GA-PCOM Hosts Residency Fair for Medical Students

April 9, 2018

Alumni and program directors offer advice for third- and fourth-year DO students as they prepare for medical residencies.

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Representatives from 12 residency programs offered advice on successfully navigating the Match process to doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) students during an April 4, 2018 residency fair at Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM).

Coordinated by the Office of Student Affairs and hosted by Associate Dean Michael Sampson, DO, the residency fair provided second- and third-year DO students with the opportunity to gain residency and Match advice from program directors, alumni and peers.

The Match—which occurs during DO students’ fourth year—determines where students will spend the next several years as resident doctors. It is preceded by audition rotations, applications and interviews.

The importance of audition rotations, in which students spend several weeks in a clerkship during the third or fourth years of medical school, was emphasized by several panelists.  

Dr. Joanne Kakaty-Monzo, academic chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, advised students to find the top residency programs for their desired specialty and do an audition rotation there.

“Be punctual and on your A game the whole time you’re there,” Kakaty-Monzo said. “Engage, ask questions, but not too many questions. “

Fourth-year DO student Giselle Pineiro , who has accepted a residency position at the Georgia South Family Medicine residency program at Colquitt Regional Medical Center in Moultrie, Georgia,  encouraged students to use all of their clerkships as practice sessions.

“Every time I stepped foot into a new hospital, I was auditioning,” she said.

Pineiro suggested students present themselves in a marketable way. She also advised students to maximize their contacts and reminded them they are not alone.

“There’s a big network of people looking out for you,” she said.

Panelists offered additional advice such as arrive early and stay late while on rotations, avoid saying anything negative about others and bring study materials (preferably not on a cellphone) for making the best use of any downtime. The panelists also advised students to become well-rounded candidates by taking time for volunteer opportunities and outside interests. Panelists urged attendees to make sure their residency applications’ personal statements were honest and interesting.

The following residency programs participated in the GA-PCOM Residency Fair: AU/UGA Medical Partnership at St. Mary’s Health Care System; Floyd Medical Center; Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program at Colquitt Regional Medical Center; Gwinnett Medical Center; Houston Healthcare; Jefferson Health; Mercer University at Navicent Health; Merit Health Wesley; Northeast Georgia Health System; PCOM MEDnet; Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center; and VITAS Healthcare.

PCOM alumni who served as panelists or represented their programs at the fair included: Emma Atherton-Staples DO, PGY-3 at Floyd Medical Center; Nick Brinkman, DO, PGY-1 at Gwinnett Medical Center;  Sang Dao, DO, PGY-2 at Gwinnett Medical Center; Lee Dinning, DO, PGY-2 at Houston Healthcare; Sandeep Jalli, DO, PGY-2 at AU/UGA Medical Partnership; Barbara Joy Jones, DO, faculty member at Gwinnett Medical Center; Shirley Payne Lizcano, DO, PGY-4 at Jefferson Health; Ngoc Phan, DO, associate program director at Northeast Georgia Medical Center; and Samuel Shapiro, DO, PGY-2 at Gwinnett Medical Center.

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