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How the New ERAS Schedule Might Relieve Your Stress

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This year, in light of the COVID crisis, while ERAS will open on September 1, residency programs will not have access to applications until October 21, which is more than a month later than last year’s date of September 15. At first glance, this alteration might seem minor: After all, if programs download applications in batches by chronological order, an applicant would still be better off submitting on September 1. However, all applications submitted September 1 through October 21 will appear to programs as being submitted on October 21. This affords residency applicants more time to get their applications in order. 

Having said that, ECFMG is still recommending that applicants submit by October 14 to be on the safe side, and I’d also suggest not waiting until the last minute. Good writing takes a long time, and you do not want to be behind the eight ball, submitting suboptimal written materials. 

For help with your residency written materials, contact me. 

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Tips for Applying to Residency in a Competitive Field

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While our minds are currently focused on our changed world, first-, second-, and third-year medical students are still plodding along through classes and rotations (albeit virtually in most cases), preparing for an eventual Match Day.

For those planning to apply in competitive specialties like plastic surgery, otolaryngology, neurosurgery, interventional radiology, dermatology or orthopedics, among others, the calculus of what needs to be accomplished for a successful residency candidacy is very different and must be planned well in advance of the ERAS open date (maybe even before entering medical school).

Please check out my piece, “Luck Is When Preparation Meets Opportunity: Strategies for Competitive Specialties” for clear guidance on the needed steps. 

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Are you a Residency Candidate Applying in More than One Specialty? Read this.

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If you’re planning to apply in more than one field, you have a challenging road ahead of you, and you should strategize accordingly. Remember that, although your ERAS activities cannot be individualized to different residency programs, your personal statement and letters of recommendation can. Demonstrating commitment to each field through your essay and letters will be a challenge, so take time to write thoughtfully, and make sure you speak candidly to your faculty recommenders.

Above all: Ensure that you assign the correct specialty-specific documents to the correct programs!

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Brevity is the Soul of Wit -William Shakespeare

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I’ve been editing a lot of medical school, residency, and fellowship essays over the last few months, and I want to give a shout out to the importance of brevity. I focus on a word count of 750 or fewer for my advisees for a few reasons: 

First, I’ve found that that number is just the right balance of content and streamlining: Over 750 words for an admissions essay lends itself to meandering writing.

Second, your reader is likely stuck reviewing tens or even scores of applications in a short period of time. S/he is looking to spend as little time as possible on your written materials, while still getting a good flavor for your candidacy. Don’t burden your reader with verbiage.

Having trouble being brief? Here’s a helpful trick: Imagine AMCAS or ERAS is charging you $10 per word. How would you keep costs down?

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Why did ERAS crash during SOAP?

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Congrats to all of those who Matched last week! And kudos for those of you who managed to make it through this year’s difficult SOAP.

During SOAP (Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program) last week, the server crashed, leaving many applicants and programs confused and scrambling (no pun intended). The 2019 Match Week and SOAP schedule was, therefore, revised such that all SOAP offer rounds were postponed and limited to Thursday, March 14.

At the time of this writing, it’s unclear what happened. Rumors are that the volume of participants was greater than in past years, leaving ERAS/AAMC unprepared. This might be the case with the opening of many new medical schools and a continued, relative dearth in the number of residency spots available. Read this article for a controversial – but interesting – take on why.

We’ll probably have to wait for this year’s Match numbers for any answers.

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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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