Tag: resident

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

Continue Reading…

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

Continue Reading…

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

Continue Reading…

M&M Rounds: Didn’t Match for a Residency

During M&M rounds, we will examine some fictitious cases and evaluate the facts and consider some solutions to these problems. Mark Ashes is a 32-year-old Hispanic male presenting for not matching to an exotics/wildlife medicine specialty for the third time through the VIRMP.  He has wanted to be a veterinarian being paid to work with

Continue Reading…

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. 

Continue Reading…

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

Continue Reading…

The VIRMP Standard Letter of Recommendation

Applying for an internship or residency can be stressful.  Ideally, you made decisions throughout vet school to improve your chances, and hopefully you have followed the suggestions I have on how to be successful.  You have asked for letters of recommendation, which are probably the most important part of your application packet.  But what do

Continue Reading…

Your Hard Work is Not Impressive

Every now and then, I review letters of intent from intern or resident applicants that have something along the lines of, “When I was a student, I regularly worked 80-hour shifts,” or “When I was an intern, I often did 14-day-long shifts.”  I understand, working that much is ridiculous.  Being able to do it successfully

Continue Reading…