Radiology Interest Group- Secrets of the Match
May 5, 2009
Faculty Advisor: Richard.stern@mssm.edu (contact for shadowing opportunities)
Our website: http://www.mssm.edu/students/groups/radiology/index.html (includes a more
comprehensive list of MSSM Radiologists to shadow)
Summary of Q &A with 2009 MSSM successful Radiology Match applicants
feel free to e-mail participants directly.
Nimesh Pandey- Nirnimesh.pandey@mssm.edu Matched at U Penn
Spent a year as a Doris Duke Fellow on an orthopedics research project. For most of
medical school until right before 4th year he planned on entering orthopedics. However
he had significant exposure to radiology throughout medical school and took his
"Anatomic Radiology" elective early (end of 3rd year), which really sparked his interest
in radiology.
Andrew Schweitzer- andrew.schweitzer@mssm.edu Matched at Cornell
Spent a year as a Howard Hughes Research Fellow- his project spanned radiation
oncology & internal medicine. Decided on radiology during his research year (between
3rd and 4th year), though he had considered radiology throughout med school. He likes
the Cornell program because he is interested in cancer imaging and Sloan Kettering, the
affiliated hospital, is top in cancer research/treatment.
Avner Yemin- Avner.yemin@mssm.edu Matched at NYU
Involved in many leadership activities, including Student Council President and Rad
Interest group leader. Knew throughout medical school that he wanted to do radiology
and got a lot of early exposure (ie. electives at Sinai Interventional radiology dept). A
good asset at his interviews.
Choosing Radiology:
Shadow physicians, do anatomic radiology elective in your third year to get a "head
start".
Be careful to not choose your specialty too early and neglect considering other fields
throughout medical school. NP thought he was going to do orthopedics throughout and
only decided on radiology before his 4th year.
Research
This is important to have if you are interested in academic programs, but not so much for
community programs.
1st years- pick a summer project that spans the multiple fields you are interested in so
you can "spin" it as related to radiology if you end up applying to radiology. This is good
so radiology residency directors can understand your research and feel comfortable
talking to you about it at your interview.
If you choose a non-radiology project, that's OK, just try to make your involvement
meaningful (ie a paper authorship, poster or oral presentation)
Extracurriculars overall-
On your CV, try to mainly list activities you made a meaningful contribution to (in terms
of time, accomplishments and leadership roles). It's embarrassing at an interview if you
list something that you only spent a few hours on and/or didn't care much about.
Leadership activities (student council involvement, interest groups), teaching (tutoring,
mentoring), community service and "interesting" (unique activities like teaching yoga)
were assets for these applicants. Made for good conversation and demonstrated qualities
good for research/academic settings since they are interested in clinical medicine,
teaching & research.
Electives
Away electives may be worth doing especially if you are trying to
1) see if you're a good fit at the program or
2) demonstrate your interest in the program.
AS and AY spent time at Cornell, AS liked his rotation in MRI because he realized
Cornell was a great fit for him.
Try to get an elective with the Division that the program director works in because he/she
has the most influence.
Be careful though--an elective means multiple weeks at a program with plenty of "face"
time with program directors and other influential people. That extra time could be risky
if you have a "personality clash" with someone, or whatever. Whereas at an interview,
you have one day to make a solid, positive impression (as do they).
Consider doing an away elective at programs outside of the northeast if you are really
interested in those programs to show that you are actually dedicated to leaving NYC.
Applying to programs
Apply everywhere--radiology is competitive.
Maybe be selective about where you interview at if you have a lot of programs to choose
from--they are significant time/money investment. Don't interview at programs you
absolutely wouldn't consider (because of location, academic vs clinical focus etc.). But
be careful since radiology is competitive.
If you apply West Coast, like California, be prepared to write in your personal statement,
or demonstrate in your interview, that you actually want to live in that region. Selective
programs are hesitant to invite East Coasters to interview because they don't trust you'll
actually move to California.
Similarly, you may have to tailor your personal statement to various programs. NP for
example had two personal statements- one for clinical/community programs, another for
research/academic programs.
Interviews
Interviews are really important- residency directors want to know you are personable,
confident, articulate, and reliable. Radiology, unlike many other fields, have their
residents working directly alongside attendings.
When ranking programs, pick a program where you feel you'll fit in. Ie if you like cancer
imaging, pick a cancer center. Etc. If you like community medicine and you know you
want to only go into private practice, an academic/research center might be less suitable.
What's important: Grades, board scores, letters of recommendation, quality
extracurriculars, and the interview!
Closing Remarks:
Don't get "freaked out" about how competitive radiology is. Many radiologists started
out in other fields (internal medicine for example) and enter a radiology residency later.
Sinai is a good school, so if you want to be radiologist, you can become one!