Applying to the Residency

Application Procedures

Our application deadline is November 1, 2007 -- 20 months before the anticipated start of radiology residency.

UCSF Department of Radiology participates in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). All positions are filled through the National Resident Matching Program.

We require a medical school performance evaluation ("dean's letter") and three letters of recommendation. You can solicit letters of recommendation from any faculty members who know you well, but we suggest that they be from physicians who are familiar with your clinical work. No more than one of the three letters should be written by a radiologist. If you have had extensive research experience, you may choose to submit a fourth letter from your mentor or advisor.

You must plan to have completed a preliminary year of training at an ACGME-accredited institution before entering our residency program.

Information for Specific Groups of Applicants

Selection Criteria

We hope that the information below helps to demystify our selection process. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our housestaff coordinator, Ms. Terry Rodden.

Because we receive so many applications, we can interview only a small percentage (10-12%) of candidates. We wish we could meet more of our highly-qualified applicants, but unfortunately, we do not have the time or the resources.

The residency selection committee reviews all of the applications after the MSPEs ("dean's letters") are released and in recent years has chosen 56 candidates to interview. All letters of invitation or denial are sent by e-mail on a single day in mid November.

Sometimes we receive requests to reexamine specific applications, but our short timeline precludes us from reconsidering our decisions.

Selection criteria are subjective. Most important are evaluations and grades in clinical rotations, with special regard to performance in the core clerkships; class standing and membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) honor society; record of research and publications, especially if relevant to radiology or a related discipline; potential for an academic career; performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), particularly Step 1; and personal characteristics and life experiences, as ascertained from the MSPE, letters of recommendation, personal statement, and interview.

We are often asked about the significance of various criteria, including USMLE scores, membership in AOA, medical school grades, and research. We discuss these factors below solely to give you an inside look at our selection process and a general idea of the qualifications that we seek. Please assess the information in this context only, and remember that these are merely broad guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules.

Performance on the USMLE is only one of several factors that we consider when choosing candidates whom we would like to interview. We review each application as a whole, and we do not have a threshold value for USMLE scores. However, in recent years, most of our interviewees have had three-digit scores of 240 or higher on Step 1. The small number of our interviewees with Step 1 scores between 200 and 239 have had offsetting factors such as a combination of top clinical grades at a competitive medical school and extraordinary research experience and academic promise. Once an applicant is selected for an interview, USMLE scores have little bearing on the final rank.

Most of our interviewees are members of AOA and have received "A" or "honors" grades in most or all of their core clerkships. We realize that some medical schools do not award "honors" grades and that some do not have AOA chapters or hold their AOA elections only in the spring of the senior year; this will not adversely affect applicants from these schools.

Please keep in mind that our selection process is subjective. We have a limited number of interview places, and even those with very high USMLE scores and/or membership in AOA might not receive an invitation. Denial of an interview is not intended to imply lack of qualification; it simply reflects the abundance of applicants and our inability to interview them all.

Most of our interviewees have had research experience, ranging from writing a case report to undertaking laboratory work in pursuit of a PhD. We seek a balance of research interests among our residents. We should emphasize that because ours is a clinically rigorous program, we prefer applicants who have shined on the wards as well as in the laboratory.

We evaluate research based on several factors, including letters of recommendation from scientific mentors, publications in peer-reviewed journals (with greater weight for first-authored papers), presentations at scientific meetings, and if applicable, grants, awards, or patents. Our primary goal is to assess the potential for an academic career.

Therefore we appraise clinical research on the basis of its relevance to an academic career in radiology. We give greatest esteem to the minority of applicants who have spent a year or more carrying out hypothesis-driven research or other prospective investigation, although we also give due credit to those who have devoted time to retrospective projects.

We expect that applicants with backgrounds in basic or translational science will be able to articulate the relevance of their research and its expected role in their future careers. In our selection process, basic or translational research does not carry much weight if it was performed before medical school or for less than one year, or if it did not produce peer-reviewed publications.

Interviews

We want you to have a pleasant and informative visit to UCSF. We suggest that you look upon the interview day as an opportunity to find out more about our department -- the people, programs, and facilities -- and to help us learn about you. Feel free to ask questions, and please let us know if we can assist you in any way.

Your day will start at UCSF Medical Center (directions and map). The program director will present an introduction and overview of the residency. This will be followed by two research presentations. You will interview with four faculty members and one chief resident. You will attend resident conference, go on a tour of the department, and chat with residents.

You will be invited to an early-evening reception at UCSF Medical Center, where you will have the chance to meet additional residents and faculty.

Each interviewer is free to structure the interview according to his/her preferences. We do not use stress interviews, nor do we usually show images or ask factual or technical questions about radiology or medicine, unless the applicant raises the topic. We may ask about your goals, professional and personal interests, research, or other aspects of your background and training. Interviewers also set aside time for you to ask questions.

Interview Dates

The interview dates for this year are December 12 and 14, 2007, and January 2, 4, 7, 8, 14, and 18, 2008.

Second Visits

Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate requests for second visits or "second looks". After your interview, if you have additional questions about the department, please e-mail or call your interviewers, the program director, or the residents.

Selection Committee Meeting

The selection committee meets in late January. We discuss all of the applicants based on the entirety of their records, including their interviews, and we formulate our rank order list based on consensus. We rank all or almost all of the candidates whom we interview.

After all is done, we hope that you are pleased with the application process and your match result. We wish you the best of luck!

For further information, please contact: