Evaluating Programs

We are joined by Dr. Hannah Gibson, PGY1 resident at Huntsville Hospital.

Evaluating programs is an essential part of the application process. Not only will it give you a better idea of what you are looking for in the program, it will allow you to generate questions to ask that program.

Ways the evaluate programs:

• Talk to programs at showcases
• Talk to graduates of the program (when available)
• Review directory listing on ASHP residency directory or ACCP residency/fellowship directory
• Review program website
• Review institutional website where the program is housed

Showcases:

We address these in another episode

Review Residency Directories:

Directories are sometimes a hit or miss. They will often be outdated and not contain relevant information about the program. The directory listing should really serve as the abstract or trailer for the program. You should be able to determine from the directory listing if the program is worth further investigation. If it is, then go to the programs website (if it even has a website).

Review program website:

This is generally where most of the information about a program is kept. You can find a lot of information about the design and experiences of past residents.

Here is what you should look for when reviewing a website:

• Preceptor qualifications - are preceptors certified in their field of expertise (i.e. BCPS, BCACP, BCCCP)
• What types of rotations do they have?
• What types of rotations are required vs elective? - Look for variety here. If several of your must have rotations are listed as electives, it's not guaranteed you will be assigned to each one. Look for things like cardiology or critical care rotations as required vs elective. Also look for things like medication use evaluations and project months. These can be good, but if the majority of rotations are these filler rotations you may not get as robust of an experience.
• Who are the current residents and what are their qualifications?
• Who are the past residents and what are they doing now? - a huge indicator of the caliber of program is what the residents are doing after. What sort of careers does this program allow you to complete
• Information concerning funding and travel - do they pay for you to attend midyear?
• Mentorship - is there an assigned mentor, is there a research mentor?
• Number of residency positions - do you like a small class or large residency class

Things to look at, but really should not make or break the program for you:

• Staffing component, do you staff, how often
• Salary - lets face it, the salary is going to be around 45-55k a year based on cost of living. It is most likely more money than you have ever made before, and it is only 1 year, afterwards you will be making significantly more (unless you do PGY2).