To be part of the best and the brightest, it’s great to equip yourself with the preparatory you need to survive and thrive in residency. We find preparatory for “the culture of residency,” extremely valuable and at the end of the day so does every program director in America.
What do we mean by preparatory for “the culture of residency”? That means any interpersonal; clinical or academic training you have before residency needs to be guided by the end goal of being the best possible resident you can be in the ACGME hospital you train in.
For example, every medical residency candidate whether IMG or US Medical school graduate should know the 6 Core Competencies of the ACGME. Why, because those milestones are integrated into your residency curriculum every year. So better learn them. We consider them so important that we have developed six additional core competencies for all future residents.
But what are the ingredients of the “culture of residency” and what do program directors want from their resident? Good clinical skills? Good test taking skills? A resident that follows directions or works on their own? How many months of clinical externships does the program you are applying to require? Is it observerships? Hands-on externships? Both? Or only one?
Do programs search for a resident candidate who knows the “culture of residency” when they interview them? Or do they just expect them to learn that culture?
Why do program directors say “professionalism” is a tough “Core Competency” to judge in an interview? What do they look for to mark it?
These are just some of the ingredients of the “culture of residency.” And some medical schools prepare candidates better than others. But many give very little guidance, both internationally and domestically.
We have spent years and years preparatory physicians, both US grads and IMGs in the “culture of residency.” So much so, they are even building their own residency programs with the goal of setting up some of the best GME programs in the US. According to the BMC Medicine, “Residents provide most of daily patient care in any teaching hospital.” That means residents are in the culture of residency and providing care from it. So preparing for residency and its culture involves key components:
- Clinical skills for patient care
- Communication skills
- Professionalism coaching
- USMLE Medical Training (Medical Knowledge)
- Practice based learning
- System based practice
Guess what? Those items above are the six core competencies. Learn them before you go into the “culture of residency.” We can show you how.
