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Your Residency Application: Program Directors Don’t Want Headaches

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If you were a program director (PD), you’d be trying to avoid two big headaches as you assessed a residency candidate:

First, a PD doesn’t want to field complaints from patients, faculty, or other services about his/her residents. Therefore, every far-seeing PD asks him/herself the simple question: Will this person be competent and collegial?

Second, a PD doesn’t want to see the day when s/he’s scurrying around to fill a residency slot and the consequent open call schedule. So, the oracular PD asks the simple question: Will this person leave the program prematurely?

As you approach your interviews, consider how you can 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 personality. For the latter, highlight research projects in the specialty, sub-internships, and knowledge about the program and city.

Just making sure the PD knows you are not going to cause him/her pain is half the battle.

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Applying in Two Specialties

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Occasionally I help residency applicants who are applying in two specialties. This tactic can be strategic in specific scenarios, but it also makes the process more complicated. Here are some quick clarifications to help:

1) Different personal statements can be assigned to different programs. This means you can assign your ob/gyn essay to ob/gyn programs and your internal medicine essay to internal medicine residencies. Of course, in this case, you need to have two versions of your statement in the first place.

2) Different letters of recommendation can be assigned to different residency programs as well. (A maximum of four letters may be assigned to each program.) You’ll either need to have letter writers for different fields, letter writers who will craft two types of letters, generic letters (less compelling), or a mix of these approaches. 

3) You will have only one MyEras application. It will go to all of your programs. Note that if you list your membership in multiple ob/gyn organizations, for example, that will be viewed by your internal medicine readers as well – and might make them question your commitment to IM.

As always, contact me for help. 

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Five ERAS Platform Quirks to Heed

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I’ve been editing a lot of ERASes lately. 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 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 this short blog entry. 
Contact me for help with this weird and wild process. 

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The Dirt on SOAP (The Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program)

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Residency applicants are anxiously awaiting Match Week, starting next Monday. No matter where you stand with interviews, it’s important to have some basic familiarity with the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program® (SOAP). SOAP is a standardized process affording unmatched candidates the opportunity to find residency positions. It consists of three rounds during which residency programs make offers to eligible applicants who did not match for residency or who partially matched.

Check out this piece I wrote on SOAP to understand the intricacies of the program and to ensure you are prepared in the worst case scenario. As always, in the application process, it’s better to bring an umbrella and hope it doesn’t rain than get soaked in the unexpected storm.

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Applying in Two Specialties

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Here are some clarifications about what ERAS offers that will help you apply in two specialties:

1) Different personal statements can be assigned to different programs. This means you can assign your ob/gyn essay to ob/gyn programs and your internal medicine (IM) statement to IM residencies.
2) Different letters of recommendation (LORs) can be assigned to different residency programs as well. (A maximum of four letters may be assigned to each program.)
3) You will have only one MyEras application. It will go to all of your programs. Note that if you list your membership in multiple ob/gyn organizations, that will be viewed by your IM readers as well (and might make them question your commitment to IM).

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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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