Career Development
Landing a residency can be time-consuming and overwhelming. The Roadmap to Residency is designed to serve as a useful guide and overview of the process, summarizing the high-level points to consider and the key resources to help you find more detailed information as you search for the residency program that is the right fit for you. The primary focus of this publication is to provide U.S. medical students with a roadmap to applying to residency in the United States.
AAMC Careers in Medicine (CiM) »
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Careers in Medicine is a four-phase career planning process, making it easier for medical students to make well-informed, confident career decisions and a smart residency application strategy. The four phases are:
- Understanding Yourself
- Use Assessment Tools to discover who you are and identifying what you want for your future. Take an assessment and send results to the Director of Career Services, Ms. Dawn Froome, and set up a meeting to discuss.
- Explore Options
- Gather information about specialties, using CiM and Downstate’s information sessions. See links Downstate specialty specific information on this page.
- Choose Your Specialty
- Decision making strategies and making sense of what you've learned about yourself and your options, drawing conclusions, and making a plan.
- Prepare for Residency
- Learn about the Match Process and how to maximize your application. Also See Residency Application Guidance on the Downstate Career Advising website.
Specialty Exploration
Charting Outcomes of the Match 2020 – U.S. Seniors (PDF)
This report highlights the characteristics of U.S. senior medical students that contribute to a program’s overall assessment of an applicant. Ten to twelve measures are examined in the reports, including the number of contiguous ranks in preferred specialty, the number of distinct specialties ranked, USMLE® Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores (for U.S. MD seniors and IMGs), COMLEX-USA® Level 1 and Level 2-CE scores (for U.S. DO seniors), and the numbers of research experiences, publications, and work and volunteer experiences.
Recommended Reading
How To Choose A Medical Specialty: Fifth Edition
By: Anita D. Taylor
Isersons Getting into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students
By: Kenneth V. Iserson, MD