Dr. William James

By Samir P. Desai, M.D., and Rajani Katta, M.D.
Authors of The Successful Match: 200 Rules to Succeed in the Residency Match and
250 Biggest Mistakes 3rd Year Medical Students Make And How To Avoid Them

As the Paul Gross Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. William James directs the dermatology residency program at the University of Pennsylvania, which recently was found to be the highest ranked academic dermatology department in the United States.¹

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by Interfolio
SDN Sponsor

The application puzzle can be a complex one, and letters of recommendation are just one piece. It doesn’t need to be the hardest piece though. Based on our experience with thousands of medical school applicants, and our relationships with many career centers and pre-health advising offices, we’ve identified some tips for making the process of collecting letters of recommendation as painless as possible.  Read the full story

by Christian Becker, Author of The Official Student Doctor Network Medical School Admissions Guide

In my last article for SDN, I addressed the importance of physician shadowing and clinical experience. This time, I want to focus on recommendation letters.

Recommendation letters are used by admission committees and are part of your application. To get good letters, participation in extracurricular activities and positive interactions with faculty and physicians are important.

Admissions committees see on the application what activities you have listed, but recommendation letters tell them how you interact with people, what type of person you are, and (hopefully) stress your good qualities and support your application to medical school. Read the full story

by Christian Becker, Author of The Official Student Doctor Network Medical School Admissions Guide

Physician shadowing, in my opinion, is one of the best extracurricular activities in which a pre-medical student can engage for several reasons:

1. It provides you with clinical exposure and stories to talk about in the admission interview.
2. Shadowing allows you to see what medicine and a physician’s life are like every day.
3. You will quickly discover if medicine is really for you.
4. It’s easy to set up and do.
5. It’s one of those “intangible” (and unofficial) requirements to get into medical school.

For purposes of this discussion, shadowing really boils down to one thing: clinical exposure. If you already have worked as a nurse or medical assistant with ample patient and physician contact and interaction, you really don’t need any shadowing, or at least not much. It’s an easy way to get that important clinical exposure that can make or break your application.  Read the full story

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Historically, applying to health-professional schools was a paperwork nightmare.

As a student employee in the Georgetown University Career Center, Steve Goldenberg felt there had to be an easier way to manage the paperwork of applications, so he created Interfolio in 1999.

Interfolio users can create an electronic portfolio to manage important documents online, including confidential and non-confidential letters of recommendation, resumes or CVs, writing samples, dissertation abstracts, teaching certifications, student evaluations and more. Read the full story