For many third-year med students, this is a challenging time of year. Preparing an ERAS can be daunting, but it’s even worse if you don’t know what specialty you want to practice. Here’s a short piece I wrote with my colleague David Presser MD MPH called “Choosing a Specialty: The Generalist vs. The Early Committer.” And here’s a complementary, but non-medical, New York Times article called “You Don’t Want a Child Prodigy” that’s a great follow up to our piece.
Inefficiencies in the residency application system have been a problem for many years. While the AAMC and NRMP have made efforts to improve the process, including the move from the Scramble to SOAP a few years back, the lack of adequate slots for a large number of candidates leads to a tremendous amount of unnecessary stress and waste. With the introduction of virtual interviews, hoarding became a new problem.
To their credit, the AAMC is considering some reforms to the system. Allowing applicants to identify favored residency programs, called “preference signaling” through the supplemental ERAS, for example, has improved candidates’ abilities to get interviews at chosen programs. Additionally, some specialties – with AAMC’s support – have implemented a common interview invitation release date and a minimum response time for invitees. In the latter case, for example, most surgery programs provide candidates a minimum of 48 hours to accept or reject an invitation, such that applicants don’t need to sleep with one eye open, jumping to respond to an invitation to avoid the wait list. There has even been a consideration of capping the number of interviews each applicant can have to avoid interview hoarding.
I recommend reading this piece on proposed reforms to the system. Having gone through the stressful process myself, I wholly support strategies that would increase transparency and decrease unnecessary anxiety.
On September 7th, ERAS will open for submission, so it’s time to get moving on your written materials. Let’s briefly cover five quirks of the ERAS platform to help you get through the drafting process. The ERAS platform…
1) Does not support italics. While journal articles and some phrases (e.g. “summa cum laude”) should be italicized, don’t be surprised when you can’t.
2) Prompts you for a supervisor for each activity. In some cases, you simply may not have one, but whenever you can, name someone. A name validates the experience.
3) Prompts you for average hours per week for each activity. It can be difficult to calculate this number for certain experiences, especially those that are intermittent, but it’s worth making your best estimate rather than leaving the question blank.
4) Offers space to include a “reason for leaving” for each activity. Don’t skip this section, but keep your answers brief.
5) Limits you to 1020 characters for experiences, 510 for the interruption in the medical training section, and 510 for each of the awards sections. Be aware of these limits as you write, so you are not furiously cutting later.
For tips on how to craft your ERAS, check out these 15 ERAS tips.
Contact me for help with this weird, wild process.
A few clients have asked me about the new supplemental ERAS application for dermatology, internal medicine (categorical and preliminary), and general surgery (categorical) applicants. The application is more work for these candidates, but the AAMC says the supplemental app will foster a more holistic approach to the residency process. For more information, check out the PowerPoint presentation from a recent webinar the AAMC held on the topic. The supplemental application opened last week.
Last week ERAS Communications sent out a notice to candidates that while applicants may certify and submit their MyERASes as early as Wednesday, September 1 at 9 am EST, applications submitted on or before September 29 at 9 am EST will display an application date of “September 29” to programs. (Applications submitted after September 29 will display the actual application date.) This means that there is no penalty for candidates to wait to submit their applications until the 29th at 9 am EST. This date is considerably later than recent past years.
This is great news for applicants who are still working on their written materials. Use the time to make sure yours are in the best shape possible.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
