Honest, physician-written guidance for choosing, applying, interviewing, and surviving the year before residency — and the years that follow.
Which specialty fits me?
Honest one-page guides to every specialty and fellowship. The work, the lifestyle, the training, and who should choose something else.
Applying to residency
Personal statement, letters, CV, signaling, rank list, SOAP. What to do and when.
Applying to fellowship
The subspecialty match for residents. Cardiology, GI, hem-onc, critical care, and the rest.
Interview prep
Real questions, real ways to answer them, etiquette, follow-up, and the things programs notice that nobody mentions.
IMG, DO & reapplicants
Written for the applicants most underserved by every other site. Strategy that respects who you already are.
Visa, family & moving
The life around the application: spouses, kids, parents, money, geography, the move.
Start here if you're not sure
- Should you pursue US residency at all? — an honest reckoning with the cost, timeline, and odds.
- Which specialty fits me? — start with what you actually want to do at 2pm on a Tuesday.
- If you're an IMG, DO, or reapplicant — you are the core audience of this site.
The largest residency specialties
Family Medicine
Full-spectrum primary care across ages, geographies, and life stages.
Emergency Medicine
Undifferentiated patients, shift-based work, broad procedural exposure.
Psychiatry
Long-form patient relationships; the specialty has shifted in the last decade.
Anesthesiology
Procedural, physiologically intense, with strong subspecialty options.
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Surgical and medical at once; one of the most demanding training paths.
Diagnostic Radiology
Image-driven cognitive work; advanced after a transitional or prelim year.
The largest fellowships
Internal Medicine fellowships
Cardiology
The largest IM fellowship pool; broad subspecialty doors.
Gastroenterology
Procedure-heavy, high lifestyle and income, very competitive.
Hematology & Oncology
Two fields trained together; long patient relationships and emotional weight.
Pulmonary & Critical Care
Hospital-based, procedure-mixed, the workhorse of academic IM.
Nephrology
Complex physiology and a quietly broad career; underrated training.
Endocrinology
Outpatient-heavy, longitudinal, increasingly subspecialized.
Infectious Disease
Consultative, intellectual, built around stewardship and HIV care.
Pediatric fellowships
Neonatology
NICU-based, one of the largest peds fellowships, intensely procedural early on.
Pediatric Cardiology
Congenital and acquired heart disease; long fellowship, narrow door.
Pediatric Critical Care
PICU intensivist track; demanding training, deep continuity of care.
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Children's ED; lifestyle differs sharply from adult EM.
Pediatric Hem-Onc
Long fellowship; among the most emotionally demanding pediatrics.
Surgical fellowships
Surgical Critical Care
ICU training for surgeons; entry to trauma and acute care surgery.
Vascular Surgery
Endovascular and open; integrated residency or fellowship paths.
Pediatric Surgery
One of the longest, most competitive surgical pathways in US training.
Surgical Oncology
HPB, peritoneal, and complex GI oncology; academic-leaning.
MIS & Bariatric
Laparoscopic and robotic GI surgery; one of the busiest pathways.
Across specialties
Pain Medicine
Multi-parent fellowship (anes, PM&R, neuro, EM); procedural pain management.
Neuroradiology
The largest radiology fellowship; brain, spine, head and neck imaging.
Anesthesia Critical Care
ICU intensivist work for anesthesiologists; growing field.
What this site will not do: tell you that you are guaranteed to match, rank named programs against each other, or pretend that any one strategy works for everyone. What it will do: give you the clearest available picture, written by physicians, of what each decision in front of you actually means.