The Successful Match: 200 Rules to Succeed in the Residency Match

"The Successful Match," by the Baylor physicians Drs. Katta and Desai, is the perfect guide for completing the residency application. It's the ideal book in its class, covering all the important topics with the optimal level of detail. It's that rare gem the med student longs for that is so clearly written, reader friendly, and well organized that it will set you apart from the competition. I don't think it's possible to be serious about the application process without reading it.There are two books that this one competes with, "Getting into Residency" and "First Aid for the Match." However, "The Successful Match" gives you more information where you really need it. As a first example, Drs. Katta and Desai incorporate a large amount of research showing what exactly program directors are looking for from applicants by specialty--the differences among them are significant. In general, the other two books place far less emphasis on gathering the available data from the various program surveys that have been done. In its section on the resume and the personal statement, "The Successful Match" supplements its instruction with information from literature searches regarding program directors' preferences and perspectives and, again, how these differ among specialties. Its section on letters of recommendation offers a surprisingly large amount of information about a subject that most students--and the two competing books--assume is mostly in the hands of faculty. True, the faculty member is responsible for writing the letter. However, it is a subtle art, fraught with land mines that can't be avoided unless the student is vigilant about preparing the letter writer. Another major difference is that this book is set up to help students from the ground level up when constructing the resume and personal statement, giving the student questions and a prompting system that will help them amass the information and personal insight necessary to begin. The other books mostly rely on supplying examples--poor ones and strong ones--though, be assured that this book has plenty of excellent examples as well. Additionally, the book has a beautiful way of being concise and providing lists of the essential items that need to be remembered for all the application tasks, but especially for interviews. One could also mention the great deal of information about student research, an arena which can seem difficult to access.... In the end, this is just what you need for the match. It's superb.

I am an IMG and I am very lucky that I have received a pre-match offer from one of my top programs this week. It is a long journey and I have so many people to thank. Among them, I would like to thank the authors of this book. I purchased it at the beginning of my application; actually I regret that I did not buy it earlier. I read it several times before I started my application, then I read one more time in the middle of my interview season. It is very informative, very easy to read and very well written. Actually I bought two books for match -this book and `Iserson's Getting into Residency". It turned that I did not have enough time to read both books. One of my friends recommended me this book. I found it very useful every time I read this book. The more I read, the more I like it. When I think back now, I feel this book provides everything you need to know for match.What I like most about this book is that every statement is backed up with solid data obtained from surveys and studies. So, I trust what they say in this book. In fact, they are right. As an IMG, I was struggling with writing a perfect personal statement at the beginning. This book provides very good points on how to make a special statement which makes you stand out from your peer. I also like the 4 chapters about the interview. In fact, I prepared my answers for every interview question in this book. It turned out they are enough for preparing the interview. In summary, I highly recommend this book to every medical students who will participate match and I truly believe that it will lead you a successful match.

I bought this book a few months before I went into interview season. It's a very quick and easy read. It breaks down the entire match process, from writing a good personal statement and CV, all the way through what you should do AFTER your interviews. It gives tons of good examples to help you strengthen your application. It also gives a laundry list of common questions and appropriate (and inappropriate) answers to them. I thought that was the biggest help to me. I went on a LOT of interviews (about 30) since I was applying to an advance specialty along with prelims PLUS a backup specialty. I ended up matching in my preferred specialty at my number 2. Can't complain, and I think this book definitely helped. The only negative I could think of is that a lot of the information (if not all) could be found online for free, but for a busy medical student, I think having all the information consolidated into one source for a quick read or review is great.Summary: Quick, easy read with lots of helpful tips for the entire match process. You can find the information online for free, but this will save a lot of time and make for easy referencing. I'd recommend it highly.

I matched to a very competitive residency in Canada. However his book doesn't really give tips outside the obvious and is more geared towards American medical students. Their system is slightly different than ours despite being very similar.Advice: Be nice, use common sense, be likable, work hard, you'll match.The book, worth a read if you must, but if time is short (as it often is during CaRMS) don't waste it on this.

Great!!!