Editors



Current Editors: Jane Onyemachi and Madelyn Schmidt

(Please email editors if there is blog-worthy news that you would like to see shared)

Past Editors: Fareen Momin, Andrea Francis, Renat Ahatov, Michael Phan, Elise Weisert, Michael Ryan, Keith Wagner, Tim Allen, Kristyna Gleghorn, Dung Mac, Alex Acosta, William Tausend, Sheila Jalalat, Rebecca Philips, Chelsea Altinger, Lindsey Hunter, Alison Wiesenthal, Leslie Scroggins, Mara Dacso, Ashley Group, Fadi Constantine, Emily Fridlington, Joslyn Witherspoon, Tasneem Poonawalla.

Friday, December 21, 2012

DIG Meeting Recap: Guest Speaker 12-10-12

Ms. Kimberly Cooper, UTMB dermatology residency program coordinator, volunteered to meet with DIG members for a Q&A session last week and provided very helpful information in regards to applying and interviewing for a dermatology residency position.

She stressed the importance of UTMB’s November 1st ERAS deadline because the dermatology residency committee starts reviewing applications the following day. She displayed a computer application that residency programs use to filter out specific application components such as Step 1 scores, AOA status, number of publications, etc. Currently, due to an overwhelming number of applicants, the UTMB cut off score for USMLE Step 1 is 225; however, she mentioned that many scores in their application pool are in the 250-260 range.  UTMB medical students and students from other institutions who take dermatology rotations at UTMB are currently exempted from a specific cutoff score.

Step1 scores and grades are not the only important factors in reviewing dermatology residency applications. Letters of recommendation and research experience are also taken into consideration. Most applicants have an average of 2-3 publications. Although research experience is not required for UTMB dermatology residency, it is highly encouraged because third year residents are required to complete a scholarly project before they complete their residency.

Personal statements do not make or break an application, but provide a way for the applicant to be unique and interesting. Ms. Cooper pointed out that the personal statement could also be used to mention any ties, such as family, to certain geographic regions.

UTMB students have the opportunity to work with faculty members and current residents by taking one of the several dermatology electives and/or an acting internship. This gives students a chance to portray their work ethic, professionalism, and enthusiasm for dermatology.  Students are encouraged to be on time, helpful, enthusiastic and interested.

When reviewing applications, an important factor for faculty and, most importantly, the residents is if the student will “fit” in the program based on their “whole package”. This year UTMB received 350 applications.  Of those, 10 MS4 students from UTMB, 2 current residents from UTMB’s internal medicine program, and 32 applicants from outside institutions were invited for an interview.  There are currently four PGY-2 slots to be filled each year through the NRMP.

At UTMB, each interviewer will have 16 individual interviews with each faculty and resident. Each interview lasts approximately 11-15 minutes. After all of the interview sessions, the faculty and residents meet to create a ranking list for the NRMP.

Thank you Ms. Cooper for your very informative talk and to all of the students that attended!