“Must Read” Research Article for Current Dermatology Applicants

Thanks to authors Farzam Gorouhi, Ali Alikhan , Arash Rezaei, and Nasim Fazel for their valuable research article about the preferences of program directors for dermatology residency selection (Dermatology Residency Selection Criteria with an Emphasis on Program Characteristics: A National Program Director Survey, Dermatology Research and Practice, Volume 2014, http://www.hindawi.com/journals/drp/2014/692760/ ). In their national survey of dermatology program directors, they found that the usual criteria (interview, recommendation letters, Step 1 score, transcript, and clinical rotations) were the top 5 criteria. The interview was the most important factor. Some programs also placed importance on other applicant aspects, such as advanced degrees, interest in academics, medical school rank, and publications. Previous failure to match into dermatology was identified as a possible barrier to a match in the future.