What now after securing your first doctor job?? First, BIG congrats to you all! Take all the time you need to feel the emotions and process that you’re here, about to graduate with your MD and enter clinical practice as a resident physician. This is major and you deserve all the applause!
Now here are some things you should expect in the coming days to weeks:
Announcements: Share the good news with your family, friends, and mentors! Many programs will also post their incoming class of interns on social media.
Onboarding: Your program director or coordinator will email you likely within 2 weeks of Match day to send over information on what to expect, including onboarding information and a job contract.
Vacation: You’ll be asked what days/weeks you want to have as vacation time for the upcoming residency year. Be sure to let them know of super important, cant-miss events (e.g. your wedding, family wedding, personal/religious holidays, etc.) happening in May, June, or July.
also highly recommend taking time off before residency starts!
More Onboarding: Note deadlines for registering for your NPI, DEA (prescribing), background check, drug test, fingerprint card, modules, etc for onboarding.
TIP: use your institution’s address and number for your NPI, not your personal info bc this is public information!
Graduation: Complete your remaining requirements to graduate & prepare for that day!
Check that you've completed: longitudinal research assignments, EBM assignments, logged all your required cases & procedures, senior sage assignments, selectives/elective credits, home sub-internship, Emergency Medicine rotation, returned electronics (laptop and pager), and looked through the graduation checklist.
Book places to stay, flights, and pick an outfit for graduation day
Moving: search for where you’ll live for residency & with who (if needed). decide on when you’ll move.
Finances: start thinking about loan repayment plans and budgeting.
TIP: submit your taxes this year so that your income-based repayment plan should be $0 during this upcoming year.
Fellow Interns: connect with your fellow interns (and other residents) prior to orientation so that you all can help each other with onboarding and start building that friendship.
The Recipes team wishes you all the bets in this next phase of your journey. Please remember your roots at MCASOM and exemplify our legacy by championing collaboration and near-peer mentorship as a resident and beyond!
written April 2025 by Isra Abdulwadood