2020-2021 Residency Navigator: Helping Medical Students Discover the Right Program

Insights from 100,000 Verified Physicians on 4,000+ Residency Programs Across 28 Specialties

Jul 24, 2020 · The Residency Navigator Team


Introducing the 2020-2021 Residency Navigator

With this year’s residency application season underway, Doximity is proud to announce the launch of the 2020-2021 Residency Navigator, the most comprehensive online directory of U.S. residency programs.

For this year’s iteration, over 100,000 verified U.S. physicians contributed nominations, ratings and hand-written reviews for 4,000+ residency programs across 28 specialties to power the data found in Residency Navigator.

Available on the Doximity mobile app (iOS and Android) and the web (mobile and desktop), Residency Navigator is used by 90% of fourth year medical students to help discover the right program for their career goals. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing residency programs to conduct all interviews virtually, prospective residents are able to leverage Residency Navigator’s unique data sets and insights to get an even deeper perspective on what it’s like to actually train at their target programs.

Residency Navigator, Now on Mobile

As a medical student, we know time is scarce, so we made it as easy as possible for you to search for residency programs and stay informed about the insights you care about the most. Residency Navigator on our mobile app makes it easy to get on-the-go access to all the core features of the tool, including:

My Rank List: Shortlist your favorite programs and include personalized notes and insights from your virtual visits, interviews, and conversations with residents and alumni

Personalized search options: Find the program tailored to your interests and goals by filtering your search by region, intended fellowship, urban vs. rural environments, and more

Real reviews: Read reviews from verified current residents and recent alumni who have shared anonymized ratings and hand-written reviews on important aspects of their experience including career guidance, program culture, clinical diversity and more.

Detailed program statistics: Learn more about a program’s gender balance, top feeder medical schools, subspecialization rates, and more.

How Residents Use Residency Navigator

Step 1: Initial Program Discovery

Robert, a fourth year medical student and prospective resident, is in the beginning stages of his residency program research process. He aspires to specialize in dermatology and has a strong desire to train in the South to be closer to his family. He performs a search for programs that align these preferences along with his desire to train in a large hospital and potentially pursue a fellowship in pediatric dermatology.

Step 2: Individual Program Research

He is then presented with a list of various residency programs based on the parameters he selected.


The Search Results view in Residency Navigator

Viewing the pages of the various residency programs found in the search results, he is presented with stats such as “Total Filled Spots”, “Board Certification Percentage”, and rotation information.


Residency Navigator provides various data points to equip prospective residents with data to make informed decisions on residency programs

He also views the reviews and ratings submitted by current residents and alumni, which seem to reinforce many of the positive insights and sentiments he developed about those programs by attending their virtual open house sessions and participating in conversations with program alumni.


In-depth reviews and ratings from current residents and recent program alumni on various program attributes

After thoroughly evaluating the information found on each of the program pages, he favorites the Virginia Commonwealth and University of Texas Health Science Center dermatology programs by clicking the star on the top right corner of the program pages,turning them green. He finds their small program size and strength in pediatric dermatology to be appealing.

Step 3: Shortlist Creation

After evaluating over 60 residency programs, Robert has narrowed down his target list to 32 programs. All of the programs he has favorited are stored in the “My Rank List” feature. He spends the following weeks ordering and re-shuffling the programs based on preference, adding notes to each program based on his online research, interviews, and conversations with program residents and alumni.


An example of a student's My Rank List

Getting Started With Doximity’s Residency Navigator

To jumpstart your residency program research process, simply download the Doximity app to access Residency Navigator on your mobile device or login to the 2020-2021 Residency Navigator tool to gain in-depth insights on program culture, training environments, and career opportunities from over 4,000 residency programs across 28 specialties.


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