Advising Medical Students about Ophthalmology Electives and Residencies
2009, Volume 2, Number 1 22 The next step is for the potential applicant to investi-gate the programs using whatever formal and infor-mal sources are available. There are apt to be discrep-ancies between the program as depicted in brochures and by the faculty, and the reality. If possible, prior to any interviews, the applicant should contact current trainees or recent graduates to learn about the pro-gram from the trainee's point-of-view. When invited for interviews the applicant should arrange to meet several current trainees face-to-face without faculty present. If a program does not afford applicants this opportunity, one can infer that the program has prob-lems which they want to hide. The current trainees can supply the details of life in that program (Table 1). The applicant should try most of all to learn if most of the residents are happy. Because the answer will be a distillate of all this information, I think that the key question to ask of a resident should be: would you select that program again if you were an appli-cant? Once that point has been reached applicants are on their own and must rank the programs according to the extent to which they perceive each program would most closely fit their needs and desires. References 1. Lee AG, Golnik KC, Oetting TA, Beaver HA, Boldt HC Re-engineering the resident selec-tion process: a literature review and recommenda-tions for improvement. 2008; 53: 164-176. 2. Lessell S. The Residency Review Committee for Ophthalmology. 1996; 114: 1002-1004. 3. O'Day DM, Li C. First-time failure rates of can-didates for board certification: an educational out-come measure. 2008; 126: 548-553.