residency locationg

[Guest papaya83]

Do most people end up doing residency programs at the medical center of the school from which they graduate?

[Guest Ian Wong]

This is true both in the majority of programs in Canada and the US, and the reasons are probably multi-factorial. A lot of people have "settled" during med school, and have family/friend ties to that city. You also have the potential during your med school years to make very strong connections with the residency program. Usually, you are a better known quantity to that department (because they are more familiar with the grading system at that med school, plus they may have seen you on that rotation, or you might have done a research project within the department), and many residency programs prefer a "known" quantity. It's for that reason that if you are trying to match to a program outside your own, it's often a good idea to do an away rotation there so you get to build some connections and get some "face" time with department members who can help out your application.

 

Still, if you want to go elsewhere for residency, that's also well within your option, and a large percentage of each graduating med class ends up going elsewhere for residency. To facilitate this, you want to be as good a candidate as you can be (good grades, research, away electives, connections, strong letters of recommendation can all help, etc.).

 

Ian