Here‘s a short Los Angeles Times article on scribes. The article points out what a good experience scribing is for pre-meds. (And it pays!)
Application Support for IMGs
Starting July 1 IMG residency applicants can reach ERAS Support Services through extended hours Monday through Thursday 8a-6p EST and Friday 8a-5p at 215-966-3520. Remember too that applicants can get some questions answered by e-mail at eras-support@ecfmg.org. I’ve emailed the ERAS Support Services before, and they respond relatively quickly. If they don’t have your answers, they’ll point you in the right direction.
Tags: Eras, Img, Residency Applicants
That Foreigner Song
As soon as June 1 hits, I have a multitude of medical school candidates panicking about the urgency of their application submissions. Plan ahead! Good writing takes a long time.
Even if you have a super-fast editor like me on your side :), you should expect that you will revise your materials multiple times and that each revision will take you many days or weeks.
Residency applicants: Take note. Start working on your written materials now, as some of my organized clients have already done.
“You say it’s urgent
Make it fast, make it urgent
Do it quick, do it urgent
Gotta rush, make it urgent
Want it quick
Urgent, urgent, emergency
Urgent, urgent, emergency
Urgent, urgent, emergency
Urgent, urgent, emergency
So urgent, emergency
Emer… emer… emer…
It’s urgent”
New AMCAS Certification
I received an email recently from an applicant who was interested in hiring me and wanted to know my thoughts on AMCAS’ new certification requirement. The phrasing is as follows:
“I certify that all written passages, such as the personal
statement, essays required from M.D./Ph.D. applicants, and
descriptions of work/activities, are my own and have not been written,
in part or in whole, by a third party. Quotations are permitted if the
source is cited.”
I want to remind applicants that I provide only editorial services; I do not generate content. This has been my policy since starting Insider, so the new certification is not a problem for me, my business or my clients.
Let me give you an example: In aggressively editing a personal statement, I will help with syntax, organization, etc., but I will not write any section for the applicant. I might make an explicit suggestion like “Another example of clinical work here that emphasizes your ability to communicate clearly will make this paragraph more robust. Can you think of something to add?” But I will not write a section for the applicant.
Throughout my website – home page, medical school applicant page, terms and conditions – I explicitly state that I do not generate content. I have turned down clients who have asked me to do so well before AMCAS required the new certification.
AMCAS 2012 Change
This year a significant new addition has appeared on the AMCAS. Applicants are being asked to identify their most significant extracurricular experiences (up to three) and support their choices.
Here’s the prompt:
“This is your opportunity to summarize why you have selected this experience as one of your most meaningful. In your remarks, you might consider the transformative nature of the experience, the impact you made while engaging in the experience and the personal growth you experienced as a result of your participation. 1325 max characters.”
This new section will add to the prose a candidate must craft, so if you are hoping to apply early (beginning of June), make sure to plan accordingly.
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
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on The Visible Voices podcast:
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the White Coat Investor podcast:
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the FeminEm podcast:
