What Residency Directors Look For In Applicants

In this new online-exclusive column, residency program directors discuss what qualities they look for in future residents and how they decide who they will interview.

Q:

What key factors or characteristics do you consider or look for when evaluating applicants to your residency program?

A:

David Bernstein, DPM, says his program at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Wayne, Pa., will look at applicants in the top 25 percent of their class. His program frequently takes residents from its externship program, which has three slots per month, noting that his hospital is affiliated with all podiatry schools. He encourages visiting on weekends if DPMs cannot visit during the weekday. Dr. Bernstein recommends prospective residents interact with current residents by phone or email.

Dr. Bernstein also suggests residents have extracurricular activities and be well-rounded. Similarly, Andrew Meyr, DPM, says residents should find a way to differentiate themselves from other candidates.

"We appreciate individual personalities and take a lot of pride in the diversity of residents we have within the alumni of our program,” notes Dr. Meyr.

With that being said, Dr. Meyr does generally look for people who take pride in their work and who are going to view their residency not as a job but as an educational opportunity. He looks for people who are constantly looking to improve themselves academically/clinically/surgically and who demonstrate intellectual curiosity. Finally, Dr. Meyr searches for those who are caring and compassionate with an underserved patient population, and who are going to fully use the training the school provides them within their clinical careers.

William Urbas, DPM, searches for prospective residents who have a baseline of knowledge gleaned at their podiatry schools. His candidates should be able to grow and acquire surgical skills. Dr. Urbas says residents should have a full understanding of his program in the Crozer-Keystone System in Pennsylvania.

“Applicants need to be able to demonstrate intelligence, reliability, a healthy work ethic, and an ability to work well within a team of peers,” says Dr. Meyr.

Dr. Urbas agrees. “We look for a well-motivated, matured candidate who knows when to make decisions on their own but is smart enough to ask for assistance. The future residents need to possess the ability to multitask and communicate with a multitude of healthcare providers.”

Q:

How many applications do you receive each year (ballpark-wise)? What steps have you or your facility taken to increase the number of applications to your residency program?

A:

Dr. Urbas gets about 200 applications a year for four entry-level positions. His program visits podiatry school residency fairs throughout the country to expand his program’s appeal to future residents. When discussing his program at residency fairs, Dr. Urbas tells applicants that his program does not have ties to a specific podiatry school.

“I try to make clear to students to think outside the box and not just explore programs that are either associated or close to their particular college of podiatric medicine,” says Dr. Urbas.

Dr. Meyr receives about 80 applications per year, calling this number “a little on the low side” in relation to other residency programs. As he notes, this is primarily because of his program’s association with the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine, where the program typically draws its residents.

Dr. Bernstein’s program gets about 50 applications a year. He has increased the applicant pool through the hospital’s externship program. Dr. Meyr and his colleagues have taken steps in recent years to open his program’s externship up to other schools, and has had several externs from other schools within the past year. Although he has considered traveling to externship fairs at other schools, Dr. Meyr has not done this yet as he is “generally very happy with our applicant pool.”

Dr. Meyr’s program has started to build a reputation beyond Philadelphia through the work of Temple’s alumni, the Prism online flash card app and the research produced by the residents and published/presented nationally. Dr. Bernstein has also used his hospital’s published research to increase the applicant pool.

Q:

How do you decide on the number of interviews you want to do of potential applicants?

A:

Dr. Bernstein picks the top 25 applicants to interview while Dr. Urbas interviews 35 to 40 hopefuls per year. Dr. Urbas decides on interviews via applicants’ grades, background, interest in the program, externships completed, personality and drive.

“There certainly is no perfect system and I am sure that we missed interviewing some very qualified candidates,” says Dr. Urbas. “However, we do our best, take every application seriously and give time to review it before we decide on the fate of the application.”

Dr. Meyr notes an academic-driven interview probably has to be at least 10 minutes to be of any value, and a social-driven interview probably needs to be at least that length, if not more, making it unlikely to interview more than about four applicants per hour effectively. Dr. Meyr will typically grant an interview to all externs and then fill the rest of the schedule with those applicants whom he has personally worked with in clinic or through the various student clubs that he is associated with.

“To be honest, it is very unlikely that we will grant an interview based on the paper application alone,” says Dr. Meyr. “As a general rule, if we think there is a chance that we would rank you as a resident, then we'll probably give you a chance in the interview. In other words, I would rather interview too many than too few.”

Q:

Does your residency program or facility have an externship program? If so, have you found it beneficial in recruiting future residents?

A:

Dr. Meyr finds his program’s externship “very valuable” in the assessment and recruitment of applicants. As he notes, an externship is very similar to the residency experience, giving the applicants a chance to see what day-to-day life is like as a resident, and giving residency directors a chance to see how applicants perform in that environment.

“Our externship program has been an excellent source for residency selection,” says Dr. Bernstein. “After interacting with a student for one month, it is easy to see if that person would be a good fit.

Dr. Urbas notes externships can help or hinder students depending on their performance. Although he realizes not all students can participate in externships or visit his program, he says social media can help connect with prospective residents. In addition, Dr. Urbas’ program offers visits at any time of day or night, students can participate in core educational lectures in the evenings, and there are student lectures on weekends.

“If candidates are not lucky enough to secure an externship at our program, there are multiple ways that we can get to know them and they can get to know us,” says Dr. Urbas. “Externships are certainly beneficial in choosing future residents because we get to spend a month’s time with the prospective resident.”

Dr. Bernstein is the Director of the Podiatric Residency Program at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Wayne, Pa. He is a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

Dr. Meyr is the Residency Director of the Podiatric Surgical Residency Program at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia. He is a Clinical Associate Professor within the Department of Surgery at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine.

Dr. Urbas is the Director of the Foot and Ankle Surgical Residency Program at the Crozer-Keystone System in Pennsylvania. He is the Chief of Foot and Ankle Surgery at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Darby, Pa. He is a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery.