answers. Interviews last
20 minutes to one hour. Most are informal, and some programs
may be trying hard to recruit you!
Students like to have some time with the Program Director;
however, in some programs, because of the large number of
applicants, this may not be possible. If you have a chance,
the person we recommend you spend time with is a second year
resident who has been in the program over a year. This is
probably the best repository of nitty-gritty information.
- Should I re-notify my top program of my interest?
After you interview, some programs may ask you to write a letter
or call them if you are planning to rank them highly. If they
ask for communication, and you are planning to rank them anywhere
in the top ten, you should definitely respond very affirmatively
and let the program know you think highly of them. Do not tell
programs that you will definitely rank them #1, as programs
have learned not to trust this information. Many students also
write unsolicited letters to their top-ranked programs (top
1-3). In some programs, this may be of some help, as the programs
like to match students they know really like them, but other
programs do not pay much attention to this. If you do let programs
know that you are very interested in them, do it before mid-February.
Programs must submit their match list by the same date as students.
If you have one program that you really want to get into, let
your advisor know so that he/she can follow-up with a phone
call to the program.
- Is there a difference between East Coast and West Coast programs?
Ten to 15 years ago there was quite a difference in the content
of programs based on geography. Eastern programs were stronger
in Internal Medicine, and Western programs were typically stronger
in obstetrics and the surgical subspecialties. However, in the
last few years the American Board of Family Practice set some
very specific guidelines about the content of acceptable residency
programs and now there is relatively little difference between
programs regarding the number of months on the different services.
However, there are still some differences in emphasis and content
among programs. There are good programs in most states. California
programs are probably more competitive because of geography,
not necessarily quality. There are also many excellent programs
in all parts of the country.
- Is there any difference between university-based and community
hospital-based programs?
Most family practice residency programs are based in community
hospitals, but are university affiliated. The concerns at larger
or university hospitals is the competition between residents
of different specialties. If this seems to be well worked out,
then the strengths of the university programs, including attendings,
lectures, etc. may make these programs outstanding. Many students
interested in family practice want to learn primarily by doing
and want the broad patient base of a community hospital. The
main thing is to make sure there is an appropriate balance between
service and education, good quality control, and good attendings.
Most important is to identify which environment matches your
learning style.
If you are interested in future academic positions, doing
a research project during your residency, or more flexibility,
then you may want to look closer at university-based programs.
The best stepping-stone to an academic career, however, is a
post residency fellowship. Most fellowships are at university
programs. One can choose to do a fellowship after either a community
or university-based residency.
A schematic of the potential advantages and disadvantages of
each type follows:
|
|
| Emphasis on common diseases and procedures |
Breadth of faculty |
| A lot of patient responsibility |
Good lectures/seminars |
| More continuity of care |
Resident "cross-fertilization" |
| Less territorial warfare |
Research projects and/or up-to-date scholarly activities |
| More personal interactions with attendings |
|
| Service may predominate (i.e., too much surgical scrubbing) |
Patient mix |
| Spotty specialty teaching |
FP's role less appreciated |
| Less evaluation |
You are on others turf - practicing in a fishbowl |
| Facilities may be lacking |
Clinic system inefficient |
Some students have questions about careers and residency training
in family practice versus primary care internal medicine, pediatrics,
psychiatry, etc. We urge you to discuss these with your advisors.
- How do you get into a program if you don't do a clerkship
there?
Although doing a clerkship at a program that you are interested
in may help a little (if you do well), it is not a requirement
for matching. Students should apply to all programs that interest
them whether or not they did a clerkship there. Doing a clerkship
helps because they know you, your performance, your interest
in the program, etc. But you shouldn't and can't spend all
your senior electives doing clerkships at Family Practice
residencies. Do the best job you can on your regular electives
(perhaps taking one in family practice) and required clerkships
and let the clerkship and application process do the rest.
If you do not get the site of your first choice in the FCM
110, students are not encouraged to do an additional FCM 140.01
clerkship to gain exposure to that site. Consider the Family
Practice Inpatient service at SFGH, which fulfills the Sub-I
requirement. If you have one non-UCSF program in mind that
seems to stand out above all others for family, geographic
or training reasons, you may wish to take an elective clerkship
there to try it out. Almost all residencies offer student
electives, but talk to your advisor!
- What happens if I don't match?
Many students are extremely worried about not matching. You
should not put on your match list any program that you don't
want to match. Nationally, approximately 5% to 10% of students
do not match, and in general, these students end up at a better
program than if they had matched at the last program on their
list. If you have a good deal of geographic freedom (that
is, are not tied to the Bay Area), then you are urged to only
put on your list those programs that you are really excited
about. During Match Week and prior to Match Day, there are
a variety of resources for finding appropriate spots for unmatched
students. It is very important that students be in contact
with the Dean's office during Match Week. Students must be
available to work with faculty advisors if, for some reason,
a student has not matched. ALL students are placed by Match
Day!! This is a fairly smooth process and UCSF graduates do
very well in comparison with graduates of other schools.
- How do I find additional resources for applying to residencies?
The Office of Curricular Affairs provides detailed information
on this process. You will receive a printed copy of The Next
Step - Your Guide to Residency and it is available to you on
the web (address given below). This guide provides answers to
common questions and can assist you in putting together a personal
statement and curriculum vitae. Web address for this guide is:
http://medstudents.ucsf.edu
Information on Family Practice as a specialty is available
through the website of the American Academy of Family Practice
with numerous articles on choosing Family Practice as a career.
The AAFP site also has links to individual programs all over
the United States; a guide to the match process called "Strolling
Through The Match" and other helpful resources. Their web
address is: www.aafp.org
Department of Family and Community Medicine key career advisors
with contact information are listed below.
We will also schedule informational meetings in the Fall with residents
from Northern California programs. This is always a very helpful
meeting. We will notify you when the meeting is scheduled.
|
