I didn’t match. Now what?

This post is the first in a week-long series called Residency Week. All this week, we’ll share tips on getting into a residency. To see posts from previous years’ residency weeks, click here.

Some of us entered school knowing we wanted to specialize. Some discovered we enjoyed a particular specialty while in school. Many others still aren’t sure (see our post here on deciding whether to specialize). In either case, the competitiveness of specialty program admissions demands we push ourselves to excel. How many social events did you have to pass on to complete that research poster? How many times did you ask for understanding and forgiveness from loved ones who supported you in your goal? Working so hard to achieve a goal and missing the mark hurts. In my case, only my wife and a few friends were aware of the depths of my disappointment when I didn’t get into a perio program last fall.