In this episode, Dr. Samuel Mikhail, pediatric resident at Nemours Children’s Hospital, reflects on his Match Day experience and offers advice for aspiring residents.

It was definitely a nerve-wracking and exciting time. Beginning the process in the fourth year of medical school, you start by studying for your second board exam and jumping right into the application season. It was a great time to gather all my resources (of which my mentors were definitely the most valuable) and just ask them, how should I even begin this process? What programs should I consider? What should my application strategy look like?

One of the most important things throughout the entire process was having that constant communication with my mentors and asking them the questions they’ve been asked so many times and have a lot of experience in dealing with.

The challenge I found most difficult was how to communicate with all the different programs that I was considering applying to. I wasn’t sure how each program viewed conversations and communication with each applicant. They each had their own platforms and rules about how to communicate with them, when to provide them updates, whether to give them updates at all. At the end of the day, it was about, again, relying on my mentors to understand what the communication strategy would be like with all of those programs.

Surprisingly, the interview process was far less formal than I thought it would be. The first part of fourth year involved a lot of answering online questions, filling out applications, trying to develop a strategy, and creating my story about who I was as a potential resident.

But then, when it came to actual interview day, for most programs it was a much more laid back conversation with the program leadership. How did my experiences throughout undergraduate and medical school transform me into a potential resident at their program? And then, how did my own personal story and my interests, likes, and dislikes all come together?

They wanted to know me a person and how I would fit best into their program. It was very surprising in that regard, and I felt like at the end of most of my interviews, especially at Nemours, they truly knew who I was as a person.

It was about trying to find where I would get a world-class education as a resident—having that balance between autonomy and supervision, but also feeling supported. And that’s with my family, friends, program leadership, and the other residents whom I was going to be working with very closely throughout the next several years.

It was exciting. I loved it. It was the culmination of lots of years of hard work and finding out where I was going to train for the next three years, and I was surrounded by family, friends, and my closest mentors. Match Day was held at my medical school with my fellow classmates and classmates from below, so it was a great celebration.

I think one thing that would alleviate a lot of the stress during the application process would be to have a unified platform or way that applicants are able to schedule their interviews and second looks. Each program does it differently. One of the more stressful parts of fourth year of medical school was having my email always at hand to schedule my interview. That link could come at any time of the day, any day of the week, and by the time you opened the email and the scheduling platform, half the slots were taken and you had to just pick whatever was available. So I think one thing that would definitely help would be a unified platform, and just a bit of a warning that we would get an email soon and we should be ready to schedule that interview.

I will admit, I still do browse the forums of residency program applicants just because it is a little validating to read some reactions from several of the applicants and think, “Okay, I felt the same exact way. I wasn’t insane the year I was applying.” Perhaps that’ll decrease as I move through the residency, but so far, I feel like I’m just as involved in those forums as I was last year.

For the applicants who’ve already submitted everything and are waiting for that final decision: Believe in yourself and trust that all the hard work you’ve done through undergrad and medical school is going to pay off. I’m a firm believer that you’re going to match where you’re needed most and where you’ll have the most growth to become the doctor that you want to be.

Another thing I relied on was taking a step back from the entire application process once I had submitted my rank list and everything, and just preparing to celebrate with everyone that helped me get to that spot.

For the medical student that’s going to apply next year: don’t worry. When it comes to the beginning of your fourth year, it’s okay to not know the ins and outs and all the details of the match process. No one is going to know everything. You learn as you go. You also have your mentors who know all the details and have been through this process multiple times. Rely on them to get that information. It’s okay to feel behind, but as long as you rely on those mentors and all the other resources that you have at your disposal, like medical students who have graduated before you and some online resources, you’ll find that the process is very rewarding.

Thanks for listening. Stay tuned for next week’s episode. To hear more, follow PeerPOV: The Pulse on Medicine on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music.

This transcript has been edited for readability.