Writing Thank You Notes after Ophthalmology Residency Interviews

http://dx.doi.org/10.17140/OOJ-2-114

Ophthalmol Open J

Kinley D. Beck, MD

; Debbie Schifanella, Fellowship Program Coordinator

;

Kundandeep S. Nagi, MD

; Kent L. Anderson, MD, PhD

; Michael A. Singer, MD

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX,

USA

Medical Center Ophthalmology Associates, San Antonio, TX, USA

Corresponding author

Michael A. Singer, MD

Retina Specialist at Medical Center

Ophthalmology Associates

9157 Huebner Road

San Antonio, TX 78240, USA

Tel. 210-697-2020

E-mail: Msinger1[email protected]

Article History

Received: November 26

, 2017

Accepted: December 6

, 2017

Published: December 6

, 2017

Citation

Beck KD, Schifanella D, Nagi KS, An-

derson KL, Singer MA. Writing thank you

notes after ophthalmology residency in-

terviews? Ophthalmol Open J. 2017;

2(2): 48-51. doi: 10.17140/OOJ-2-114

access article distributed under the

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

International License (CC BY 4.0),

which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in

any medium, provided the original

work is properly cited.

Volume 2 : Issue 2

Article Ref. #: 1000OOJ2114

Writing Thank You Notes after

Ophthalmology Residency Interviews?

Page 48

Brief Research

Report

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To determine the importance of writing thank you notes after ophthalmology resi-

dency interviews.

Design: Survey.

Participants: Ophthalmology residency faculty members.

Methods: A short multiple-choice survey using www.surveymonkey.com was distributed to As-

sociation of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) personnel who then distributed

it to their respective faculty members that are involved in interviewing and ranking applicants.

Six questions were asked to determine the importance of thank you notes after ophthalmology

residency interviews along with the option to write comments.

Main outcome measures: The impact of thank you notes in the ranking of ophthalmology ap-

plicants following interviews.

Results: Seventy ve total participants took the survey during the month of March 2016. Nine-

ty point eight percent reported thank you notes never change their ranking of applicants; 4.6%

responded yes, mostly in higher ranking; 4.6% responded yes, equally resulting in higher/

lower ranking depending on the circumstances; and 0% chose yes, mostly resulting in lower

ranking. When asked if they recommend applicants to write thank you notes: 46.7% chose no;

33.3% chose yes, only if personalized; 13.3% chose yes; and 6.7% chose yes, only if telling

the program you are ranking them #1 (and mean it). Twenty six respondents wrote comments.

Conclusions: Based on the survey responses, largely thank you notes do not impact the ranking

of ophthalmology applicants following interviews. However, many feel there is still a role for

them.

KEY WORDS: Thank you notes; Ophthalmology residency interviews.

INTRODUCTION

The current gold standard is practicing evidence-based medicine. The road to residency is a

rigorous one including 4 years of medical school, board exams, applying for residency, inter-

viewing, and hopefully ending with matching at your desired program. What can and should

one do after the interview?

Thank you notes after residency interviews remain to be recommended with only one

survey done in 2010 asking 2 questions about thank you notes after ophthalmology residency

interviews that revealed 14% of faculty members expect or desire them and only 3% are inu-

enced by an applicant stating the program is their rst choice.

Doing a quick Internet search,

one can nd numerous medical schools recommending thank you notes (UCSF, Drexel, Rut-

gers,and Iowa to name a few)

2-5

along with residency websites (American Academy of Family

Practitioners and Emergency Medicine Residents Association)

6,7

and sites geared towards med-

ical students.

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Page 49

METHODS

A 6 question multiple-choice survey was created using www.

surveymonkey.com. The study was granted exempt status by the

Institutional Review Board (IRB) of UT Health San Antonio.

The survey was distributed to Association of University Profes-

sors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) personnel who then distributed

it to their respective faculty members that interview and rank

applicants. The survey included the following questions: the

location of their residency program; their amount of time after

training; do they enjoy receiving thank you notes; do thank you

notes change their ranking of applicants; do they recommend

applicants write thank you notes; and, if so, in what format. They

were also allowed to write comments (See Supplementary Data).

RESULTS

Seventy ve total people took the survey during the month of

March 2016. Their location breakdown was the following: 35%

Midwest, 35% Northeast, 9.5% West, 9.5% Southwest, 9.5%

Southeast, and 1% anonymous. Fourty point three percent are

faculty members for greater than 10 years, 29.2% faculty mem-

bers less than 5 years, 19.4% residency directors, 8.33% facul-

ty members for 5-10 years, and 2.8% chairmen. Twenty eight

percent responded that they are indierent to receiving thank

you notes, 25.3% always enjoy receiving them, 25.3% enjoy

them only if personalized, and 21% do not enjoy receiving

them. Ninety point eight percent reported thank you notes never

change their ranking of applicants (Figure 1); 4.6% responded

yes, mostly in higher ranking; 4.6% responded yes, equally re-

sulting in higher/lower ranking depending on the circumstanc-

es; and 0% chose yes, mostly resulting in lower ranking. When

asked if they recommend applicants to write thank you notes:

46.7% chose no; 33.3% chose yes, only if personalized; 13.3%

chose yes; and 6.7% chose yes, only if telling the program you

are ranking them #1 (and mean it). Thirty seven percent do

not have a preference between emailing thank you note versus

hand-written, 21.9% prefer hand-written letters, 4.11% prefer

email, and 37% responded non-applicable because do not rec-

ommend thank you notes. Twenty six respondents wrote com-

ments at the end of the survey (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Do Thank You Notes Change the Ranking of Ophthalmology Applicants?

Figure 2A and 2B: Comments Provided by Survey Responders.

A B

THE OPHTHALMOLOGY OPEN JOURNAL

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DISCUSSION

Based on the comments, faculty members remain divided on the

viewpoint of writing thank you notes after ophthalmology resi-

dency interviews. By in large, thank you notes do not appear to

impact the ranking of ophthalmology applicants following in-

terviews and are not seen as a requirement. They do, however,

remain an option for an applicant to show their genuine interest

in a program and an opportunity for a program to receive further

insight into an applicant’s personality.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

None except Michael A. Singer (see below).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Conicts of interest only for Michael A. Singer: Allergan, Alle-

gro, Ampio, Genentech, Ophthotech, Regeneron, Santen, Aer-

pio, Optos, Alcon, Clearside, Notal Vision, Guidepoint, Alimera.

In accordance with Openventio Publishers policy and

my ethical obligation as a researcher, I am reporting that Dr.

Singer is a consultant for the following companies: Allergan,

Genentech, Regeneron, Santen, Clearside, Aerpio, and Alime-

ra. Dr. Singer is a Speakers Bureau for the following: Allergan,

Genentech, and Regeneron. Dr. Singer is involved in research

support with the following: Allergan, Genentech, Regeneron,

Ampio, Optos, Aerpio, Allegro, and Diachii, and Clearside.

These aliations did not aect research reported in the enclosed

paper. I have disclosed those interests fully to Openventio Pub-

lishers.

REFERENCES

1. Nallasamy S, Uhler T, Nallasamy N, et al. Ophthalmology

resident selection: Current trends in selection criteria and impro-

ving the process. Ophthalmology. 2010; 117(5): 1041-1047. doi:

10.1016/j.ophtha.2009.07.034

2. UCSF Career. The Thank You Note, Dissected. https://career.

ucsf.edu/sites/career.ucsf.edu/les/PDF/pharmacythankyoulet-

ter1.pdf. Accessed August 29, 2017.

3. Drexel University College of Medicine. Resources for Inter-

view Preparation and Practice. https://webcampus.drexelmed.

edu/cdc/medInterviewGuide.asp. Accessed August 29, 2017.

4. Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The Inter-

view, Advice from Peers. http://rwjms.rutgers.edu/education/

current_students/student_support/career_res/documents/TheIn-

terview.pdf. Accessed August 29, 2017.

5. University of Iowa Health Care. Interviews: University of

Iowa, Ophthalmology. http://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/eyefo-

rum/tutorials/iowa-guide-to-the-ophthalmology-match/9-inter-

views-partB.htm. Accessed August 29, 2017.

6. Academy of Family Practioners. Interviewing for Family Me-

dicine Residency. http://www.aafp.org/medical-school-residen-

cy/residency/interviews/after.html. Accessed August 29, 2017.

7. Kraus C. The Interview. EMRA.org. https://www.emra.org/

students/advising/_to_sort/the_interview/. Updated January,

2009. Accessed August 29, 2017.

8. Usmle WEB. Thank You Letter. http://www.usmleweb.com/

sample_thank_you_letter.html. Accessed August 29, 2017.

THE OPHTHALMOLOGY OPEN JOURNAL

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ISSN 2475-1278

Ophthalmol Open J

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Survey Questions

- Background Questions of Survey Responder:

1. Location of residency program: will provide a map of the United States so they can choose region of the United States (northeast,

west, Midwest, southeast, southwest). There will also an anonymous option if they would rather not disclose location.

2. Number of years after training of the survey responder or Title (only can choose one option):

Chairman

Residency Director

Faculty member for <5 years

Faculty member for 5-10 years

Faculty member for >10 years

- Specic Thank You Note Questions:

1. Do you enjoy receiving thank you notes:

Yes, always

Only if personalized

Indierent

2. Do thank you notes change your ranking of applicants:

Never

Yes (if choose yes then will be given other options as below and a comment box at the end)

Mostly only results in lower ranking (poorly written etc…)

Mostly only results in raising ranking

Equally results in raising or lowering ranking

3. Would you recommend applicants write thank you notes:

Yes

Yes. Only recommend writing one to tell your #1 program that you are ranking them #1

Yes, only if personalized

4. If said yes to #3, which format would you recommend?

Hand-written on paper

Either is ne

N/A (not recommend)

Comment section at the end of the survey

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THE OPHTHALMOLOGY OPEN JOURNAL

http://dx.doi.org/10.17140/OOJ-2-114

ISSN 2475-1278