DIP Episode 222 - Advice for Med Students (Prometric Closures, SOAP Process, and some minor things)

Hi, good afternoon, my name is Devine, I'm a resident. This is a 222 of the Devine intervention podcasts. This podcast is an advice podcast, you know. Well, they're really educational here, but I guess I just want to make some comments and give some advice on the stuff that's, I guess, going on in the medical world with the coronavirus, then and pleasure of pre-metric centers and also give some thoughts on the sub-process. I know that it's going to get started today. And just, you know, just see a few general words of advice and then we're up there, so I'll keep this podcast real short. Basically, my first thing is, I guess, let me comment on this coronavirus thing. I mean, this thing has gone away further than anyone expected, but the thing I would see first of is just don't panic, right? The thing is, in general, when things, and this is not just a rule for the coronavirus or whatever, it's a rule for just life in general. It's a rule for life in general. If you are in a ten-hour situation, you know, always make sense to just don't panic, don't over react, because when you over react, you almost always make bad decisions, right? So just calm down, chill, right? When you calm down, chill, and think, then you're likely to make more informed, prudent decisions. Now what is some advice I guess I will give to some people at different stages of things, right?

So I will say, especially to the 30-year medical students, like those that are about to become four-th years, one suggestion I would say for sure, one thing I would say for sure is consider using this essentially mandatory time of as a dedicated period, because the thing is when these things, or when the weather is clear and everyone gets back to rotations, it will kind of be like a big jossal in terms of getting a rotation spot, doing a ways, and all that stuff. So you may not have copious amounts of time to do certain things that you could have done at ease if this coronavirus thing didn't come up. So I will encourage you to be proactive, right? So use this time you have, I'm not saying go bonkers and study, study, study, 18 hours a day, no, right? But consider using this time as a de facto dedicated period. If you've not completed a rotation, that's not a problem. Go ahead and pick up materials that you can use to study for that rotation and just get that knowledge down, right? I mean, you have NV Me practice exams you can do. You for step two CK again, I'm not trying to sell my materials, but again, thousands of people have used this stuff and they found it to be helpful. I do have comprehensive materials for pre-want all the rotations, multiple podcasts, just go on the website and you see the suggestions I give by specialty. This will be a good time to just kind of go through those materials, do practice exams, do practice questions.

So essentially take this as a de facto dedicated period. If you're a third year about to get into fourth year, that's one thing I'll absolutely recommend. And one of the things I will say is, plan your applications, right? Again, you may not have copious amounts of time like this anymore to write your personal statement and reach out to letter writers and all that stuff. So I'll encourage you just begin to plan your application, kind of set those things up so that you're kind of like in a good spot when things roll around. Because essentially the time that you will get in the future, you're essentially getting it on an advanced basis, right? So you might as well use it now, use it pretty gently so that you set yourself up for the future. Now, one of the things I will also say is, for those of you that already in dedicated periods, right, for like step one, step two, secure whatever, one thing I will strongly recommend is, let's say you're very close to your exam, right? That you're like, oh crap, they closed all the parametrics. I can do this. I can do that. I can do this. I can do that. Don't use it as an opportunity to pick up garbage, right? So what do I mean by that? So you see some people, because they have extra time, they start picking up on study resources that they never planned to use in the first place. That's usually not a prudent idea, right? It's better for you to focus. In fact, it's better for you to do like a careful downgrade.

So let's see, we're studying 12 hours a day. You can downgrade to like six or seven hours a day, right? But focus your time on just learning your materials better and better. Be very selective about the extra materials that you pick up. I think that's very important. And for the most part, to be honest with you, I'll say again, a careful downgrade, but just keep studying like nothing has changed, right? Keep studying like nothing has changed because the thing is the situation is very fluid, right? So you can never really tell the end game. You may say over close in to April 16th and then the mid-chain the rules like next week, right? So the thing is you can never really tell, but you can always be prepared, right? So you know, keep preparing like you're keep preparing like nothing has changed. That's what I typically tell people in top situations like this, but again, do not pick up garbage. Very important. Do not pick up garbage. I mean, like one thing I wish the MBME would have done is, although I don't know how this will work out, but just considering like letting me school host some of these USMLE based exams, because mid schools have the infrastructure and everything, because that may be the way to kind of deal with the surplus of people they have to host, but I don't know, but it's not like one can really do much with these things, but that's kind of like the big thing there. And then the other thing I guess I want to speak to is the so process, right?

So you know, some people found out yesterday that they did not match terrible situation, not ideal. Yeah, it was not a great situation for it. So I mean, I was reading stories and stories and stories on a Reddit or people that didn't match. And again, it's kind of like a tight top situation to be in. So what is some advice I would give, right? So the first thing is stay calm. Okay. Again, stay calm. Don't over react again. It's a suckish situation. What's the calm? That's the first thing. It's the fact that you did not match is not the end of the world. Literally, I promise you it is not the end of the world, right? And then the next thing is you then want to be into rich out to people that can put in a good word for you, right? So reach out to advisors, reach out to mentors, reach out to people that can kind of help. So that because the thing is, you know, you can't contact any programs until programs have reached out to you or it's just reach out to mentors and people just essentially have them on high alert, have them ready to help you reach out to places. This is one of those times where you want people to put in a good word for you. And it will probably not be a bad idea to also alert the deans of this, right? Again, if your deans need to make calls for you, they usually pretty highly place people who they can help you out in those kinds of situations. And they're usually willing to help out. So just one of those things you want to keep at the back of your mind.

And as you're going through the process, be patient with people. There are lots and lots of nasty personalities from a program director perspective, resident perspective. You'll just see many mixed personalities during this period. Just remember that divine told you to be patient. Just be patient with people like it's a stressful period for you, but it's also a stressful period for the programs that I interview you because I imagine that they did not plan to be in a situation where they did not feel through the match, right? So just something to keep in mind. And again, be flexible in terms of what you want to do. So there may be some off-target specialties that may not necessarily be like, it may not be your identical specialty, exactly what you want. But there are specialties that are closely related. Again, I don't want to talk down any specialties or talk up any specialties. So I'm going to refrain from mentioning specific examples. But the thing is, if you really want to do a specialty, there is probably something that is very closely related in medicine that can serve most of the needs that you'd ordinarily feel in that initial specialty of choice that you have. So just, again, kind of keep that in mind. And then keep your documents ready, right? So like your ERAS documents, your personal statements, your USMLE transcripts, just have all those things under ready so that if you need to supply to someone, you can supply to them very rapidly.

Like people that may cause for you and all that stuff, right? And one thing I also recommend is recruit people to help. Because you have to see through programs, see through applications and all that stuff. You'll need help, right? You'll have very limited time to do it, right? So just reach out to people, people that are trustworthy, people that are not loose mouth it because unfortunately there are many people in this world that cannot keep a single secret. So reach out to people that are not loose mouth it that can help you that can kind of work through things relatively quickly. I think that's, that'd be something that be prudent to do. In fact, one of the group of people like I can see that, oh, they're probably helpful to keep in touch with our like clerkship directors. So let's say for example, you planned to match into the specialty, but you didn't match. And then there's this clerkship director for this or the specialty you're like, oh, you know, this may meet my needs. Consider it you know, to that clerkship director to reach out for you. Because usually clerkship directors tend to know a decent number of program directors within their own specialty. So again, this one of those nice good handy dandy things to do.

And then if when you, you know, get an interview with a program, tell them that I would accept this position if you offer me a spot like be matter of fact, this is not a time to deliberately and try to hedge or be political or be PC in the kinds of responses you give. Just tell them straight off, if you give me a spot, I will accept it. Right. Just tell, just tell them that, right? Because you don't know if that's the only thing you would ever get. Right. And the thing is if you can supply a compelling reason for why a program will work for you, like a personalized reason, that may not be the worst thing to do as well. People remember that stuff. Let's say like, oh, I have family in this area or oh, I, I would like to settle in this area of the country because it's like three, a three hour drive, a three hour drive away from where my like this person lives. Oh, I have a significant other in this state, right? Those are all things. Just again, try to find a compelling reason for why this program would desire you overall the other people that are also trying to get spots. And one of the things I would also say is just again, for the future generation that is listening to those podcasts, essentially, if you know, like the thing is I feel like most people know if the applications are good or the applications are great or the applications are just kind of like me for a given specialty.

If you know the applications are me for a given specialty, I like courage you to not skimp on funds, apply broadly from the get go, right? Because you see some people they apply to like 20 programs at the beginning and then they start adding programs down the line. If they are noticing that they're not getting interviews, that's usually not a pretty thing to do, right? So I will say just in general, it is much better to say, okay, oh, my scores are not competitive for the specialty, right? Let me apply broadly. Let me apply to a second specialty, right? Like apply broadly, then if you, if you're, if you get like this deluge of interviews, you can always cancel, you can always cancel interviews. There's no crime in cancel interviews. The only thing is it's just a lot more difficult to get interviews when you start training applications a lot later. That because it's turning an application on lit, right? Just tell us a program that oh, you're kind of like in a precarious situation and you're doing this because you have no other options, right? So, and I mean like some people literally don't have an idea that the applications are not as good as they think it is. This is why it's almost always good to have an experienced person. Again, just second set of eyes on your application, just to make sure that you are being realistic with the way you're framing your application and the expectations you have for your match process.

So, I think that's all I would say and I think maybe with the soap as well, and the thing to keep in mind is just having an answer to the question, well, why did you not match, right? They will ask you point blank, why did you not match into your specialty? Be ready to give a cogent descent answer, right? And as I do at the end of every podcast, in fact, I will give you a life lesson today, the life lesson I'll say is when you're in a chaotic situation, do not panic, do not over react, right? When you panic, right? When you over react, you are more likely to give a less than well measured response to that situation, right? So, take some time, right? Even if it's five minutes, just calm down and collect your thoughts. You're more likely to give an informed response. I mean, this is a life skill that helps not just in, or if you have to participate in the soap or whatever, it's just a life skill that helps when there is a tornado going on all around you, or the stock market is crashing, or you're in the ICU and a patient is coding. The thing is just take a deep breath, calm down, keep quiet, and then be observant. Like, when you just kind of like tell yourself, okay, I'm going to keep my, like, regardless of what is going on around me, I'm going to keep my internal economy smooth, right? You can give a measured response. I know this thing helped me a lot during my transitional year, right?

When I had situations where it was like, patient was coding, many things were happening all over the place. Again, my responses, I feel like we're a lot more measured when I was calm, right? In fact, if you want a good mental image of how you should respond in a chaotic situation, for those of you that you clearly know that I love basketball, I mean, I'm not a clippers fan, but I really love Kawaii Leonard, right? And the way he is, like, you see him, he's very stoic, right? But he does, he's not too hot, he's not too cold, he's just even, even minded, right? Regardless of what is going on, his team is losing, they are down to, it doesn't matter, he's very even minded. That is a very nice, useful skill to keep in mind for many situations of life, especially if you're involved in the profession of medicine. So that's my life lesson for today. And as I do at the end of every podcast, I'd offer one and one to learn for many exams, step one, two CK, two CS, step three, pre-clinical med school exams, third year show of exams. I do these booster courses for the USMEL exams, it's 20 hours for step one, two CK and step three. Essentially, I review the most notes, rapid fire, Q&E format, I'll have some clinical vignettes, actually that we go over. Again, many people have done these booster courses and they found it to be extremely helpful.

And then, if you're medicine resident or a PEED resident, you need tutoring for like your in-treating exam or your board exams, feel free to reach out to me. And then if you're a college student, then you need tutoring for any of the pre-med courses or the MCAT courses like Genkham, Oken Physics, Biochem Histology, Physiology, offer tutoring for all those things. And again, I guess with this era's business in mind, if you're a med student or plan to residency, right, you have like an era's application. I do offer coaching, consulting, one on one advising for those things. That's one thing, thankfully that I have a lot of experience with. And actually, this current cycle, right, I mean the match, I mean, everyone found that whether they matched or not yesterday, this current cycle, everyone that I worked with, although I don't think I've heard from like maybe like one or two people, but everyone I worked with matched, right? So again, I'm not saying this to tooth my horn, but I have very good success with this activity, right? Like people that have like I've worked with people that have really bad scores or really bad stories and everything. And I can help you explain those stories, prepare you for your interviews and all those things, prepare your application to essentially give yourself your best chance for success.

So if you're a med student or plan to residency, like an era's application or a college student or plan to med school, so an MCAT's application, reach out to me and I'll be happy to point you in the right direction. I have tons of experience, years of experience, admissions committee experience and all that stuff. And I feel like I can really make a difference for you with your application. Again, like this past cycle of had people that had just applications where you're like, oh, this is not the best thing. Like people that have like failures on the, on the USMLE transcript, people that I've graduated from med school many, many, many years ago, people that had low scores on each, people with no research. People would like one bot in their, one bot or the other in their stories. And again, I was able to help these people thankfully and be able to do really well. So that's something I'm interested in. Feel free to reach out to me, either reach out to me through the website, divininterventionpodcast.com or send me an email at divininterventionpodcasts with an SADN.gmail.com. And again, I will encourage you for those of you that are going through the so process, just calm down. Don't freak out. Don't worry about it. It's not the end of the world. You'll figure a way out. You'll figure a way out. But reach out to people like I've mentioned earlier that can help you out. So please subscribe to the You Tube channel, subscribe to the podcast website.

I have these podcasts on Apple podcasts, Spotify and Google Play. So please subscribe. Any support certainly helps. So have a wonderful rest of your day. I'll see you next time. Thank you and God bless you.

Do not panic; do not overreact. Take time to calm down and collect thoughts to ensure an informed, measured response.

Be proactive but selective. Focus on established materials and maintain consistency (careful downgrade) rather than picking up "garbage" or trying to cover everything.

Mentors, advisors, and ideally the deans of the respective specialties, as they can advocate for you ("put in a good word").

Keep all documents (ERAS, transcripts, personal statements) ready to supply rapidly. Also, prepare a cogent answer explaining why you did not match.

Be matter-of-fact and direct; state clearly that you would accept the position if offered a spot.

Be flexible. Consider specialties that are closely related to your initial interest, as they may serve most of your core medical needs.

Take a deep breath, remain calm, and be observant (like Kawhi Leonard—stoic and even-minded).

Apply broadly from the get go. It is better to apply widely and cancel later than to start applications late.

Mentors, advisors, and ideally the deans of the specialty.

A cogent, well-measured answer explaining why you did not match into your desired specialty.

Maintaining consistency and focusing on established materials while carefully downgrading the intensity of study.

Consider reaching out to the clerkship director for that specialty, as they often know many P Ds within their field.

Take a deep breath, remain calm, and be observant (like Kawhi Leonard—stoic and even-minded).

Apply broadly from the get go. It is better to apply widely and cancel later than to start applications late.

Mentors, advisors, and ideally the deans of the specialty.

A cogent, well-measured answer explaining why you did not match into your desired specialty.

Maintaining consistency and focusing on established materials while carefully downgrading the intensity of study.

Consider reaching out to the clerkship director for that specialty, as they often know many P Ds within their field.