First Aid for the Match: Insider Advice from Students and Residency Directors (Paperback)

by Tao (Author), Md Le (Author), Vikas (Author), Md Bhushan (Author), Chirag (Author), MD Amin (Author) "This chapter will help to familiarize you with the Match..." (more)
Key Phrases: admission caps, residency application process, unmatched rate, Match Day, San Francisco, Application Tips (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The purpose of FIRST AID FOR THE MATCH is to help medical students effectively and efficiently navigate the often complex residency application process. It is designed to help students make the most of their limited time, money, and energy. In the spirit of FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE STEP 1, this book is a student-to-student guide that draws on the advice and experiences of medical students who have successfully gone through the Match and are now training in the programs of their choice.

From the Back Cover
"Logically organized, succinct and to the point, well written ... extremely useful."

--Doody's Health Sciences Book Review, on the previous edition The INSIDERS Guide to a Successful Match GET REAL ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR MATCH QUESTIONS *Advice from Students Who Matched with Top Programs *Insider Tips from Residency Program Directors *Latest Trends in Specialties and the Match Process *Application and Interview Tips Tailored for Each Specialty *Real Personal Statements and CVs that Worked *Frequently Asked Interview Questions (and Good Answers) *A Master Checklist for the Application Process *Student-Tested Guide to Cheap Travel The Student-to-Student, Step-by-Step Guide *Get the match you want *Zero in on your goals *Choose the right program *Stay cool with step-by-step directions *Avoid interview bloopers *Apply tips designed for your situation *Learn about match day [McGraw-Hill division logo]

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Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: Appleton & Lange; 2nd edition (December 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0838526071
• ISBN-13: 978-0838526071
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,745 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Which book should you get to help you match successfully?, April 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: First Aid for the Match: Insider Advice from Students and Residency Directors (Paperback)

I am about two months away from starting my internship and I'd like to offer those who are about to start the residency application process some advice. At my medical school, I am a member of a committee that provides guidance to students through the match process. Other members of the committee include residency program directors, interns/residents, deans, and clerkship directors. Our mission is to help students match successfully. Here are the books we reviewed:

FIRST AID FOR THE WARDS BY VIKAS BHUSHAN - It was the committee's feeling that this book is not as strong as some of the other books in the First Aid Series. It contains a lot of information about the different specialties in terms of spots available and competitiveness. But after reading through the various sections (personal statements, letters of recommendation, interview), most of our students didn't feel like they had a strategy for developing a great personal statement, securing a strong letter of recommendation, and knocking the socks off the interviewer. One of its strengths were the many examples of CVs and personal statements that if offers.

ISERSON'S GETTING INTO RESIDENCY - This book, which is now in its 6th edition, has an amazing amount of information. This is a book that clearly should be bought on day #1 of med school because it has info that is helpful in years 1, 2, 3, and 4. It's organized better than First Aid for the Wards.

THE RESIDENCY MATCH: 101 BIGGEST MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM BY SAMIR DESAI - This is a new book that wasn't available when I was applying for residency last summer. It's a different perspective on the whole process, with the author focusing on the mistakes students make. After looking it over, the members of our committee felt that these were indeed some of the major errors made during the way. In many cases, these errors can hurt your chances of matching with your top program. I recall making some of these mistakes myself and would have found this book useful had it been available. It's probably better to use Iserson's book along with this book rather than either one alone.

And finally, none of these books can take the place of a good advisor. That's the last piece of advice I will leave you with. Best of luck!

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not so Hot, January 22, 2001

By A Customer

I really liked the First Aids for USMLE 1 and USMLE 2 and found this book a much weaker cousin and very expensive for the content. There's nothing here that you can't get from JAMA or your Dean's office. The Iserson's Getting Into a Residency gives you a lot more info for about the same price. There's almost nothing to help out the IMG (who I suspect are frequent buyers) and (again) nothing for anyone with special circumstances, such as older age, second careers, disability, couples match, gay and lesbian issues, etc. Borrow a copy from the library instead.

3.0 out of 5 stars just ok, January 17, 2009

By	M. Pinoli "mlp36" (Texas Tech) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is very short and has outdated information about the match process previous to the current ERAS system. The specialty overviews are also short with graphs showing the pay scales from 10 years ago. There are other books much more helpful in deciding your specialty and coaching you through the application and interview process.