Join AACAP and the Regional Organization

• During residency, join AACAP – ask if your program will pay for your membership dues or use your educational stipend to join.
• Join your local AACAP regional organization where they may have opportunities for events, newsletter writing, officer positions, networking opportunities, etc.
• AACAP has an MSR (Medical Student/Resident) mentorship program, where you can get paired with a fellow/attending for FREE at any point in your career.
• Within AACAP there are many committees with different positions that you can look into joining. Join AACAP, your local AACAP Regional Organization, and apply for a mentor.

Research

• This is not necessary, but always a positive especially for university/research heavy programs.
• If you have the time, try and join a research project either by asking current residents or attendings about theirs or by starting your own project.
• Research does not have to be a huge project but can also include case reports that can lead to publications.
• A great trick is to recruit medical students on psychiatry rotations to help you write or conduct research as they are eager to get published.

Publications

• New research publications are great but can take a long time to complete.
• Consider publishing literature reviews on topics that interest you. Consider publishing an interesting case report or ask an attending if they have had any cases they wanted to publish.
• NEGOTIATE PUBLICATION FEES – if a journal asks you to pay “X” amount, always ask for a resident discount AND ask if your program will help sponsor the payments.

Presentations

• PLAN AHEAD as submission due dates for AACAP submissions are MONTHS in advance – check the websites for specific deadlines.
• Consider literature reviews as an easier presentation option.
• Ask your program if they are willing to pay for your transportation/food/etc., especially if you are presenting.

Letters of Recommendation

• This is a very crucial part of your application! Make friends with your attendings early – especially your CAP attendings!
• Ideally you would want a CAP Psychiatry LOR (most programs only ask for one), but having a second one is ideal. However, be prepared to ask 1-3 General Psychiatry Attendings that you have directly worked with.
• All programs require a PD LOR and make sure they complete your ATTESTATION form (they should know what this is) and it should be added to their LOR when uploaded to your ERAS.
• Most programs will ask for 3 (including your PD letter), some 4 (including the PD letter).
• Ask more writers than needed to make sure you are not scrambling if someone falls through. 
• Tell your letter writers an earlier date than the actual deadline and pester them if you do not hear back. A good example to get a letter earlier than the deadline is by saying: “I would like to have everything in and completed by X date” to give you buffer time. 
• Ask your writers if they could be as specific as possible by including a specific trait or action that they see in you to make the letter more personable. 
• IF you do not hear from them, consider “thanking” them for writing your letter as a reminder to encourage them to complete it. 

ERAS

• Edit, re-edit, and show your application to as many people as you can for different perspectives and to make sure there are no errors. Grammatical and spelling errors look sloppy and make it seem like you did not try.
• Consider not looking at your application for 1-2 days then reread it to see if you missed any errors.
• If possible, choosing a geographical location is better than saying no preference as the consensus hints that specifying a regional preference gives a program more interest for an applicant than someone without preference (and they can sort applicants based on who preferred the region). 
• Personal Statements should reflect MORE than your CV/resume. Be careful with strong words or conflicting topics such as politics, etc.  
• PRITE is NOT recorded anywhere on your application so do not stress about studying for it though if you score >99 percentile then it’s worth listing. 
• If you do not have all the activities filled out, consider including a “Hobbies” section and talk about things you like to do (video games, sports, bee-keeping, magic tricks, traveling, wood making, music, etc.). These are oftentimes used as conversation starters by the interviewers and give insight into your life outside of medicine. 
• When choosing programs, consider mixing in reach, target, and safety schools. Check if there are certain requirements (such as board score requirements or USMLE preference for DOs). Check if current faculty/residents are IMG, MD, and DO friendly. 

Open Houses, Meet & Greets, Interviews

• Prior to interviews being sent out, some programs host virtual “Open Houses” and they take note of who attends. These can be a great way to get your foot in the door and get an interview invite.
• ATTEND THE MEET & GREET (usually the night before interview day) – it is a red flag to skip this, but if you are unable to attend, make sure you send a message ahead of time.
• Be on the lookout for interview invites as your preferred date may get snatched up quickly – consider push notifications to your phone. Most interviews are released in August/September. 
• Prepare the basics (lighting, good internet, testing your audio/microphone prior, dress professionally). 
• Know your resume front and back because they can ask anything about what you include. 
• Schedule your more competitive interviews after you’ve had some warmup interviews so you are familiar with your application and build your confidence. 
• Reflect on what questions you could have answered after each interview so you do not make the same mistake or slip up at a later interview. 
• Do your basic research by looking into the program’s website so you can ask or mention specifics to show your interest. 
• If you are given the names of your interviewers, research their background (fellowship specialty, publications, field of interest, etc.) to use as basic talking points. 
• IF you did not get an interview at a program you’re very interested in, send an email as it DOES encourage them to send you an interview invite especially if they open an extra interview date. 

Ranking your Programs

• IF you got an interview that means your resume was already enough for that program. It now comes down to fit.
• When you interview, take note of your comfort level, your feelings about the interview, and if you could see yourself there.
• Consider if that program is also an area where you may want to practice, as you will be making connections and learning the area and surrounding resources that influence your practice.

Interview Prep

Questions you should be prepared to answer

• Tell me more about “X” on your application.
• Why psychiatry?
• Why this location (especially if you do not have any affiliations to that area)?
• What are you looking for in a residency/this residency?
• What type of class/faculty are you looking for?
• Do you have a specific field within psychiatry you are interested in?
• Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.
• Curveball question examples – what is your spirit animal & why, what’s your weakness tell me about a time you had a problem that you fixed or tell me about your worst/best preceptor, how do you manage work-life balance.

DO

• Get your interviewers contact information by asking them OR asking the program coordinator for their information.
• Write individual emails to each interviewer instead of mass emailing all the interviewers in one thread.
• Write a thank-you note to highlight important points/specifics that remind the interviewer of YOU instead of a generic email.
• You CAN tell a program if they are your #1/TOP program. If a program knows they are your top choice, it can make a difference.

DO NOT

• Ask basic information that can be found on the website (salary, benefits, on call hours, etc.).
• Talk about polarizing topics (politics, etc.)
• Tell multiple programs that they are your top program (PDs know each other so be cautious!)

Questions you can consider asking a program

• What changes have you seen during your time at the program, and what foreseeable changes do you see moving forward?
• Is there something you think the program could improve on or is improving on?
• How available do attendings make themselves for residents?
• Are didactics protected time for residents?
• What is the patient population the program works with and is there a field of psychiatry that you may not get much exposure in?
• For residents with special interests (e.g. sports, eating disorders, etc.) how supportive/accommodating is the program with pursuing those fields?
• How receptive is the program to resident feedback?
• Are there opportunities for psychotherapy for all years of residency?
• How is the relationship among residents/faculty/PD and do you feel comfortable approaching them for both professional and personal concerns?
• Is time off for conferences or advocacy accommodated?
• Are there teaching opportunities (working with medical students, etc.)?
• Tell me what type of resident would not do well or be happy in your program.
• Tell me about a recent graduate you are proud of and why. Tell me about a resident who made a mistake and how it was handled.

Specific questions if talking to a resident or attending that graduated from the residency program

• Describe a typical day as a resident.
• Why did you choose this program? OR if you want to be bold and ask… If you had to do it again, would you choose this program?
• Did you feel there was appropriate supervision, especially during your intern year while transitioning?
• Do you feel supported as a resident?
• What is a call schedule like? Are there opportunities/enough time to moonlight?
• How is your relationship/do you hang out with your colleagues?
• How is the area (traffic/eateries/etc.)?
• Where do you recommend living/how much travelling is there between rotations?
• Was there anything that surprised you after you became a resident?
• Who is the first person you go to with a question?
• Tell me when you were sick or had an emergency and how supportive the program was.