AAEM Resident and Student Association Podcast · American Academy of Emergency Medicine / RSA

RxЯ: Residency Interviews with Drs. Jasmin Custodio & Parker Howard

·28 min·2 clips

The letter of intent tells a program you are ranking it first.

Yusuke Kishimoto opens the session with Jasmine Custodio and Parker Howard at AEM 2023, part two of the R-Squared Road to Residency series. They introduce themselves as incoming PGY-0 or PGY-1 residents and set the conversation around interview preparation, program research, and what applicants should know before they sit down with interviewers. The episode keeps coming back to homework. Yusuke points listeners to the Triple R resources, including MRMATCH, FRIDA, and Residency Explorer, and reminds them to spend time on each program's website, homepage, faculty, FAQ section, and fellowship opportunities before the interview. That work is framed as a way to understand what a program values and to avoid asking questions the website already answers. The hosts then move into question strategy. They encourage applicants to ask how emergency medicine works with other specialties in the hospital, because that relationship shapes consults and day-to-day workflow. They also suggest asking about resident wellness activities, events, and retreats, since burnout and the odd things seen in emergency medicine make wellness matter. The conversation treats these questions as a sign of curiosity rather than performance. It is not enough to sound interested. Listeners are urged to be specific, to reference what the program actually presented, and to bring up details that show they have read closely. The guests also caution against wasting interview time on basics that are already spelled out online. Questions about program length, for example, can make it seem like the applicant never looked at the site. Near the end, the tone turns more reflective. Jasmine and Parker talk about how fit is hard to judge from a distance and how the feeling of a program changes once you meet residents, attendings, faculty, and staff. That part of the discussion stays patient and grounded, with no rush to pretend the answer is obvious. The closing message is to trust the process. Keep doing the work, keep meeting people, and let the picture sharpen over time. The episode finishes as a steady piece of guidance for applicants facing a crowded and anxious interview season. It is simple advice, but it is the kind that helps when the process starts to feel larger than the person doing it.

As heard by us

Practical interview prep that rewards homework, good questions, and a realistic sense of program fit.

This episode offers a straightforward residency-interview guide built around better research, sharper questions, and fewer basic oversights. It points listeners to program websites and the triple R resources, including MRMATCH, FRIDA, and Residency Explorer, and treats faculty,…

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Sharpen your EM residency interview questions before your next program conversation.

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