Tips for the Pediatrics Match
Written by Rand Hashim
The match process in general is such a daunting part of medical school and it makes it even more challenging to navigate when each specialty has its own nuances. Hopefully, this blog post gives you a basic rundown of things specific to pediatrics as well as some organizations that are available to join for future pediatricians!
Should I do an away rotation? In pediatrics, it is not crucial for applicants but it helps you narrow down programs. Additionally, away rotations can help supplement any elective pediatric rotations that are not available at your home institution (ex: child abuse, adolescent medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, etc).
Who will write your letter of recommendation? Ideally, you will have at least two letters written by pediatricians. Another can be written by someone in a different specialty or by a third pediatrician. They can be general pediatricians or ones in different subspecialties.
What elective rotations do you want to do? It’s also important to consider the electives you want to pursue during your 4th year. I found it helpful to do different pediatric subspecialties to gain exposure to the different fields (pediatric cardiology, nephrology, pulmonology, neonatal ICU, etc). I was able to sign-up for a mix of both inpatient and outpatient rotations. Also, this allows you to make connections with various pediatric attendings who can write letters of recommendation.
Joining different pediatric organizations may give you access to different conferences, journals, or virtual events that can connect you with people before the match season! Check with your school’s pediatric student interest group to see if they have any affiliations with pediatric organizations or if there are discounts on memberships. Otherwise, below is a list of organizations that offer free/discounted rates for medical students:
General Pediatrics:
American Academy of Pediatrics. Cost: $25: https://shop.aap.org/aap-membership/medical-students/
AAP also has subspecialties: Cardiology, Hematology/Oncology, Nephrology, Pulmonary Medicine, and Rheumatology
American College of Pediatricians. Cost: Free: https://acpeds.org/join
Subspecialties
Child neurology Association. Cost: Free: https://www.childneurologysociety.org/careers/med-students/med-student-membership-free/
Pediatric Dermatology. Cost: Free: https://pedsderm.net/about/membership-types/
Pediatric Endocrinology Society. Cost: $30: https://pedsendo.org/about-pes/pes-membership/
Allergy & Immunology. Cost: Free: https://www.aaaai.org/About/Membership/Membership-Types/Medical-Student-Member
Future Peds Res: Check out @FuturePedsRes on Twitter and Instagram for information about upcoming pediatric panels with residents and other free virtual events.
These are just a few key points to provide tips towards match day as a pediatric applicant. Good luck and congrats on choosing pediatrics as a specialty!
