Decoding Match Day: Navigating Your Journey to the Ideal Residency with Dr. Jasmine Weiss

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Imagine that heart-racing moment when the future of your medical career hangs in the balance; it's Match Day, and the envelope in your hand holds the key to your residency dreams. Dr. Jasmine Weiss, your guide through the maze of medical milestones, shares her personal journey and the strategies that kept her grounded during the rank list submissions on the latest episode of the Black Med Connect podcast. She reminisces on the importance of knowing what truly matters, whether it's proximity to family or the pursuit of research opportunities, and how these priorities can help steer your decisions toward a program that aligns with your aspirations.

Step into the shoes of your future self and walk through a 'day in the life' of your top residency programs; Dr. Weiss encourages you to visualize everything from your morning routines to your support networks outside the hospital walls. She also stresses the value of seeking wisdom from those who've tread the path before you. Whether it's family, mentors, or a spiritual guide, their insights are invaluable as you chart the course for this transformative stage of your medical career. Join us for an episode that's not just about making a list but about crafting the blueprint for a fulfilling residency and beyond.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So match day is right around the corner and I
remember how stressed I wasduring this time and in this
episode I'm gonna give you threekey strategies to make sure
you're at ease when you submityour rank list.
Let's jump right into theepisode, but first let's address
the red elephant in the room.
Yes, I got injured, but that'sokay.

(00:21):
You gotta keep moving andthat's what we're gonna do today
.
Music.

(00:41):
Welcome back to the BlackMedConnect podcast.
I'm your host, Dr Jasmine Weiss, and now we're gonna talk about
this precious time as you'resubmitting your rank list.
I remember all too well howstressed I was as I was trying
to figure out which program Iwas gonna put where on my rank
list.
So I wanna make sure we helpyou not feel that same level of

(01:03):
stress.
Here are three strategies Iused as I prepared for
submitting my rank list andultimately prepared for match
day.
So the first strategy I wannashare is make sure you know your
priorities.
Everybody is different.
For me, I wanted to make sure Iwas close enough to family,
because I knew it would be atough time in training, and I

(01:25):
wanted to make sure I was closeenough to the people that I
cared about the most to helpsupport me along the journey.
For you, it may not be that younecessarily wanna be close to
family, maybe you wanna be farfrom family and that's okay too.
But whatever is important toyou, make sure you prioritize
that.
If it's making sure you're at aprogram where they have lots of

(01:46):
research opportunities, or ifthey have community-based
experiences that help you reallyengage in the community that
you want to learn to engage with, then make sure you rank those
programs highly.
For some they think aboutreputation the most, but for you
, don't let that stop you ifreputation of the program

(02:06):
doesn't actually correlate towhere you truly wanna be.
Make sure it's a strong programfor your goals in the end, but
prioritize what's important toyou.
So the second strategy I usethat I really, really loved is
called the day in the lifestrategy.
I had a mentor tell me insteadof worrying about all 13
programs, you're trying tofigure out where to put in what

(02:29):
order.
Take it one day at a time.
So I want you to close youreyes and think about a day in
the life at your number onechoice when do you wanna live in
the city that you're gonna bein?
Who's around you that you canconnect with in the hospital and
out of the hospital, becauseyou have to remember, the people

(02:49):
who are gonna be yourco-interns will be at work
sometimes when you're off, soyou'll need to have a support
network when you're not in thehospital with your co-resident.
Where are you gonna stay?
Is it too hot or too cold?
Are you gonna be able to get toand from work because of the
snow?
These are all hugeconsiderations that make a huge

(03:10):
difference as to what your lifewill be like on a day to day
basis as you navigate throughresidency.
I remember really wanting to goto a cold place.
I really love this particularprogram.
However, I had never livedanywhere with snow, so, no
matter how much I tried to thinkabout it, when I would do a day
in the life and add shovelingsnow to my mornings, it just

(03:34):
didn't fit.
So be sure to think about whata real day will be like in a
particular city in a particularprogram as you consider making
your rank list.
My third strategy is to seekwise counsel.
For me, that included prayerand making sure I talked to my
family, who was really, reallyimportant to me, about what the

(03:54):
next three to four years we'regonna look like.
For you, that might meanchecking in with a mentor who
really knows individuals at aparticular program.
They may have some insightbased on the goals you've shared
with them during your medicalschool time to help you make
sure you're picking a programthat aligns with your ultimate
career goals.
So make sure you seek wisecounsel, whether that be from

(04:17):
friends, significant others,mentors, family or anybody
around you in your network thatyou trust, as you make such an
important decision.
Residency is such an excitingtime in your life you wanna make
sure that you not only arethinking about where you
ultimately want to end up inyour career, but you're also

(04:38):
thinking about what's gonna makethe time and the experience as
wonderful as it possibly can be.
We all know you're gonna beworking extremely hard.
You are gonna be working somany hours a week, but what you
can control is if you enjoy thecity or at least you think
you're gonna enjoy the city andif you're gonna have that

(04:58):
network around you.
So, once again, the threestrategies I want you to
consider are making sure youchoose to rank highly the
programs that you prioritizeright Whether you prioritize if
it's a strong program for thissurgical outcome if it's a
strong program for this researchopportunity or if you

(05:19):
prioritize that your significantother lives close by.
Whatever the case is, make sureyou set the priorities and then
you figure out which programsyou want to go to.
The second strategy is to breakit down one day at a time, a
day in the life, at eachparticular program, thinking
about how you'll actually beable to live and navigate in the

(05:40):
city you're going to be in and,last but not least, making sure
you seek wise counsel as youfigure out what order you're
going to put each program in.
So you have two choices you caneither do all this on your own
and figure out how to organizeyour rank list, or you can use
the free BMAT residency trackerto help you think about which

(06:01):
programs you want to put whereon your rank list.
So if you want this freeresource, tap on the link below
and we'll be sure to send itdirectly to you.
This is one of the most excitingtimes of your medical education
journey.
Match Day is amazing.
I remember what it was like tobe with my friends, getting our
names called and ultimatelyopening the envelope to figure

(06:23):
out that I was going to be goingto Atlanta, Georgia.
So I hope the experience isjust as great for you as it was
for me.
I'll leave you with this.
We know that everybody doesn'talways match into their first
choice or their second choice,and some even have to do the
SOAP program.
Do not get discouraged.
If that's the case, I want youto think about the fact that you

(06:45):
are on your way to becoming aspecialist to help care for
those who need you the most.
So, once again, when you areready to submit that rank list,
I want you to submit thoseprograms.
Sit back, think about all thatyou've accomplished and wait for
the result.
I can't wait to see where youend up and I want you to have a

(07:06):
great day on Match Day.
As always, BMAT is here to help.
So be sure to like, comment andsubscribe to BlackMed, Connect
on all platforms and share thiswith a friend who's also making
their rank list.
Until next time, alwaysremember to dream without limits
.