What Residency Is Right for You?

As it gets ever closer to the 2015 CRIP residency interviews in Frisco, Texas, My colleagues and I at Western University College of Podiatric Medicine find ourselves having conversations with students and clerks about residencies. Some of us have noticed that students want to know what are the "best" residency programs.

residency My answer to all of our students is: THERE IS NO BEST PROGRAM.

Some people might find this limiting. "What do you mean there's no best program?" you might ask. Don't we need to have some hierarchy of programs so we know who's the best and the worst? I can also imagine some of the residency programs would take umbrage to my comments, arguing that their program is the best.

Now, granted some programs are better than others overall, but there are several reasons why our applicants make a mistake if they consider this hierarchical view.

First, over the past years, the podiatric residency community has done an admirable job standardizing to a great extent the basic structure and requirements of podiatric residencies. Since changing to the standard three year PMSR structure, we've improved residency training overall. I admit, some will argue this forces all trainees down the surgical route. However, having the training does not necessitate becoming a surgeon. The only major difference remaining is the addition of rearfoot reconstruction and ankle certification.

Tonight's Premier Lecture is
New Approaches to Tinea Pedis
and Onychomycisis
Warren S Joseph, DPM, FIDSA

Second, even if standardization were not an issue, our applicants should not look for the "best" program, but rather the "best program for me". Despite standardization of overall residency structure, each program has its own character. For example, some programs may be highly structured with scheduled academics, while others may leave this up to the individual residents (all programs are responsible to do certain basic academic activities). Similarly, some programs might be highly surgically oriented, while others might have a greater mix of clinic and surgery. One program might also teach practice management skills, while another focuses on research.

As a result, each of our student applicants should consider what he or she wants from a residency.

I recommend asking the following questions:

	1.	Where do I want to practice/live after residency?
	2.	What kind of program do I want (academic, clinical, surgical, structured, unstructured)?
	3.	Will I be a good fit for the program?
	4.	Will the program be a good fit for me (does it match my personality)?
	5.	Do I want to eventually try for rearfoot reconstruction and ankle board certification?
	6.	Do I match a particular program academically? Some programs look for certain class rankings or GPA.

So, residency applicants, when considering residency programs, don't ask, "Which is the best program in the country?" Instead ask, "which is the best program in the country for me?"