THE NEXT BIG STEP
RESIDENCY APPLICATIONS & INTERVIEWS
September
Apply for Residency/Submit Applications
February
Submit Rank List
November
Schedule Interview
Dates & Times
March
The Match
January
APMLE Part II Exam
Interviews
June
APMLE Part III Exam
The Application
When applying for residency programs, make sure you have these items completed to make the process more smooth:
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Professional Headshot
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CV/Resume, including:
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honors & awards
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original papers/publications
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research
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extracurricular activities & leadership positions
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Personal Statement
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3 Letters of Recommendation
Interviews
Everything you have been doing during your fourth year has been preparing you for interviews. There are so many great resources that exist, but make sure you have the basics down. This includes having Watkins, Prism Plus, and Crozier in your memory bank. There are 5 main podiatric emergencies that you should be aware of and know how to work up. Last, but not least, check out recommendations from Dr. Lyons about how to make sure you put your best foot forward on interview day!
The Match Explained
Hearing about this process for the first time was a confusing one, so here’s a brief breakdown of what this process is and how it works.
Something to note is that a student can only Match into 1 program.
During fourth year of Podiatric Medical School, you interview at various residency programs in January. At the beginning of the first week in February, each student submits their “Ranking List.” This is a preference list that is ordered from 1 to however many programs you want to rank. It is not required to rank every program you interviewed at and it is advisable to NOT rank a program where you know you would not be happy.
Just like each student, every program will also submit their rank list according to their preference. Both of these lists are then submitted into a computer and an algorithm “Matches” students and residency programs. This algorithm is said to be in favor of the student, so the computer will start at the top of the student’s list and continue going down their ranking list until they Match at a residency program.
The Monday of Match Week, students and programs find out if they matched. For those who don’t Match, programs and students alike, they have to scramble.
Now Scrambling may sound horrible, but it is not. Just like there are students who don’t match, there are programs who do not, too. So between that Monday until Friday of that week, you work with your school to find an open residency spot. Every year, there are several amazing Podiatric Residency Programs who need to scramble. So, scrambling could also work out in your favor.
Then on Friday of Match week, students will find out which programs they “Matched” into and where they will be continuing their PodMedAdventures as a resident.