Academic and Research Skills
Career Development
Core Curriculum for Fellows
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Leadership and Business Training
Medical Education
Trainee Track
Adam Wolfe, MD, PhD (he/him/his)
Associate Professor
Baylor College of Medicine
San Antonio, Texas, United States
Lydia Davidson, MD
Chief Resident, Instructor
Children's Hospital of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, United States
Caroline Paul, MD (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor
Pediatrics
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
New York City, New York, United States
Workshop
Description: We have all stared at a blank screen labeled “personal statement” at some point in our careers. Many of us have grappled with preparing for a high-stakes interview for a faculty position, fellowship, or residency. These tasks, part of the core currency of recruitment and promotion practices, can challenge trainees and junior colleagues who are seeking the next phase of their career. These challenges are amplified for candidates from groups underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and for women candidates, whose self-promotion efforts are often judged differently.
Based on needs assessments from residents, fellows, and junior faculty, we have developed a briskly-paced, thoroughly interactive workshop to teach a simple, memorable strategy that allows applicants to showcase their core strengths in behavior-based interviews and in written statements using prior experience to prove their abilities. The workshop tools are built on the P-A-R (Problem-Action-Result) framework. Each participant will iteratively develop their own lists of goals, key strengths, evidentiary experiences, and barriers for their next self-promotion effort. Through iterative journaling and feedback, they will develop and refine an outline of their next personal statement or cover letter, with additional focus on how mentoring and coaching can be optimized for women and URiM candidates. We will demonstrate how the same strategy can be used to impress interviewers regardless of whether the interview is intentionally behavior-based or not. Everyone will take home their own physical journal for continued development. Your next interview will be more comfortable and impactful, and that screen will not stay blank for long!