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ERAS Announces Candidates Can Submit their ERASes without penalty through September 29 at 9am EST

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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.

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NRMP® Data Suggests Residency Applicants Should Apply Broadly

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A few years back, the NRMP published a short document called the Impact of Length of Rank Order List on Main Residency Match Outcome:2002-2016. There, the NRMP reported that matched applicants consistently had longer rank order lists than unmatched applicants.

This data is a bit old, but it assesses over a decade of Matches, so I take it seriously. In my mind, what it means to those approaching the residency application process is that candidates should throw a wide net in choosing programs at which to apply. Of course, there is a financial cost to this strategy, and that expense needs to be balanced. However, according to this data, starting out with more options usually will provide more opportunities to interview and thus, the ability to create a longer rank order list.

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Your Residency Application: Being Repetitive Again and Again

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In writing their personal statements, many residency applicants ask me, “Isn’t it regurgitating my CV if I highlight my accomplishments?” After all, they say, their achievements have already been noted in the application, MSPE, and letters of recommendation. Think of the residency admissions process as an onion. Your ERAS and letters serve as one layer of that onion, albeit a thin one. In other words, your accomplishments are conveyed simply and succinctly there. The personal statement is your opportunity to apply a thicker layer, one in which you flesh out your achievements, thus persuading the reader of your distinctiveness. Finally, the interview is your chance to add on the thickest peel. Discussing your accomplishments in detail can seal the interviewer’s positive impression of you.

So yes, you are going to be redundant throughout the residency application process, but each part serves a different and additive purpose. If you do not include your achievements in your personal statement, how will you be viewed as distinctive? Remember: Who you are is what you’ve done… and what traits and skills you’ve gained accordingly.

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The Week I Spent 138 Hours in the Hospital and What it Means for your Residency Application

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During my internship, on my surgical rotation, I once spent 138 hours in the hospital in one week. If you think this isn’t mathematically possible, I will tell you that I was on call from Monday morning to Tuesday evening, from Wednesday morning to Thursday evening, in-house on Friday, and then on call from Saturday morning until the next Monday morning. (I had to stay in-house that Monday until evening rounds were over too.) As you can imagine, I was barely human by the end. How this schedule was good for patient care is beyond me.

I thought of that ghastly time recently when reading this oldie-but-goodie article in the New York Times called “How Job Stress Can Age Us” written by Dr. Dhruv Khullar. The author reports on a study, “Physician-Training Stress and Accelerated Cellular Aging” that assessed the DNA of 250 first-year medical residents around the country. Researchers examined the saliva samples of these residents, focusing on their telomeres – the bumpers at chromosome ends that prevent DNA damage – before and after the first year of residency. Researchers found that the DNA of first-year residents aged six times faster than normal.

Six times faster.

I found this both shocking, upsetting, and validating. Residency training is as hard as we think it is. 

What I would strongly recommend is that you compare residency programs’ hours as you decide where to apply and before you create your Match list this coming winter. Strangely, many applicants don’t even consider this important issue when making decisions about their next three to five years. Also, many residencies support physician wellness programs and night coverage. Especially in the setting of severe burnout among doctors, your happiness should be a primary factor in your career choices. If you’re not sure, consider your shrinking telomeres. 

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Your Residency Application: What to Do if You Receive No or Few Interview Invitations?

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1. Don’t panic.

2. Try contacting – in a professional manner – all institutions to which you have sent your ERAS. You can send an email and call. When you call, be calm, respectful, and enthusiastic. Do not demand to speak to the program director! Let the person who answers the phone know that you are very interested in the program and would appreciate the opportunity to interview. Offer to be on an interview wait list if necessary.

3. Ask faculty to make calls or send emails on your behalf. This strategy is especially helpful if the faculty member has a tie to the institution and/or has a weighty title. (Yes, the system is broken in many ways.) 

4. Prepare for the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). Note that SOAP is not a separate program from the residency Match. So a) your main residency Match user status must be active and b) your credentials must be verified by the Rank Order List Deadline in order to participate in SOAP. Here is more information on SOAP.

5. Make a plan for what you will do if the Match and SOAP don’t work out for you. What will you do next year? How will you improve your written materials, interview skills, and overall candidacy? Consider getting comprehensive help and an honest assessment from me or a faculty member who is highly experienced in residency admissions – the sooner the better to improve a candidacy and prepare for a re-application. Also, as sad as this sounds, if this is not your first defeat in the Match/SOAP process, it might be time to consider other career options like research or industry. Sometimes it’s simply recognizing that one door is closing to see another one opening. 

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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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