Pediatrics

Pediatrics

General OMS-I guidance

Aim to do well in all your courses, especially the core curricular courses. Join LUCOM’s ACOP Student Chapter and other clubs that have service activities related to children and adolescents and find volunteer opportunities involving children and adolescents outside of LUCOM. Examples may include advocacy and policy, short term missions, etc. Explore and engage in research/scholarly activity. LUCOM’s summer research elective between OMS-I and OMS-II offers diverse research/scholarly activities for students. Consider summer opportunities available outside of LUCOM as well. Think about establishing a mentor within the Pediatrics Department with plans to meet with the mentor/chair.

General OMS-II guidance

Actively involve yourself with ACOP, AAP, ACPeds. Join the student chapters which are typically free for students. Consider leadership opportunities through LUCOM’s ACOP or other clubs or organizations within the community, region, or nationally. Engage in research/scholarly activities, participate in conferences, and find opportunities to present posters or oral presentations at LUCOM Research Day and regional and national meetings. Continue to volunteer and serve in the community as much as your schedule allows, knowing the opportunities are more limited in OMS-III. Continue to do well academically in all your courses and prepare well for COMLEX 1 without losing sight of the need to pass every course in OMS-II. Review LUCOM Data of the history of LUCOM graduates and where our students have gone to residencies. Engage with the Pediatrics Chair to get acquainted with the latest requirements for a successful application to Pediatrics residency.

General OMS-III guidance

Give every rotation your best, regardless of your specific interest in Pediatrics. Make every rotation a learning opportunity academically, clinically, and relationally.  Your letters of recommendation (LORs) will come from other preceptors apart from your Pediatrics preceptor. Perform well on all your COMAT exams, and your Pediatrics COMAT in particular. Keep in mind your COMAT performance is a good prediction of your COMLEX Level 2 performance. Ask for LORs (at least three) from preceptors who can write strong letters and speak to your clinical work and ability to work within a team. Use the Spring of your OMS- III year to Prepare CV/Resume. Plan to meet with the Pediatrics Chair/Advisors once you have made the determination and commitment to Pediatrics. Begin brainstorming on your 4th year electives in November/December of your OMS-III year and start applying for electives/acting internships early spring of your OMS-III year.

General OMS-IV guidance

As an OMS-IV student, prioritize securing a Pediatrics in-patient rotation as early as possible in your OMS-IV year, preferably in your first three rotations. The Pediatrics in-patient rotation could be in a variety of settings including pediatrics hospital medicine, intensive care unit, and subspecialty with an in-patient consult service. While on rotation, continue to build your knowledge and clinical skills, and resist the urge to coast through because there are no tests. Bring your A game to every rotation – be a strong team player, ask good questions, seek feedback, display strong work ethic. Be the intern that everyone wants on their team. Stay engaged actively with your specialty advisor and respond to their advice and counsel. Review and be familiar with the ERAS Application Process and complete/submit your application on time. Create a parallel plan with another specialty early in the process if needed. Accept interview offers as soon as you receive them, as they don’t stay open for long. Below are a few tips to adequately prepare for interviews and post-interview communication:

• Comb through the program’s website and do your due diligence in getting information about them from different reliable sources such as LUCOM graduates
• Sign up for futurepedsresidents.org for crucial application information
• Plan mock interviews with your specialty advisor and other knowledgeable persons who can help you prepare
• Understand tools / recommendations for interviews
• Communicate consistently with your mentor during the interview season to evaluate your interviews, reflect on impressions, and begin to rank programs.

Post-Interview Communication

• Understand NRMP Code of Conduct
• Notify programs of new publications or awards
• Contact programs appropriately based on their guidelines
• Create a spreadsheet to record your experiences as you interview and build your rank order list
• Discuss your rank list with your specialty advisor before your finalize and submit it

Research guidance – What research should a student seeking this specialty engage in?

Find opportunity in pre-clerkship years in basic sciences and clinical research. In your OMS-III-year, case reports are a great way to get research published as you move throughout rotations. Work on a publication or a scholarly presentation, at various levels including local, regional, state, and national meetings.

Volunteer, work or service guidance

Longitudinal and meaningful service is preferred and more convincing about commitment to pediatrics.

USMLE Guidance

USMLE is not required for pediatrics but if you’re interested in applying to academic programs that are more competitive and hold a preference for USMLE, plan well in advance so you can have a strong score. In general, most programs are good with COMLEX alone.

Letters of Recommendation – How many and by whom

Two Letter of Recommendations are recommended from pediatricians who can speak to your clinical work. Find out if any program requires a Chair letter and send in your request early through LUCOM’s portal system. Your early 4^th year rotations are another great source of strong LORs especially from audition rotations. Don’t wait until the last minute to request and secure your LORs. Remember your letter writers are very busy, so give ample notice to obtain strong and representative letters. Ensure to waive your right to review the LOR or this will be considered a red flag.

Recommended total number of interviews overall

50-70 interviews overall are recommended. However, this depends on your competitiveness and if you have red flags in your education (e.g course failures, board failures, repeat year, LOA). Discuss with the specialty advisor.

Recommended total number of interviews in the specialty

12-15 interviews are recommended in the specialty.

General CV guidance

This should be an academic CV following formats of APA for research and scholarly activities. Do not include any personal or high school data except contact information. You may use research or scholarly from undergrad, but you should be building your CV during medical school. Make sure you add special trainings or honors, fluency in languages, hobbies and interests. Include the following sections and headings: Education, Work Experience, Volunteer/Service, Research/Scholarly, Leadership, Honors and Awards, Professional Memberships, Certifications, Languages, Hobbies and Interests.

General Personal statement guidance

Pay attention to your personal statement. Start working on it early to have time for multiple revisions until you have a representative personal statement that reflects who you are in a positive and professional manner. Work closely with your specialty faculty advisor for assessing the content and flow, and how to best address your weaknesses from a growth perspective. Address your passion for the specialty, strengths, and what you would like from a residency in terms of goals and learning. Keep your personal statement to one page.

ERAS

Given all the changes in ERAS, review your Meaningful Experiences to make sure you are not duplicating from your Noteworthy or Personal Statement. Determine with your specialty advisor if an Impactful Experience is appropriate. Have your application ready to submit the day before the deadline as some program directors will download applications the first day they can view. Make sure your application is complete before you push SUBMIT.

Rotations – What 4th year rotations would you encourage a student in this specialty to secure?

• Generally, at least 2-3 audition rotations with in-patient experience
• At least one ICU or critical care rotation – PICU or NICU
• Radiology (imaging)
• Infectious disease
• Other sub-specialty of interest e.g. cardiology, pulmonology, hem-onc, nephrology

Additional thoughts or suggestions

Work closely with your specialty advisor – start early and be open to their suggestions and recommendations. If a parallel is needed, work on it early to give yourself a fair chance of putting together a strong application. If you have interest in sub-specializing after residency, avoid making that the focus of your application or interview. Get into residency first and figure out a sub-specialty plan later.

Summary of Academic Metrics for LUCOM Students Entering Pediatrics:

Click the link above to visit an interactive data tool published by the NRMP to explore the national data pertaining to characteristics of students matching into each specialty.