Tag: intern

Financial Advice for Interns, Residents, and New Graduates

The other day a work friend of mine and I were chatting about student loans and the current forbearance for student loans.  They are working in academia partly to get Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which pays off all loans after 10 years of working for a qualifying charity or government organization.  Unfortunately, they didn’t

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What I Learned Reading Intern Applications Last Year

Although time consuming, I greatly enjoy reading the intern application packets we get.  They are packed full of interesting stories, and the accomplishments of these applicants honestly amazes me.  Many of them have faced serious personal hardship- cancer diagnoses, generational poverty, fleeing war-torn countries.  Many of them are truly inspirational.  Most of them are just

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On Writing

I turned out to be a huge Stephen King fan as an adult.  Growing up, my sister loved his horror stories, but I don’t really like horror, so I never read any King. Until, that is, I read The Dark Tower.  That sold me.  Now Stephen King is a go-to for me, particularly when I’m

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Significant Other’s Job During Academia

With only 38 accredited veterinary schools in the US and Canada- and many of those in small rural towns- starting vet school, internship, residency, or a faculty position can be a distinct strain on a romantic partner’s ability to get a job.  Within the US, I count about 10 veterinary schools in a decent-sized city

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M&M Rounds: Didn’t Match for an Internship

During M&M rounds, we will examine some fictitious cases and evaluate the facts and consider some solutions to these problems. Ivey Sprigs is a 27-year-old Caucasian female presenting for not matching into an internship through the VIRMP.  Her eventual professional goal is to do a cardiology residency, so an internship is virtually essential as a

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What I Learned Reading Intern Applications This Year

I have served on intern selection committees for more years than I care to count.  Although there are a lot of similarities year-to-year, there are also some interesting differences.  This is my first year reviewing intern applicants at my current institution, and there is always some variability in applicants from program to program.  Below are

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A Tale of Two Interns

I have some bad news.  Life is not a meritocracy.  We all wish we lived in a world where, if you are the best candidate for a position, you get the position.  Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in.  In our world, who you know has a tremendous impact on your ability to get

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Red Flags in Internships

Internships are entirely unregulated, working under the motto “caveat emptor”.  It is up to the individual applicant to determine if a program is a good one or not.  There are plenty of programs out there which are better than others, and many that are worse.  Therefore, it is absolutely vital to do your research to

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Red Flags in Internship/Residency Applicants

I think it is surprisingly easy to get yourself flagged as “not rankable” for an internship or residency.  Most application evaluators maintain a “veto” system for applicants.  Any evaluator can veto any applicant for any reason.  Particularly for residents, NO ONE wants a resident whom one of the mentors does not want to work with. 

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The Art of Pimping

I am NOT talking about managing sex workers.  In 1989, Dr. Brancati published a tongue-in-cheek article in the Journal of the American Medical Association titled “The Art of Pimping”.  It is a true classic which I think anyone bound to be a specialist would enjoy. Pimping is the term used when the senior clinician asks

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