Saturday, November 19, 2016

Residency Info Book

A few people have asked me if I have been using books for information regarding ERAS application, interviewing, etc and I am! I bought "The Successful Match." It's a great book. It has information about writing your personal statement, asking for letters of recommendation, sample interview questions and hundreds of other very useful facts. I highly recommend buying it. I have read it multiple times and it's so much easier than trying to find everything online.

*I receive no compensation for suggesting this book.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

AAFP National Conference

I have been meaning to post about this conference since I attended in July but I was studying for Step 2 then applying for residencies and then interviewing so it's been busy.

The AAFP National Conference for Residents and Medical Students! 

This was by far the best conference I have been to and I highly encourage everyone to attend. It is held in July each year in Kansas City. The 2017 dates are July 27-29th. 

Sessions: 
They have so many great sessions to attend that it was hard to plan my schedule. From pain management to wilderness medicine to residency. I attended Applying to Residency: From Before Application to After the interview. This offered all the basics to the ERAS system, as well as and Q&A time with a panel filled with program directors and residents. I also attended Do's and Don'ts of Residency Interviewing: Advanced Skills for Residency Applicants. This was also very helpful to discuss what questions are normally asked during interviews as well how to present yourself etc. 

Two non-residency associated sessions I attended was Global Health Interest and Networking Meeting and Maternal Childcare and childbirth in Family Medicine. Global health and obstetrics in Family medicine are two large interests of mine. The Global health meeting was great as it allowed me to listen to others' experiences, how they got involved and the struggles that goes along with it. It also allowed me to network and participate in a mentor/mentee program where there is a group of current family practitioners and residents who have experience in global health. The maternal childbirth session was what I was most excited about. I learned how to successfully incorporate obstetrics within family practice and the challenges that come along with it. 

Fun events:
They had a lot of fun events to attend during the weekend as well. Friday night they had a live band at the beautiful Midland Theatre in downtown KC and also a breakfast in the morning.
The Midland Theatre

Residency Expo:
The best part of the whole weekend is the Expo. There was over 400 exhibitors with a majority of them being residency programs. I will say it is a little overwhelming riding up the escalator and seeings a mass of booths. Each booth is numbered and there is a directory in the program they give you and it is mostly organized by state but I highly recommend researching which places you want to stop by ahead of time so you can use your time wisely. Prepare questions you would like to ask programs too! I was able to connect with a program I am doing rotations at currently! It's a great opportunity! 

 Everyone waiting to go up to the residency expo


Kansas City is an awesome city so while you're there, get out and enjoy it. A good friend from high school lives there, so I stayed with her and we got to hang out whenever I wasn't at the conference. Most importantly we ate BBQ! It was sooooooo good. Oh my gosh. Delicious. We also checked out The Roasterie coffee shop, the World War I memorial with great views of the city, the plaza shopping center and the Doughnut Lounge! 

View from the World War I Memorial at night