everything you ever needed to know before heading to ASHP Midyear
When I was a P4, PPS was a completely foreign acronym to me. Most of my classmates had done PGY1 residencies, not fellowships – so when I starting asking around for advice about PPS, I didn’t really get any useful feedback. The main thing I wanted to know was:
Luckily, I had an amazing preceptor who went through the PPS process during her Midyear, and she gave me all the advice I needed. And after going through it last year – hopefully I can pay it forward! First of all – what is PPS? It stands for Personnel Placement Service (which might not tell you much). Essentially, PPS is a set of interviews where you can pay an extra fee to actually sit down and meet with your programs of interest, one-on-one. Second – do I need to do PPS? Again: it depends. Keep in mind that NOT ALL programs participate in PPS in the first place, especially PGY1 residencies. Make sure to double-check with your programs of interest to see if they are doing PPS first, and you can make a decision from there. On the other end of the spectrum, some programs actually require PPS and use it as first-round interviews before on-site interviews. (For our fellowship (MedVal/PharmaWrite), we participate in PPS and use it as part of the interview process. For the candidates who can’t make it to Midyear, we accept phone interviews in place of PPS!) PPS is for people looking for employment and is mainly beneficial for P4’s applying for fellowships and PGY1 residents applying for PGY2s. If a bunch of the programs you're interested in are doing PPS for PGY1s, then it may be beneficial - but most PGY1 programs don't participate in PPS, so you can consider saving your money if you only see one or two. The ASHP website will put up a list of all participating programs here closer to the date – keep an eye out! To register for PPS, sign up on the ASHP website and pay the fee ($145 for students, $200 for current residents). [NOTE: PPS registration is SEPARATE and IN ADDITION to registering for Midyear!] There you can upload necessary documents (CV, Letter of Intent, etc.) and contact each program you want to schedule your interviews with over the course of the conference. These PPS interviews are conducted parallel to the rest of Midyear – so schedule accordingly! If you want to make it to the Residency Showcase or have a school meetup, be sure to schedule around those. Full PPS registration and resume uploading opened in September for candidates. Beginning October 21, candidates, employers, and jobs will become visible. Candidates will then be able to request interviews with employers, and employers will be able to view the resume database and contact candidates. Since PPS interview spots can fill up quickly, it’s important to upload your resume and request interviews as soon as possible. Interview spots are generally first come, first serve. Once I registered for PPS, my next question was: how many interviews should I schedule?! Honestly, your PPS experience will be what you make of it. I’ve read articles that say you shouldn’t do more than 10 or else you’ll get burnt out – but at the same time, my fellowship director told me she did 40 during her year, so… it’s up to you! During my year, I only signed up for 2 interviews because there were only two programs I was interested in who happened to be on the list of participating program. And it still worked out! When you first get to Midyear and sign-in, they’ll give you a special sticker that says ‘PPS’ on it and will grant you access into the PPS exhibit room later on. PPS will be conducted in slots from 12/4 to 12/7, 7:30am – 5pm. Once you're in the room, you will find the "semi-private" booth where you can meet individually with employers. This one-on-one interaction honestly can be extremely valuable; you're essentially paying to have 30 minutes of personal face time with programs where, at Residency Showcase, you're just one face in a sea of hundreds. But just like with the Residency Showcase, do not feel obligated to do PPS – especially if you’re aiming for a PGY1 residency. Hopefully that helped answer a few of your questions about PPS! If you have questions about this fellowship or want advice about anything else, don't hesitate to let me know!
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Midyear's not ALL stress and nerves - it's also a great chance to have fun in an exciting city! ASHP knows that - and is helping you take advantage of being in Orlando with an INSANE social event at Universal Studios! They posted the details below on their site: Wednesday, December 6, 7:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.
(Time subject to change. Must be 18 years or older.) Get ready for one of the biggest parties ASHP has ever thrown — we’ve reserved the entire Universal Studios Florida™ theme park just for you! Go behind the scenes, beyond the screen, and jump right into the action of your favorite movies at Universal Studios™, the world's premier movie- and TV-based theme park. All night long, you’ll have unlimited access to incredible rides and attractions that make you the star. Experience Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit™, Revenge of the Mummy™, and more. It’s a universe of action and excitement — and it’s all yours! Mark your calendar today, and check back soon for all the exciting details. Ah, the Residency Showcase. This is probably what you're going to Midyear for - but it’s hard to anticipate exactly what to expect. Don’t worry: we’ll walk you through all the essentials so you feel 100% prepared during Midyear week! (Be sure to check out our PRO TIPS, in red!) B E F O R E M I D Y E A R One important thing to remember before going: the Showcase is meant for YOU (the prospective resident) – to get the chance to chat with and check out dozens of residency programs in one venue. >>*Note: Prospective fellows: the showcase is not as much for you; prioritize your PPS interviews first. If you prefer, you can schedule your PPS interviews around Showcase so you can make both.) >>*Note: P1-P3 students: the showcase is also not as much for you. In fact, ASHP usually requests that if you are a P1-P3, that you wait until the second half of the Showcase to enter the room to be fair to the P4s.) The Showcase will be split between 3 sessions:
*IMPORTANT*: Each program will only be at ONE of the sessions (which was something I wish I'd known early on!). So be sure – if you know which programs you want to visit – TO CHECK WHICH ONE OF THE DAYS they’ll be showcasing so you don’t miss them. To help you do that, ASHP will release an official floor plan sometime before Midyear that will look like this: You can click on each of the 3 sessions and it will tell you which programs will be there on each day. You can match the program to its booth number on the left column, and then find them on the map. (PRO TIP: Print out and study this map beforehand for maximum efficiency. The Showcase room is pretty much mass chaos; so if you have an idea of the layout of the room/plan your route beforehand, you’ll feel that much more prepared.) To save you even more time during the Showcase, you can also decide which programs you most want to see beforehand. (PRO TIP: Most students will probably only have enough time to talk to 4 – 5 programs per session. Choose wisely!) Sometime before Midyear, ASHP will also release an Excel doc of all the participating programs (see below) and you can filter them by state, by type of residency, and by name. So for instance, if you were interested in only managed care residencies, you can filter for “managed care” and get those booth numbers quickly. (P.S. Check back with us closer to Midyear! Once ASHP posts any updated maps or floorplans, we’ll post the links here.) WHAT TO BRING TO THE SHOWCASE (Ranked in order of necessity):
A T M I D Y E A R Alright. You’re at Midyear, about to head into the madness. To give you an idea, the Showcase room will look like this: When you first walk in, there will be a huge sign that will tell you the booth numbers of each residency. However, there will be so many frantic, sweaty students crowded around it that you’ll be lucky if you manage to get 5 minutes to scribble down all the info you need before someone squeezes you out of there. ...But luckily, since you listened to pro tips and printed out your own map ahead of time, you’ll already know where you’re going, don’t you? :) So you can bypass that cluster of people and get a head start! All the booth numbers will be hanging in huge font on top of them. When you find the booth you’re looking for, you can either pick up a pamphlet / leave (if you’re just looking for general info), or you can stay and talk to someone who will be standing there. Who are these people? Generally they’ll have:
I really can’t think of a better way to describe it than: Essentially – just approach someone of your choice and “press A”.
What do you talk about? Tailor your questions to who you’re talking to. If it’s the resident, you can ask things like:
If it’s the director or other staff, you can ask:
(PRO TIP: Know when to walk away. Don’t feel obligated to keep talking to someone if you start feeling like this wasn’t what you were looking for. If you spend too much time talking to a program, it takes away from programs you really were interested in. Just thank them politely and say, “Thank you so much for speaking with me today!” before moving on to the next booth.) When you finish the conversation – get business cards from the people you talk to. This will help you write thank-you emails/cards after you get home, and give you a contact if you have more questions later on. If they have a sign-in sheet, leave your contact and email to show you were there. (PRO TIP: After talking to each program, step to the side somewhere and quickly write down what you talked about. Do this IMMEDIATELY (so the info is still fresh in your mind). There will be huge round tables at the edges of the rooms specifically for this purpose. Write down things you liked, things you didn’t like, your impression of the program or the people, etc. After you talk to a few booths, all of them start to blend together. When it comes time for you to decide which residencies to apply for, looking back on your notes will help you remember pros and cons for each one. A F T E R M I D Y E A R Send a thank-you email or card to every person you spoke with to thank them for their time. This is optional, but it’s a nice touch and can help you be a little more memorable! And this is where the business cards you collected will come in handy; you can find email or mailing addresses. And as usual, if you have any questions, let me know! Former First Lady Michelle Obama will speak at the Opening Session, Dec. 4Wow! 2017 Midyear Clinical Meeting just announced that former First Lady Michelle Robinson Obama, will host a conversation with registered attendees. From the ASHP website: Mrs. Obama served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, transforming the position and becoming a role model, champion, and inspiration for women, families, and young people across America and around the world.
As First Lady, Mrs. Obama launched and led four key initiatives:
One of the first questions I remember having about Midyear was: do I even need to go? Might sound basic, but it’s asked by more students than you’d expect! You’ve always heard from classmates and faculty about how important Midyear is for getting a residency/fellowship – but how much truth to that is there? Well, after a year's experience, I feel like I’ve compiled a decently accurate answer (usual disclaimer: everything below is 100% my opinion; take with grain of salt, etc.).
So first of all, let’s lay out exactly what Midyear has to offer. As a P4 student, I felt like it mostly consisted of two main areas of interest, that is: The Stuff Everyone Goes For™. Because, let’s be real – while the vendor exhibits and CE workshops are nice… that’s not what we as students are there for. For us, the essentials of Midyear can really be boiled down to: And that’s about it. If you or your friends have poster presentations, you’ll also have to attend that – but everything else at the conference is pretty much add-on. Now you might be asking, “How important is it for me to attend Midyear?” And my diplomatic answer would be: depends. In my opinion, it IS more important for some students than others. Who I think SHOULD go to Midyear:
Who I think SHOULDN’T go to Midyear:
tl;dr: How important it is to attend Midyear varies purely on an individual basis. While Midyear is a great opportunity for everyone, do not feel like it’s an obligation for you to attend. So do a little self-reflection, decide what you want to get out of the conference, and make your decision from there. If you have any questions (about Midyear, fellowship, or otherwise), let me know! |
AuthorJonathan Mitchell, PharmD, MedVal/PharmaWrite 2019-2020 Postdoctoral Fellow Archives
October 2019
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