Getting matched to your preferred residency program might seem like a random gamble, rolling your application around a roulette wheel of ERAS algorithms and hoping for a win. But, it’s not all luck or chance; you’ve done the study and you’ve got all the chips banked. Follow these tips to make the medical residency timeline work for you.

In the ten years following residency, I’ve learned more than all of those hours I spent in school, but in a different way. One day, you too will look back and have plenty of advice for those entering the field for the very first time. Here are the top ten things I’ve learned since residency.

Congratulations! You just experienced what seems like the most important day of your life – Match Day. This is an important step toward reaching your final goal of becoming a board-certified emergency medicine physician. Now, there’s a lot to think about…

You’ve just experienced what seems like the most important day of your life – Match Day. While in many aspects it is, it’s also just the beginning of many more “most important days ever.” It could have been days, a week or maybe even just a few hours ago that you opened your match card. Regardless, curiosity is settling in.