Q&A: Residents Share Insights on Program Ranking
What were the biggest factors that influenced your rank list?
Shehani Jayawickrama, M.D., first-year resident at the Contra Costa Health Services Family Medicine Residency in Martinez, Calif.: When ranking programs, there are many things that I considered. One of them is the type of training I would get. I wanted a program that would offer full-spectrum family medicine training including robust obstetrics experience, abortion training, point-of-care ultrasound and experience in ICU or high-acuity settings.
I also consider things like benefits, schedule and support. I wanted a program that did not include 24-hour call, had a two-week rotation model, had attendings in-house at all times, could offer free parking and money for food.
Another thing I considered was location of the program. I wanted to be in a city that offered opportunities for my hobbies, such as nearby hikes and concert venues. Affordability and proximity to my family were also factored into my ranking decisions.
Lastly, but maybe most importantly, I considered the culture of the residency. I knew it was likely I would be moving far away from family for residency and in doing so, leaving my primary source of social support. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that I would consider my co-residents as not only coworkers but friends. I assessed how the residents interacted with each other, how often they hung out and what kind of activities they did together to assess whether I’d be able to consider these residents my friends in the future.
Shehani Jayawickrama, M.D.
Derek Southwick, M.D.
Were there factors that influenced your rank list that that turned out to be more or less important than you thought?
Derek Southwick, M.D., first-year family medicine resident at IU Health Ball Memorial in Muncie, Ind.: When it was time to rank programs, I initially focused on a few key factors. I knew I wanted a program that offered extensive procedural training, particularly in skills like colonoscopy, vasectomy, dermatology, circumcision and point-of-care ultrasound. Having the opportunity to develop these skills during residency was a priority for me because they’re essential in providing comprehensive care to my future patients. I also wanted to live in a place with an affordable cost of living.
After starting residency, I realized there were additional factors that played an even bigger role in my day-to-day satisfaction than I had initially anticipated. For instance, the schedule at my program has been a game-changer. On inpatient service, we work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., rather than the more common 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Having those extra two hours each day — and more frequent “golden weekends” — has made a significant difference in preventing burnout.
Looking back, I’d rank my program as my top choice again, just for this schedule. I’ve come to appreciate that factors like work-life balance can have as much of an impact on resident well-being as clinical training opportunities.
I feel incredibly fortunate with my choice. My program provides the procedural training I sought, along with a supportive, balanced environment that has allowed me to thrive both personally and professionally.
If you interviewed with multiple programs that you really liked, how did you differentiate the top four or five programs?
Grace Kelly, M.D., second-year resident at the University of Florida Family Medicine Residency in Gainesville: The reality is that there are many programs that are similar. All programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education are going to train you to be a good physician, and you can generally find a place that will allow you to learn what you want.
However, residency is also hard across the board, and you will learn better if you are happy. For me, the most important factor for my happiness was that I was with my partner. I participated in the couples match (my partner is in psychiatry), and I knew that being able to live with my partner would be more important than where I went. That was our number one consideration. Even if there were family medicine programs I really liked, if my partner did not have an interview in that city or did not like the psychiatry program in that city, it was very low on my rank list.
Grace Kelly, M.D.
In the end, we had several places where we would have both been happy with our training, so to decide how to rank our top five programs, we asked ourselves these questions:
- Where can we go that we will be happiest when we are not at work?
- Where can we go that we will have a good balance of training and well-being?
Steven Gawrys, D.O.
What’s your No. 1 tip for those participating in the 2025 Match?
Steven Gawrys, D.O., first-year resident at the University of Florida Family Medicine Residency in Gainesville: Initially, trying to rank programs was difficult because there are plenty of quality family medicine programs out there. First, I considered location, work hours, rotations, career opportunities and the type of training offered. Based on an objective checklist, I found many programs looked alike. Ultimately, factors that led me to choose my program came down to how I connected with faculty and prospective co-residents.
The best advice I would give any friend would be to ask yourself, “If you had to work long, exhausting shifts your intern year, who would you want by your side?” Residency is challenging, but it is incredibly rewarding because of the supporting cast I have around me. Once I screened for the “checklist” items, I let that question guide my thinking.
I decided to go with my gut and with the program that had the best feel. I’m so grateful for it. With this perspective, I felt confident that several of my top choices would have been great fits, and I am beyond grateful for how things turned out.