It’s Residency Application Season!

Happy ERAS day!

[zathur]

"the new guy made us think about our greed", yea, I cant see that happening, they would never think they're greedy

[jamesrusselleriii]

Fun fact: In 2002, a brave few medical students filed suit against the AAMC for running what was essentially a monopoly on applying to residency positions.

That suit was tossed in 2004. Why? Congress added a last-minute rider that exempts the AAMC from antitrust action to a must-pass pension bill. So the AAMC is a legal monopoly supposedly for patient safety.

Happy ERAS day everyone!

[dariustwin]

Finally! Someone mentions why not for profits are not inherently moral!

[alexh]

SOMEBODY SAID IT. I swear so many attendings just have amnesia about what med school and residency was like. Even young ones who’ve been out for only 5-10 years. My husband had to save up credit card points for the four years of med school to pay for travel expenses. Had to get a loan from family to cover ERAS applications. Thank you, Dr. G, for still remembering the residents who are still going through the system.

[KyleRayner]

The only unrealistic part is cancelling the party.

[Piandorable]

In Germany, where University only costs 300€ per Semester, most of which is the subsidized student ticket for public transport, we apply for "residency" just like for any other job, because that's what it is. It's so weird to me that you have to pay an agency in order to apply for a job.

[shnarf-fbfy]

I'm literally filling out my ERAS application now, wondering why in the world I have to pay so much money to potentially not even land a spot in residency. My entire tax refund is going to residency applications, and I have to figure out how to budget the pitiful remainder so my family can still eat for the rest of the semester. Not to mention travel costs for interviews, paying double rent while I do away rotations, traveling back to campus 12 hours away for an OSCE...

Happy ERAS day. *sad kazoo noises*

[Crismodin]

Hopefully one day you have 10 million subscribers to start putting some pressure on the healthcare industry to change. Then of course, respectively, once you get to 100 million followers, you can take over the world.

[justacouplapaninis]

Ohhhh, I feel this pain! Just spent $1900 on my 80 applications. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

[adamb]

First year intern, borrowed $600 from family that didn’t have it, put some in credit cards too. Spent the first couple of months of residency trying to dig myself out of that hole. Completely agree with this

[jonathanthacker]

Was just talking about this with a friend about this. She's applying to ~100 programs. That's $2339 she has to spend to APPLY FOR A JOB.

[a]

Just in case anyone wondered: if you apply for 31 or more programs you'll pay $26 EACH just to apply. That means you'll pay at least $806 just to apply. Then you'll have to pay for travel if you are interviewed, and with far more applicants and interviews than accepted residents, prospective residents usually go to ALL the interviews.

Current guidance is to apply to 100 to 200 programs and you might get 10 interviews.

That's maybe $15, 000 for what is described as a "reasonable" chance to be accepted into a residency program.

And if it doesn't work out you get to do it all again next year...

Our system is crazy...

[jaronsmith]

Don't forget the money spent to then go fly to interview at each place. Other than a few specialties (thank you peds), most places won't pay for your lodging the night before either. Then there's NRMP! You have to pay them to rank even a single program. As a good friend said, it's like going to the store for milk, paying the farmer because he milked the cow, then paying the store because they have the milk, and then paying the clerk to sell you the milk, each with their own bill.

[pragsmo]

Dr. G, you get how our system works so well, and call it out for those who don’t know. Thank you!! And great point on non-profits. No different than for-profits!No share holders, but just internal stakeholders that profits go to.

[j_k_l_v]

So relevant. As a foreign med graduate, even harder to pay in US dollar but need to apply more programs to have more chance to get accepted. So brutal system.

[jodil]

My husband and I were just discussing this with school. Our daughters paid for their 2 years of junior college and we took out the loans for the last 2 years to get one her BSN and one who is unsure right now. She wants to be a radiography tech. 2 years of more school. I think we are going to be poor forever. My husband said how can we do that to them because they will spend the rest of their lives in debt. So instead we get to spend the rest of our lives in debt.

[Theadventurebound]

Keep shining the light into the cesspool of U.S. education system.

[JamillaF]

Jeez I had no idea you had to pay for applications in the US. And I thought the UK application system was terrible 😭

[r.l.]

I'm so sorry for my colleagues in the US! Here I am, a German med student from a working class background, who just spend a whole frustrating week filling out the government student financial aid forms. That might be an annoying task, but they'll lend me enough money to live and eat while studying. They have no interest charges and cap my dept at 10.000€. And paying for applying for Residency??? Man, I'll just write applications like for any other job.

[billdoetsch]

Applied to 72 programs for around $1500. Insane that it started spiking after 25 or so just to push some more electrons around. I estimate the cost of residency application including travel was around $8000-10000.

To then work 80-100+ hour weeks, oftentimes being yelled at and feeling belittled as an intern/ junior resident. And all the while cranking up almost 6% interest on school loan debt.