- Yaaayyyy… you’ve been matched to prepping a new residency! But now, instead of taking a deep breath and enjoying the fruits of your med school labor, you’re worried about your next move.
So, now what?
Your residency match is the next phase in your medical student career. And just like everything else so far, there are tasks you must complete to prepare for your new residency.
Let’s discuss the top five… one by one.
Looking for effective ways to ensure you’re ready to start your new residency like a pro? Check out these top five steps to prepping for your new residency:
1. Complete Any Unfinished Business
Fourth-year students can be a bit fickle sometimes. Many spend the year relaxing while completing their clinical rotations. Others stress out over their rotations, money for residency applications and interviews, and landing a good residency match.
Either way, you need to tie up any loose in regarding finishing med school before your residency starts. You need to leave any research programs in which you participated in good standing. Complete pending manuscripts, and organize collected data so others can access and utilize it.
Schedule final interviews with research heads, so you can receive closure by way of feedback. Gather recommendation letters from these mentors as well as med school faculty.
And by all means, be sure you finish all your required paperwork, courses, and clinical rotations, so you graduate on time.
2. Take USMLE Step 2 CK
It’s vital to your future career as a physician that you take both the USMLE Step 2 CK before graduation day. Residency programs can’t accept you without ranking, which many won’t provide without your Step scores.
If you’ve already passed USMLE Step 2 CK, go ahead and start prepping for USMLE Step 3. Even though you can’t take it until you’re done with med school, it doesn’t hurt to prep now.
View this post on Instagram
3. Research Your State’s Trainee Licensing
Not all states require residents to apply for trainee licenses before their residencies begin. However, those that do, have their own application processes. Because some residency programs offer prospects more guidance than actual assistance, it’s best that you research your state’s requirements now… yourself.
Be proactive. Search the internet to find out the requirements for starting a residency in your state. Then, start getting all the required documents together now.
4. Search for Housing
Most aspiring doctors have an idea of where they want a residency match long before application time. If this is you, now is the time to start looking for housing in that area.
You need time to go through the application process. Plus, you may need to take or trip or two to the local area to view the properties in person before signing a long-term lease.
It’s not very wise to lease a place you’ve never physically seen, especially with the high costs of paying the first and last or first and deposit and other move-in costs.
Physically relocating to your new home is another issue that requires preparation. This is a very important part of prepping for your new residency.
There are moving costs that include truck rental, hiring movers, obtaining a storage unit, transporting your vehicle, shipping belongings, and buying new furniture, appliances, and other items you may need.
Clinical Residency Interview Tips & Tricks for Future Doctors
5. Take a Residency Prep Course
There are courses that help medical students like you prep for your new residency match. Instructors help you learn how to sell yourself on your application. This requires creating a residency application package that captures the reader’s attention.
Such courses also help you prep for residency interviews, even those in specific specialized programs. They help you through mock interviews, personalized to match your tailored applications. This helps you prepare to interview for the specific medical field of your choice.
MedSmarter is a leader in residency prep courses in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. Located in Suwanee, GA, students learn application tips and take part in mock interviews in very small class sizes. All courses are taught by board-certified physician instructors.
Get the help you need prepping for your new residency from MedSmarter. We also offer over-the-phone residency prep services. Click the link below to learn more.
