Links:
Rèsumès
and Personal Statements for Health Professionals, 2nd Edition
Iserson's
Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, 8th Edition
Get
Into Medical School! A Guide for the Perplexed REVISED
FACTOIDS
ABOUT MEDICINE, SPECIALTIES, & RESIDENCY
These are some of the important issues discussed in Iserson's Getting
Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, the definitive guide
for medical students seeking a residency program:
The
number of applicants in the NRMP match now exceeds the number of
available first-year residency positions.
Between
1960 and 1998, the physician population in the United States grew
by 168%, while the general population grew by only 46%.
During
your residency visit, there are specific questions you should ask
the residents, some you can only ask the faculty, and some you shouldn't
ask at all-if you want to get in.
Some
subspecialties require up to eight years of training alter completion
of medical school.
Medical
genetics is the newest medical specialty.
Most
U.S. physicians practice General Internal Medicine (17%), Family
Practice (8.5%), General Surgery (5.4%), Pediatrics (5.2%), and
Obstetrics & Gynecology (5.2%).
The
fewest number of U.S. physicians practice Aerospace Medicine (0.1%),
Colon & Rectal Surgery (0.1%), Forensic Pathology (0.1%), Medical
Genetics (<0.1%), and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (<0.1%).
Trauma
surgery, administrative medicine, and medical informatics are not
yet official specialties.
The
Must/Want Analysis (described in Iserson's Getting Into A Residency:
A Guide For Medical Students. Fifth Edition) is an objective way
to rate residency programs based on your own criteria.
The
largest number of entry-level residency positions is in Internal
Medicine, Family Practice, Pediatrics, and General Surgery.
The
average OB/Gyn resident works 75 hours per week; Dermatology residents
work about 43 hours per week. This parallels what occurs after residency
finishes.
Between
1970 and 2000, the number of Osteopathic physicians doubled, the
number of D.O. schools more than doubled, and the number of D.O
graduates tripled.
More
than half of all D.O.'s take residency training at M.D. institutions.
About
91% of Family Physicians and General Internists participate in managed
health care delivery, and work an average of 57 hrs./week.
Hawaii,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland,
New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia have the highest
numbers of physicians per capita.
Women
physicians in practice still earn 40% less than their male counterparts.
Only 66% marry, compared to 90% of male physicians.
The
specialties in which practitioners say that the specialty best met
their expectations are Geriatric Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine,
Hematologic Pathology, Pediatric Radiology, Pediatric Surgery, and
Family Practice.
Those
specialties in which practitioners say that the specialty least
met their expectations are Hand Surgery (General Surgery), Blood
Banking/Transfusion Pathology, Pediatric Endocrinology, Orthopedic
Spinal Surgery, and Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.
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