2. Getting email addresses
B. How to get email addresses of PDs and Associate PDs, Chief Residents and even Coordinators
First of all, I emailed PDs, APDs as well as the Chief Residents during the interview season to see if they can review my application for an interview. It might not work everytime but atleast from my experience I would say it works more often than not (atleast one of them PD/APD or Chief will review it- will give true examples at the end of this post)
One more thing to note is most residency coordinator emails listed on ERAS are the ones that the programs have created specifically for residency and most of them are not even opened and looked at lol. So you will need the coordinator's routine working emails to actually reach them which most of the times is not there on ERAS. I dont know how others used to get them but this is how I found out something which might be the easier way to get around this!
- Google
1.'Program Search ACGME-'
2. Click on the first result
3. Under Advanced Program Search - Click on Search by Specialty and select your desired specialty and press search tab
4. It will open a list of all ACGME accredited programa for your specialty.
5. On the extreme right side of each program name - click on 'View Program' link (I used to right click and opened many in new tabs at the same time to save time)
6. Go to the program info that opens up and scroll down you will see 2 to 3 email addresses. One will be the coordinator for sure.
Sometimes you will see the program manager or administrator's email address too. If we are fortunate enough- we sometimes get the PDs email address there as well.
7. Obviously this would not always give you PD or APDs or chief's email addresses but what this gives you is 2 to 3 email address from people at same institution which makes it very easy to predict the pattern of email addresses for that hospital or university. So then go to the website and look at all of their names and try and guess their email addresses. As I had mentioned in the previous post- just form as many patterns you can for a single person and bcc them all in the email - anything that works!
Do this for all people in the leadership group and separate them out
I prepared a separate list for all APDs for all prporams i applied and all PDs separate and all chief residents in a separate list. Say for eg you are sending an email to programs in first week of october - send to just all the PDs, then try sending to all APDs in the second week and all chiefs in the third. After mid December start sending to all of them together since now everyone of them will be keeping their eyes open for filling cancellation spots in case they dont have a waitlist.
In more than 60 to 70% of cases this works wonders. I secured more than 10 to 12 interviews where my interview was directly sent to me as a reply to my email and not a separate email which meant the email had worked and also was waitlisted for 3 more because of the emails.
One very nice example was an APD who dint respond me but was trying to forward my email to the PD but mistakey sent it back to me and it said this 'PD name, I usually dont forward such emails to you and you also mjst have already received it from him but this applicant has ____ and ___, so thought would bring this to your notice since his application might have been screened out due to the red flag he has noted down'
I responded back to his email asking if I was supposed to receive the email and he apologized that it was meant to be sent to thr PD and also said he will try to see if I can get a spot. Eventually I dint but this clearly meant that even if they dont respond back - they do read your email. Had 3 - 4 more such instances where some of them responded back.
1.'Program Search ACGME-'
2. Click on the first result
3. Under Advanced Program Search - Click on Search by Specialty and select your desired specialty and press search tab
4. It will open a list of all ACGME accredited programa for your specialty.
5. On the extreme right side of each program name - click on 'View Program' link (I used to right click and opened many in new tabs at the same time to save time)
6. Go to the program info that opens up and scroll down you will see 2 to 3 email addresses. One will be the coordinator for sure.
Sometimes you will see the program manager or administrator's email address too. If we are fortunate enough- we sometimes get the PDs email address there as well.
7. Obviously this would not always give you PD or APDs or chief's email addresses but what this gives you is 2 to 3 email address from people at same institution which makes it very easy to predict the pattern of email addresses for that hospital or university. So then go to the website and look at all of their names and try and guess their email addresses. As I had mentioned in the previous post- just form as many patterns you can for a single person and bcc them all in the email - anything that works!
Do this for all people in the leadership group and separate them out
I prepared a separate list for all APDs for all prporams i applied and all PDs separate and all chief residents in a separate list. Say for eg you are sending an email to programs in first week of october - send to just all the PDs, then try sending to all APDs in the second week and all chiefs in the third. After mid December start sending to all of them together since now everyone of them will be keeping their eyes open for filling cancellation spots in case they dont have a waitlist.
In more than 60 to 70% of cases this works wonders. I secured more than 10 to 12 interviews where my interview was directly sent to me as a reply to my email and not a separate email which meant the email had worked and also was waitlisted for 3 more because of the emails.
One very nice example was an APD who dint respond me but was trying to forward my email to the PD but mistakey sent it back to me and it said this 'PD name, I usually dont forward such emails to you and you also mjst have already received it from him but this applicant has ____ and ___, so thought would bring this to your notice since his application might have been screened out due to the red flag he has noted down'
I responded back to his email asking if I was supposed to receive the email and he apologized that it was meant to be sent to thr PD and also said he will try to see if I can get a spot. Eventually I dint but this clearly meant that even if they dont respond back - they do read your email. Had 3 - 4 more such instances where some of them responded back.
Infact, I matched at a place where I had emailed and received a spot because some kind person had cancelled it. I had emailed one asso PD along with the PD and on my interview day I discovered that the APD is becomimg the PD from the next year (my PD now). During my Interview with him as soon as I entered the room he told me 'Kansas City, huh! I thanked him for going over my application and he said this, 'Oh no I remember your email where you said you work in Kansas City!" I was overwhelmed obviously.
On my interview day at one of the very prestigious programs I had an iv (that too came the very next day after after I emailed) with the chief who matched into GI fellowship and he told me he hardly reviews his emails but when he received my email which said I am a research fellow in GI with this mentor - he pulled my application out and looked at it and went to the PD directly to get me an interview since he liked what he saw. The PD obliged since that chief wont do it for everyone but you never know who happens to like what on your application so make sure you email. After my iv with him we went to attend Grand rounds where the topic was on GI and I specifically remember him saying lets sit together it would be fun.
One more late iv I got they mentioned it very clearly that i should have emailed before since now they just have two days available and I was not able to pick any due to clash.
In another invitation - the PD responded back saying he has now reviewed my application and put me on top of their waitlist and will give me the very next spot that becomes available- and I received the interview within next 3 days (had to cancel due to a clash)
Note - sometimes all emails are there on the program website too so make sure you go through everything possible since emailing helps. They do read it. Keep your emails brief and make 4 to 5 bullet points of the highlights of your application in the email itself. Tell them you will be available on short notice and mention about ties if any!
Emailing is the key! Howsoever impractical it may seem. Dont make personalized emails just email as many as you can at the same time with a generic email and bcc all of them- dont put anything in cc. Put ur own email in 'To'- and put all email addresses in 'bcc' because once you do bcc you wont be able to reuse those email addresses and have to copy paste everything again. The one whose address is in 'to' can see all email addresses that have been bcc'd so then you can always go back to your inbox and copy paste all bcc'd emails the next time. Gmail allows 100 addresses at a time. Outlook has no limit and has an inbuilt read receipt option too! Always use an instituional email if you have one. I worked at a VA and VA wont give you remote access to institutional emails which is why I missed out on 2 interviews since I saw the invites after a week when I returned back from other interviews. When you dont have remote access to your institutional emails - make a note in your email saying to copy another email address in their response and cite the remote access issue as a reason! And on the safer side also add your own gmail/yahoo/hotmail in 'to or cc-' as in some cases people just do reply all instead of reply which can work out too!
Next post - What can be done in the next few months?
3. Things to do from now till September 15th
B. Multitasking is a key part of your application and even more important skill to have during your residency training. We will be loaded with various different tasks at the same time during our training and we need to learn how to 1. Effectively prioritize them knowing your limitations in terms of time as well as abilities; 2.Efficiently doing whatever you prioritize and not just do it for the sake of removing it off the list.
What does it imply? Program directors love seeing someone who can not just multi-task but multitask efficiently! If your application can shout out loud that you are one such applicant who can do it then you will fare well in the match season even with a limited number of interviews.
What exactly does it mean by application shouting out loud?
For many interviewers, who screen applications, just a routine average application would be something like this -
October 2018 Observership in GI at Cleveland Clinic OH, November 2018 Observership in Cardio at Uni of Nebraska, December 2018 Nothing,
January 2019 Observership in Nephro at Houston Methodist, February 2019, March 2019, April 2019 - Nothing,
June 2019- Present (September 2019) Research fellow in GI Mayo Clinic.
March 2020 - Matched
April 2020 - Left the research position
May 2020 - Presented Poster at DDW 2020
June 2020 - Published 2 papers with the Mayo team
October 2018 Observership in GI at Cleveland Clinic OH, November 2018 Observership in Cardio at Uni of Nebraska, December 2018 Nothing,
January 2019 Observership in Nephro at Houston Methodist, February 2019, March 2019, April 2019 - Nothing,
June 2019- Present (September 2019) Research fellow in GI Mayo Clinic.
March 2020 - Matched
April 2020 - Left the research position
May 2020 - Presented Poster at DDW 2020
June 2020 - Published 2 papers with the Mayo team
What does a multitasking applicant look like? (This is not my application- it is just an example!)
October 2018 Observership in GI at Cleveland Clinic OH, November 2018 Observership in Cardio at Uni of Nebraska, January 2019 Observership in Nephro at Houston Methodist, June 2019- Present (September 2019) Research fellow in GI at Mayo Clinic MN.
October 2018- Present (Sept 2019) - Research Volunteer in GI at CCF OH, continued remotely after leaving!
Any USMLE Step which is pending took it in Feb, March or April 2019
February 2019 to Sept 2019 - Volunteer at XYZ Global Foundation - Fundraiser events
May 2019 - Presented Poster with the CCF team at DDW 2019 San Diego
July 2019 - submitted a review article with a GI physician at Houston Methodist
August 2019 - Sept 2019 Outpatient observership at Mayo Clinic (since it is just 1 to 2 hours twice a week - it can be managed with research work)
September 2019 - Posters accepted for the ACG 2019 with the CCF as well as Mayo team.
October 2019 - ACG poster won an award
November 2019 - published full-length papers from the DDW 2019 posters that you presented with the CCF team.
February 2020 (before Rank order list submission) - One more paper got accepted with the Mayo team.
October 2018 Observership in GI at Cleveland Clinic OH, November 2018 Observership in Cardio at Uni of Nebraska, January 2019 Observership in Nephro at Houston Methodist, June 2019- Present (September 2019) Research fellow in GI at Mayo Clinic MN.
October 2018- Present (Sept 2019) - Research Volunteer in GI at CCF OH, continued remotely after leaving!
Any USMLE Step which is pending took it in Feb, March or April 2019
February 2019 to Sept 2019 - Volunteer at XYZ Global Foundation - Fundraiser events
May 2019 - Presented Poster with the CCF team at DDW 2019 San Diego
July 2019 - submitted a review article with a GI physician at Houston Methodist
August 2019 - Sept 2019 Outpatient observership at Mayo Clinic (since it is just 1 to 2 hours twice a week - it can be managed with research work)
September 2019 - Posters accepted for the ACG 2019 with the CCF as well as Mayo team.
October 2019 - ACG poster won an award
November 2019 - published full-length papers from the DDW 2019 posters that you presented with the CCF team.
February 2020 (before Rank order list submission) - One more paper got accepted with the Mayo team.
March 2020 Matched
May 2020- Another DDW - More posters/orals
May 2020- Another DDW - More posters/orals
August, September 2020 - All those posters convert to papers if the team keeps working after you leave and you will get your credits.
Result- You showed you can multitask, you matched, you made amazing connections working remotely for CCF along with in person at Mayo Clinic, Your CV looks much much better, you get a head start for fellowship preparation and can focus a little more on clinical training during the intern year!
Again you can match with both kind of applications but in my opinion, people who play match by rules and cut-offs/criteria have a higher chance of going unmatched or matching at a place they ranked low as compared to people who play the match to their potential and do as much as they can. I see a general attitude that 1 elective and 2 observerships- got 3 letters, started research work, scored 240+ and with this, I will be okay with all the application criteria at all programs. But why not do as much as you can with whatever opportunities you get?! Every program mentions what is the minimum requirement!
Did you see any program saying this is the maximum requirement, anything more than that we won't accept?
Did you see any program saying this is the maximum requirement, anything more than that we won't accept?
Be a little street smart!
3. Things to do from now till September 15th (WILL DO IN MULTIPLE POSTS!)
A. For people planning to do rotations only till July/August/September - On your rotations start doing these things
First, google search/ ask the residents or fellows or your colleagues who are going for the research positions if there is any national conference coming up that they or other attendings in their division/dept are usually excited about? Now why am I talking about conferences in observerships/rotations ?? Conferences are the low hanging fruits with a rapid productivity and relatively minimal efforts if the team can work together.
The other way around is if you are rotating in Cardiology but your specialty of choice is Gastroenterology then figure out conferences for both the specialties.
For Cardio there should be ACC, AHA, CRT
Similarly for Gastro there is ACG and DDW
Once you know which are the conferences that are possible - figure out their submission deadlines. Say for eg ACG happens in October most of the times but the submission deadlines are usually in early/mid June. DDW happens in May but the deadline is in December of the previous year. So if you can do something for your application it has to be ACG. Similarly figure those out for Cardio conferences.
Now it is better if you are working in the same division, but even if you are not you can still ask the attendings/residents/fellows of other divisions if the team or they individually are planning on a few submissions and if you could help in finishing it up. If you have your own ideas for something to analyze and write or a case report of a patient you managed then you can also suggest them that idea and see if you could work together. You will end up getting names on their other abstracts in some cases. A resident or a fellow would be very happy to ask for help if it is within their limits since they will get some help between busy clinical schedules. A lot of residents work towards their fellowship applications especially PGY1 and 2 residents who will submit application for fellowship in the June of the beginning of PGY3 and many of them end up compromising on research because of clinical duties at times so they will appreciate some help in most cases. Do not hesitate even if you know nothing about writing abstracts for conferences. They will ask for limited help and you will have something to show on your application and if that poster ends up winning a prize at the conference then that is the cherry on the top - extremely valuable.
First, google search/ ask the residents or fellows or your colleagues who are going for the research positions if there is any national conference coming up that they or other attendings in their division/dept are usually excited about? Now why am I talking about conferences in observerships/rotations ?? Conferences are the low hanging fruits with a rapid productivity and relatively minimal efforts if the team can work together.
The other way around is if you are rotating in Cardiology but your specialty of choice is Gastroenterology then figure out conferences for both the specialties.
For Cardio there should be ACC, AHA, CRT
Similarly for Gastro there is ACG and DDW
Once you know which are the conferences that are possible - figure out their submission deadlines. Say for eg ACG happens in October most of the times but the submission deadlines are usually in early/mid June. DDW happens in May but the deadline is in December of the previous year. So if you can do something for your application it has to be ACG. Similarly figure those out for Cardio conferences.
Now it is better if you are working in the same division, but even if you are not you can still ask the attendings/residents/fellows of other divisions if the team or they individually are planning on a few submissions and if you could help in finishing it up. If you have your own ideas for something to analyze and write or a case report of a patient you managed then you can also suggest them that idea and see if you could work together. You will end up getting names on their other abstracts in some cases. A resident or a fellow would be very happy to ask for help if it is within their limits since they will get some help between busy clinical schedules. A lot of residents work towards their fellowship applications especially PGY1 and 2 residents who will submit application for fellowship in the June of the beginning of PGY3 and many of them end up compromising on research because of clinical duties at times so they will appreciate some help in most cases. Do not hesitate even if you know nothing about writing abstracts for conferences. They will ask for limited help and you will have something to show on your application and if that poster ends up winning a prize at the conference then that is the cherry on the top - extremely valuable.
What to do if no such conferences are not possible because the deadline is late or has already gone. In that case try to find other specialties where a conference is still possible and contact residents or fellows in those divisions.
How can attendings help- when you start rotating in a hospital- try to get an idea from the people around about which doctors are the most well known for research in the hospital and who have a very high productivity or are an expert on some topic where they have published tons of work. I during my rotations have come across many such faculty even in other departments who are known world wide for their research work on a topic (these people usually have a lot of projects going on at a single point in time). Now they have reached some point in life where they dont have alloted time for writing review articles because review articles are a pain in the ass! It is time consuming to say the least. These big name people get 'invited' review articles at times and that they keep pending to assign it to a resident, fellow and then supervise the paper as the last author on it in most cases unless it is some high end journal lol! What is an INVITED REVIEW? It is a review article that a journal invites them to write on a topic of their expertise. Dont ask what is a review article (Google it!). So these busy doctors usually end up rejecting the mid/lower tier journal invites for writing review articles. So as a medical student/observer you can find out those kind of attendings and shoot an email saying you work in the hospital in that role and will be there for 2 weeks or 3 week or whatever time period you are there for and that you are trying to see if you can be productive academically. Ask if you can help them with any conference abstracts or reviews/invited reviews and that you will try your best to finish it before you leave and if little things remain - you will be able to work on it over emails.You might get lucky (trust me odds are high if you find appropriate people to ask to!) So even if you are planning to go baco to home country after rotations - this kind of remote work will help and those big name attendings might put in a word to the programs for you if your interactions are smooth even remotely.
Goodluck!!
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