DIG Meeting Summary April 4, 2016 (Featuring Advice for applications and interviews from MS4s preparing for Dermatology Residency)

1. Advice from MS4s preparing for Dermatology Residency

a.     It is important to set yourself up for success during your rotations at home and during aways. Do as many away rotations as will fit in your schedule, even if they are later in the year. Consider doing away rotations at a variety of programs. Ideas to consider include location variety and programs that have previously accepted UTMB or Texas students.

b.     Research is an important part of your application. Dermatology looks highly at research projects specifically focused in dermatology. Make sure to keep your CV updated with all posters, oral presentations, case reports, abstracts, and pending manuscripts. Each poster presentation, even if it is the same poster at a different conference, should be included. All awards from conferences should be noted in your application as well.

c.     Apply to as many dermatology programs as possible.

d.     Interview questions:

                                              i.     Standard interview questions/mainly want to get to know you

                                            ii.     Strengths & Weaknesses

                                          iii.     Why do you want to be a dermatologist

                                            iv.     Favorite movie/book

                                              v.     Know your application well and be able to talk about each event/experience on it

                                            vi.     Situational questions

e.     A unique personal statement can help you stand out.

f.      With dermatology becoming increasingly competitive, it is important to consider a back up plan.  For someone who doesn’t match major decisions will be made in a very short amount of time so some forethought on what you would do in this situation could be beneficial. Options for someone who does not match into dermatology include completing an internal medicine or surgery prelim year and reapplying, taking a year for research, or dual applying initially.

2AAD Summary from Kristyna Gleghorn and Julie Croley

AAD is a great way for medical students interested in dermatology to learn about new innovations in dermatology, explore specific dermatology interests, and to get a better idea of what life as a dermatologist is like. One of the sessions they highly recommended is the Hot Topics Sessions where the forefront of dermatology research and pharmaceutical developments were discussed. An abundance of other informative topic specific presentations were held. Another benefit of attending AAD is presenting research in a poster format or oral presentation in the Gross and Microscopic Symposium. 

3  TDS Spring Meeting 2016

a.     April 15-16 at The Omni Hotel in Houston, Texas

b.     To register as a student email Sylvia Hall (Sylvia.hall@texmed.org)

4 Dermatology Night at St. Vincent’s 4/7/16
a             Sign up at http://www.stvsc.org/index.php/students/
5Stay Shady presentation at Holy Family Catholic School coming up in April- details TBA