by Jatinder Narang, M.D.Volume 58, Number 7
Medical students endure years of hard work and stress with the ultimate goal of matching into their residency of choice. In the book, The Successful Match: 200 Rules to Succeed in the Residency Match (MD2B, $34.95), Drs. Rajani Katta and Samir P. Desai provide the medical student reader with detailed preparation for the matching process.
In the best of scenarios, all students should be conscious of the Match from the first day of medical school. They should know that classroom success and notable board scores may not guarantee a spot in a distinguished residency program. It would be highly advisable to start reading up on the Match before hectic schedules, homework and tests wipe out early chances to prepare. Students can then fine-tune their efforts to achieve the distinctions and participate in the extracurricular activities that matter most in residency applications.
Katta and Desai, both faculty at Baylor College of Medicine, cite statistics and resources to help readers navigate a process laden with pitfalls. (Desai authored a previous book, The Residency Match: 101 Biggest Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.)
The Successful Match is organized into 16 chapters offering guidance about applying to residency, the interview and beyond. A chapter is even dedicated to international medical graduates. Hence, it appeals to a diverse audience seeking a medical residency within the United States. The rules and accompanying tips make the book user-friendly. The format is especially appealing to those pressed for time or looking for a single key element for a particular process.
Some of the rules, such as No. 48, “Recognize the importance of the personal statement to some specialties,” and No. 69, “Provide an explanation of the negatives in your application,” are adequately explained by quoting residency program Web sites and academic surveys.
However, other rules might not always hold true. Rule No. 39 explains the imperative of getting the chair-person’s recommendation letter. “The chair’s letter may be critical to your application. Plan accordingly, especially if you’ve never even met the chair.” However, the department chairperson may be unable to write this letter, leaving only the supervising physician to elaborate on the student’s medical aptitude. The lack of a chairperson’s letter might not necessarily harm an application. In my view, programs find recommendation let-ters from the immediate attending physician to be a better way to assess the candidate.
To judge if a particular rule is personally relevant, applicants should seek guidance from their medical school counselors, classmates and those in their desired specialty. Not all residency programs are the same.
Although the book is full of examples from physicians at various programs, certain rules may not work in spe-cific situations, and other approaches may be advisable.
At the end of the book, among a list of resources, is an invitation to check out the book publisher’s Web site, www.md2b.net, which offers additional resources about the residency process.
Overall, the book provides a good framework to understand the residency process, but readers should also seek other sources to better judge how these rules could apply to them.
Dr. Jatinder Narang is a graduate of St. George’s University School of Medicine. He aims to participate in the 2010 Match.