Residency Rap
 

Residency Applicants - the TROUGH

by Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Resident Editor
Botsford General Hospital
Farmington Hills, MI

It’s been a quiet weekend for me after a busy week at Botsford General Hospital.  I’m at home with my wife and son, getting caught up on some reading and work.  During the week, my program received its list of applicants for the CASPR/CRIP program.  It’s incredible that the interviews are almost here again!  I remember clearly the nerves, the sweaty palms…the interview questions.  Whew.  I’m glad that part is over! 

Speaking of interviews, this CRIP interview year is supposed to be the lowest attendance to date, reflecting the “trough” of podiatric medical college admissions.  The average number of interviewees per program is estimated at 11.5.  I see several ramifications of this from a resident perspective.

Obviously, this means that many excellent programs will go unmatched.  A corollary to this is that next year residents at these programs will be taking more call.  On the other hand these residents will have more surgical cases to choose from.  There’s always some good with the bad!

Another possible ramification--and one I hope doesn’t happen--is that some programs may be motivated to interview and offer positions outside of the CASPR/CRIP program.  As we all know, this has occurred in the past and benefits no one in the long run.  Some students may not realize the advantageous position they’re currently in and interview early.  If this became regular practice, and the CRIP degenerated, the interview process would become exorbitantly expensive and limit the number of interview opportunities for students.

According to “the talk”, this will be the lowest year with a gradual increase in applicants over the subsequent years.  I doubt, though, that we’ll soon return to the times of 150 or more applicants per program.

What are your thoughts?  Do you have concerns about the quality of this year’s students?  Is there anything we can do as residents to improve this situation?  Write in with your comments.