The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 7 RESIDENCY From Page 1 Ehrlichman was one of 174 medical students from the Uni- versity to participate in the match services offered by the National Resident Matching Program - a non-profitorganizationthathelps to place individuals with various levels of medical training into residency positions at teaching hospitals throughout the country. Elizabeth Petty, associate dean for medical student education at the University's Medical School, is one of the numerous medical faculty responsible for helping to prepare students for the inter- view process. "Prior to (Match Day), students can't be guaranteed a specific spot with any residency pro- grams," Petty said. "It's not clear where you're going to go until you get that piece of paper or e-mail - depending on how you receive the CITY COUNCIL From Page 1 would ensure the medical mari- juana being sold in Ann Arbor is grown in Michigan and not imported. In an interview during a session break, Hieftje said the packaging and identification tags are meant to keep patients safe from harmful products. news - essentially." For the second consecutive year, the Medical School is boast- ing a nearly 99-percent match rate for its students - about five percent higher than the national average. Petty said most Univer- sity students match with one of their top three program choices, with many being awarded their first choice. However, students place lower on their lists due to the competitive nature of pro- grams and certain specialties. Medical specialties that saw a particular increase in interest thisyearfromUniversitystudents were internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology. Internal medi- tine is consistently one of the top choices among students due to the many residency programs and career paths associated with the field, according to Petty. University students placed at programs in 25 states and the District of Columbia. Twenty-six "Our concern is verifyingthat the product comes from Michi- gan and making sure the prod- uct is not tainted," he said. Now that the first reading is approved, Hieftje said the sec- ond reading will have a public hearing beforehand to encour- age input from the community. "It's all about getting input from the public," he said. "They might bring us an idea we hadn't thought about." percent of the graduating class will perform their residencies at the University Hospital, where University students also train during medical school. Fourth-year Medical School student Latifa Sage Silski is heading south to The Ohio State University for her placement. A Cleveland, Ohio native, Silski wrote in an e-mail interview that she is excited about her match, which was her first choice for general surgery. Reflecting on the interview process, she described her expe- rience as tiring but at times humorous, like when she had to field questions about residency. "Since the process is so coun- terintuitive, after every inter- view, family and friends ask you if you got the job, and you have to explain the whole match process again," Silski wrote. She wrote that the most nerve- racking part of applying for residencies was developing her match list, which forced her to choose between two top-notch residency programs for her num- ber one choice. "I think t certified my list sev- eral times, changing it based on how I felt on a particular day," Silski wrote. Ehrlichman, also trudged through an anxiety-filled inter- view season, meeting with phy- sicians and hospital staff from more than 20 medical centers across the country - more than double the average number of formal hospital visits the typical medical student makes. On the Medical School's "Dose of Reality" blog where current students discuss their experienc- es in the classroom, Ehrlichman wrote that interviews would occa- sionally include hands-on tasks, such as "suturing wet hot dogs back together" and "constructing structures out of clay," in addition to the typical relevant questions about her interests and goals. Ehrlichman said she prepared for each interview by studying various topics in health care lit- erature, but found that many interviewers seemed to be more interested in the University's ath- letic programs. "Going into orthopedic sur- gery, you see a lot of people who are interested in sports (medi- cine), and I learned early on that the best way to prepare for inter- views wasn't necessarily reading about health care reform, but just to watch (ESPN) SportsCenter," she joked. Considering the matching process as a whole, which began almost a year ago and culminat- ed in interviews from the fall to January, Ehrlichman and Silski praised their mentors at the Uni- versity for the guidance they pro- vided duringthe tense time. "I think every place I went, the Michigan name carried a huge amount of weight ... this was true whether I was in Califor- nia, the Midwest or the South," Ehrlichman said. "I felt like the Michigan program just prepared (students) so well for our inter- views." For now, Ehrlichman, Silski and other students will be wrap- ping up their medical school clin- ical rotations as their residency program start dates approach. Ehrlichman said she will start at Harvard in mid-June and Silski will begin at OSU about a week later. Despite the stress that comes with planning for her move, Ehrlichman said she is taking some time to bask in her delight. "I'm just so happy right now," she said. Silski echoed Ehrlichman's sentiments, writing that she is excited to be moving on to the next milestone in her life. "Even though this is just the beginning of another journey, I am allowing myself to enjoy the moment," Silski wrote. LIKE STARING AT COMPUTER SCREENS? LOVE THE ADOBE SUITE? Join Design. E-mail design@michigandaily.com WANT TO WRITE FOR NEWS? * E-mail aber@michigandaily.com