Blog Archives

What Do Program Directors Really Want?

Imagine you’re a program director (PD) reading hundreds of ERASes and conducting scores of interviews. What questions would you ask yourself as you assess each residency candidate to avoid big headaches?

1) Can this person do the job? Is s/he competent?

2) Will this person “play well with others” and not create complaints from patients, faculty, and/or other services.

3) Will this person stick with the program and not leave prematurely? A PD does not want to scurry around to fill an open call schedule/ residency slot.

As you finish crafting your ERAS and approach your interviews, consider how to demonstrate your competence and collegiality, as well as your commitment to the field and the residency program. For the former, ensure you showcase academic successes, extracurricular activities that demonstrate teamwork, and – if asked – hobbies and reading materials that demonstrate your winning personality. For the latter, highlight sub-internships, research projects in the specialty, and knowledge about the program and city it’s in.

Making sure the PD knows you aren’t going to cause him/her trouble is at least half the battle.

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NRMP’s Charting Outcomes™ in the Match 2024 is Out

The NRMP just published their Charting Outcomes information for 2024, data I keep bookmarked and which I would recommend medical students review. There are separate reports for US MDs, DOs, and IMGs, and results are further broken down into specialties. Charting Outcomes includes extremely helpful information, including what the mean board scores, number of contiguous ranks, and number of research experiences were for those who successfully matched – and those who did not.

It’s important to make sure you are in the range for your intended field. Also, make sure to compare the competitiveness of different specialties if you are seeking to apply in two fields.

Here is the link.

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Get y’ERAS in Gear

On September 4 (two plus weeks from today) at 9 am EST residency applicants may begin submitting MyERAS® applications to programs. Residency candidates often ask me about the timing of ERAS submissions. These are my thoughts:

1. Yes, getting your ERAS in early helps. As one of my program director friends wrote to me, since the residency application is arguably one of the biggest steps in one’s medical career, getting the application in as early as possible should be a given.

2. On the other hand, if your application is not in its best shape, waiting a few days is preferable to submitting a suboptimal ERAS that will be tossed into the “do not invite” pile. Having said that, you still have 16 days to get your written materials in tip top shape, so there’s no need to plan for a late submission :).

Contact me ASAP for help with your residency application.

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Check out the NRMP Program Directory for Main Residency Match Applicants

The NRMP® recently launched a directory of residency programs that showcases over 6000 Match-participating PGY-1 and PGY-2 programs. It’s a searchable database that includes locations, program type, and NRMP program codes.

I fiddled with the directory a bit, and I found it most helpful in 1) narrowing down programs by specialty and geography and 2) providing residency director names and program website links.

The NRMP says it will continue to update the database so it remains current.

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15 ERAS Tips to Boost your Residency Candidacy

Over the years, I’ve cultivated many tips for crafting the best ERAS Experience Section. I’ve included 15 important ones below:

1. Include relevant pre-professional accomplishments from college. If you conducted research, for example, list and describe it. Do not include high school achievements unless they were truly unique (worked at the White House, sang on Broadway, published in Nature ;)).

2. As of last year, you have only 10 slots, so avoid minor activities (like an afternoon health fair). 

3. Write in a streamlined fashion. Avoid verbiage. Of note, as of last year, you can choose three most meaningful activities, but you only have 300 characters for each. So while you want to explain why the activity was impactful, you’ll need to keep your writing here especially tight.

4. Use full sentences. It’s a formal application, and you want to make your written materials as readable as possible.

5. Avoid most abbreviations. Ones you think are common might not be familiar to the reader.

6. Avoid contractions; they are too informal for an ERAS. 

7. Make sure you spell out your accomplishments clearly. If your reader doesn’t understand an activity, you won’t get “full credit” for what you’ve done. Make no assumptions – not even that the reader has reviewed the experience’s introductory information (position title, location). 

8. Write about yourself and your role – not an organization. For example, don’t use the space to discuss Physicians without Borders. Use it to discuss the specifics of your role at Physicians without Borders.

9. Use numbers to be persuasive. Saying that the conference you organized had 500 participants says a lot.

10. Unless your PI won the Nobel, avoid using supervisors’ and/or doctors’ names in your descriptors as they will be meaningless to the majority of your readers.

11. Do your best not to leave the “Medical School Awards” section blank. Even if you have to simply include clerkships in which you obtained honors (or high honors), fill that section out.

12. If you have not already, consider joining your specialty’s national organization and listing it under the “Membership in Honorary/Professional Societies” section. If you are applying in two fields, take this advice, though. 

13. Try to end your entries with a sentence about how the experience you just described will help you as a future specialist. Making that connection for the reader furthers your candidacy. 

14. As with all good writing, avoid redundant language. Having the word “research” three times in two lines is distracting and demonstrates a lack of originality. 

15. Get help. Don’t submit your residency application without having it reviewed by someone with a lot of experience. (I started Insider Medical Admissions in 2007.) You do not want to put forward suboptimal materials for a process that is this important and competitive.

(Please note that there are a few changes to this year’s ERAS. For more information, see this AAMC page.)

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

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

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