Shelby Wood: Unprecedented Match Interview

What advice would you give to yourself at this time last year?

1. Trust and enjoy the process. Applying to residency can absolutely be stressful, but I think we often forget just how lucky we are to be getting to do this. We've finally made it to the end of our grueling medical school journey, and we're actually applying for our dream jobs. Once you get past all of the deadlines and interview jitters, the whole process was really quite enjoyable and I wish I hadn't spent so much time stressing about the little details!

Did you have any concerns coming into the application cycle, especially given the changes due to COVID?

1. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to get a true sense of a program's culture, people, and that mythical quality known as "fit" in the virtual environment. Things like that are best experienced in person. But as it turned out, most of the programs I interviewed with really went the extra mile to give applicants a thorough overview of who they are, and I appreciated the effort that went into planning the pre-interview "socials/happy hours" and interview day activities.

Did COVID impact your preparation at all (eg study plans, exam cancellations, etc)?

1. I was removed from my NYC clinical rotations in mid-March 2020, halfway through my second-to-last core rotation, but I didn't want to change my Step 2 CK date because of all of the uncertainty with Prometric closures. I ended up taking the exam before finishing half of pediatrics and all of OB/GYN!

What is the biggest positive that you took out of the previous year?

1. The spirit of EM is incredible, and whenever a challenge presents itself, we as a specialty are able to overcome it and emerge stronger than ever on the other side. Not only did faculty and residents have an ongoing pandemic to deal with, but they managed to pull off the first-ever completely virtual interview season successfully. That's pretty impressive and a true testament to the grit and resilience that make EM docs truly special.

Did the past year make you question (or reaffirm) your decision to pursue EM and why?

1. If anything, seeing my friends, colleagues, and mentors working day in and day out to treat COVID patients here in the NYC epicenter made me even more determined to pursue EM and honored to be joining this amazing specialty. Our people are really like no other.

Did you rank programs differently based on the virtual interview experience? If so, what factors made you do so?

1. While this was not a leading factor in my ranking process, I did tend to rank programs lower if they had very disorganized interview days because I saw this as a reflection of the way their program might be run. Some had applicants sitting in a waiting room for hours waiting for our interviews as on-duty residents came in and out to make awkward conversation, and that setup felt disrespectful of my time as an interviewee.

Would you recommend having virtual interviews as an option for future application cycles? Why or why not?

1. Yes! When the news first came out that all interviews will be virtual, I was pretty sad that I wouldn't get to travel all around the country, meet tons of people and experience these programs firsthand. But as we got into interview season, I realized just how much money I would be saving by doing my interviews at home. I didn't have to worry about missing a flight, losing my baggage, navigating a new city, getting lost in the hospital on the way to the interview, having food in my teeth after lunch, etc. Plus I got to wear fuzzy socks instead of heels ;)

What were some unexpected obstacles or challenges during the virtual interview season? (Camera lighting, internet problems, etc)

1. Thankfully, I didn't experience too many technical issues during my interviews. I did have a few interviewers who were unfamiliar with the Zoom platform and this made for a bit of a rocky experience, but nothing major stands out.

Do you feel being a part of EMRA gave you an advantage in preparing for interviews/MATCH? If so, how?

1. Absolutely. EMRA truly had our back this past year as we navigated the most difficult application cycle there has ever been in the midst of a pandemic. EMRA was quick to sign on to the EM Consensus Statement which provided clear guidelines for how we should schedule our 4th-year rotations and what to expect from a virtual interview season, and I know those decisions helped to keep our community safe. I was lucky enough to serve on the 2020-2021 EMRA Medical Student Council, where I worked alongside amazing EMRA leaders who made it their mission to keep medical students informed about this process every step of the way. In particular, the EMRA Hangouts organized by Ashley Pennington were incredibly helpful because we got to hear application and interview advice straight from the experts.

Where did you match? What are you looking forward to the most? How will you celebrate?

1. I matched into Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester in upstate New York. I am absolutely thrilled to be staying here in NY and helping to pave the way for IMGs to match into competitive university programs. There is so much to look forward to - moving to a new city, finding an apartment and buying a car, meeting my co-interns, and finally stepping into the ED with that coveted "DOCTOR" tag on my name badge. I celebrated Match Day in true pandemic fashion with my closest friends in a tiny Harlem apartment with plenty of Mexican food and bottles of champagne!

If you are interested in learning more about Ashley’s experiences, check out the full interview.