When fourth-year medical student Holly Cordray stepped off the plane in Denver for another long round of residency interviews, she knew this trip would be different.
Instead of a cold, impersonal hotel and a night alone in an unfamiliar place, she was invited to stay at the home of Jennifer Betz, MD, a pediatrician who had attended the Perelman School of Medicine, like Cordray, years ago. Betz had set aside a quiet room, folded towels, and strong Wi Fi.
"They were so welcoming," Cordray said. "It felt much more personal than staying in a hotel."
By the time medical students reach their fourth year, they hear stories from older classmates about the months spent hopping between cities, the pressure of competing for spots, and the emotional weight that comes with how this all impacts their next career steps. For Cordray, interviewing to be a resident in plastic and reconstructive surgery, the travel and intensity felt even heavier than she expected. Every interview was in person, and the travel came on the heels of a year filled with away rotations that required her to prove herself again and again.
"Pretty much you are on your own for flights and lodging," she said. "When you are doing more than ten interviews across the country in two months, it really adds up."
The Betz family enjoys meeting the students who come through their door. In fact, Betz has been hosting students since her kids were toddlers and now her oldest is in college, thanks to a program at the Perelman School of Medicine that fosters such connections between alumni and current medical students. Betz remembers her kids getting excited to meet the strangers coming to visit and convincing them to join in a game of Uno.
