Residency Application Guide
User Manual:
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Page Count: 36
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Table of Contents
Timeline page 3
Curriculum Vitae page 4
Away Rotations page 7
Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) page 8
Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) page 12
Photo Requirements page 19
Letter of Recommendations page 22
STEP 2 CK and CS page 25
Transcripts page 27
Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) page 27
Applying for more than one specialty page 27
Interviewing page 28
Communication page 31
The Personal Statement page 32
National Residency Match Program (NRMP) page 33
Searching for programs page 33
Military Scholarship Students page 33
San Francisco Match page 33
Urology Match page 33
Writing a Thank-you note page 34
Abbreviations and Terms page 35
Useful Links page 36
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Timeline:
This timeline can change. For the most up-to-date information please go to http://medicine.wright.edu/student-
life/career-advising/applying-for-residency.
Date
Event
May 1st
Tokens issued for ERAS
June 1st
San Francisco Match-Ophthalmology registration
opens
June 2nd
MyERAS opens
June 19th
Use token in MyERAS deadline, so we can upload
your documents
September 1st
Deadline for requesting convocation photos
September 6th
Applications may be submitted to programs in ERAS
September 7th
San Francisco Match Ophthalmology CAS deadline
September 15th
Residency programs begin receiving ERAS
applications
September 15th
San Francisco Match transcripts can be uploaded
September 15th
Registration opens for NRMP (this is a registration
for the match process, not the application process)
October 1st
MSPE letters are released to programs (ERAS and
San Francisco match)
November 30th
NRMP Early Registration Ends ($50 late fee after
this)
January 5th
San Francisco Ophthalmology Rank List deadline
January 13th
San Francisco Ophthalmology Match results
January 15th
NRMP Rank order list entry begins
February 24th
Deadline for NRMP Rank lists
Monday of the third week in March
Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program
(SOAP) begins
Friday of the third week in March
Match Day
Military Match
Early summer
Joint Services Graduate Medical Education Selection
Board (JSGMESB) releases list of residencies for the
next year
September
(JSGMESB) application closes. Interview with
military residency programs
October
Interview with military residency programs, deadline
for providing STEP 2 CK and CS
November/December
Receive results of military match via email
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Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Should be completed before your M3 year- you will use it for research opportunities, to send to letter
writers for letters of recommendation and for VSAS applications if you choose to do an away rotation
- Your CV is a record of all of you academic, research, volunteer, work experience and institutional
service throughout your graduate and undergraduate career. Length does not matter as long as all of
the information is pertinent.
- Make sure your CV is error free- have someone check it and make sure that it gives the
impression you intended it to.
- Your CV is a marketing document and the front page is the most important- make sure you use it
effectively.
- Everyone’s CV will not be the same. It will depend on what they value. For some, research will follow
education, for others it may be leadership or work experience.
- Weed out non-pertinent college activities, keep all research experience
- Make sure to account for breaks in your education
- Do not include: age, gender, height/weight, race/ethnicity, social security number, marital status, name
of spouse/significant other, children, religion or description of health.
- Avoid unfamiliar acronyms
- All sections should be in reverse chronological order, use the same date format for the entire C.V.
- Use action verbs to start bullet points, use numerical data when possible, use anticipated if something
has not happened, but will (not hope it will), and list publications that have been accepted, not just
submitted
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Away Rotations
Should you do an away rotation?
- Some specialties expect that you will do an away rotation including: Dermatology, Emergency
Medicine, Orthopedic Surgery, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery,
PM&R, Radiation Oncology, and Urology.
- Emergency Medicine requires a minimum of two standard letters of evaluation (SLOE). The standard
letter of evaluation submitted on your behalf by the BSOM Department of Emergency Medicine is a
departmental letter so it can only count as one letter. You will need to do at least one away in order to
get a second letter. Some of these rotations open before VSAS officially starts so prepare early.
- There are risks and benefits to doing away rotations and these may vary depending on your specialty and
application package. Meet with an advisor before making your decision to make sure that you
understand these risks and benefits.
- You can usually do up to two rotations at each program if desired, but most people only do one.
- Room and Board is not provided, some places can give you suggestions, however.
Timing of Away rotation applications
- The majority of these applications open in March and April, but some of them may be as early as
December. Application deadlines also vary.
- It is a good idea to go on VSAS before December to look at the programs you are considering and see
what they require for the application and what their timeline is like. You may find that they do not have
a schedule ready for this year yet, but you can find this information by looking at last year’s schedule.
- Not all programs use VSAS. For example, CWRU and CCF Ortho have their own application
process. Students should reach out to prospective rotation sites far in advance to figure out the
requirements. Along those lines, there may be application fees (CWRU and CCF are both a non-
refundable $150 with no guarantee of securing a rotation) and requirements, like a urine drug screen and
different immunizations, in addition to those required by BSOM.
Mask Fitting Test
- Wright State University Respiratory Protection Program provides mask fitting through the
Environmental Health and Safety Office. To schedule a mask fitting click this link and midway down
the page is a link to schedule a fit test. The appointment is 30 minutes and the contact person is Denise
Kramer 937- 775-2623 or denise.kramer@wright.edu. Her office is WSU Dayton Campus- Biological
Sciences II, Room 047. https://www.wright.edu/facilities-management-and-services/environmental-
health-and-safety/respiratory-protection or to schedule
http://wsuehs.simplybook.me/sheduler/manage/event/1/unit/1
- For the mask fitting, for at least 30 minutes before your appointment time make sure: you do not
eat anything, do not chew gum, do not smoke, and you must arrive clean shaven. Respect Denise
Kramer’s time, if you must cancel- call and make sure you give as much notice as possible.
Background checks
- Background checks are available in CastleBranch. You are the only one that can scan and upload your
background check.
Immunizations
- Go to New Innovations and access your Immunizations Tab. Transfer the information onto your
immunization forms and if you need a physician signature you can have any physician or clerkship
director sign it. Then you would scan and upload the document. In order to upload this document, you
will have had to already apply to one program. Your application will show “Pending Home School
Verification” until this information has been verified. VSAS will then send your application information
to be verified by Student Affairs. Once this information has been verified a new bottom will be available
for immunization upload. After this form has been uploaded your application will show “Pending Home
School Release.” Applications are routinely released on each business day.
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VSAS (Visiting Student Application Service)
- After VSAS uploads the student roster, you will receive an email authorizing access to VSAS
- Once you have been authorized in VSAS you will get an email from VSAS with login instructions, you
will use your AAMC login information. https://services.aamc.org/20/vsas/. You will receive 10
authorizations to start with, but you can request more. From this home page you can search and review
each institution’s requirement including any fee information and the date on which the home institution
will begin receiving applications.
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- Enter all your profile information
- Next enter your Core clerkship completion dates. You will also upload your C.V., your immunization
records and your photo. Student Affairs will upload your convocation photo, but if you want another
photo you can upload it. If you need assistance with uploading your documents, see the VSAS folder on
the Career Essentials Pilot page. Request a transcript upload when you are ready to apply so you get the
most up-to-date one possible. Student Affairs will upload your malpractice insurance letter, your date of
OSHA training and your date of BLS training.
- Students can search for electives and save them using the electives tab. Students can only apply to
electives that they have saved. If there is no save button it is because the elective is not yet available for that
student or the host institution has not started to receive applications.
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- Applying for electives: Check the boxes of the saved electives for which you plan to apply. Click on
apply.
- Apply to Selected Electives. Arrange the electives in order of your preference. Provide host institution
with any additional information they need or documents they require and then enter credit card
information and confirm the data. You will assign your documents to each institution you apply to.
- You must certify your profile before you can apply to electives. It is recommended that you certify
early, as soon as you complete your basic information and clerkship dates. You can continue to
upload documents after you certify.
- Use the tracking tab to view all of your submitted applications and their status. You can accept or
decline elective offers, resolve schedule conflicts, and drop pending applications. You may also reorder
your preference and change your preferred dates.
- Check your email frequently to see the status of your applications.
1. Malpractice insurance- uploaded by student affairs
2. Letter of Good standing-uploaded by student affairs- see a sample screen shot above
3. Transcript- uploaded by student affairs- after a written request by the student
4. Letter of recommendation- uploaded by student, but if letter writer wants confidentiality, can by uploaded by
student affairs and marked not visible to student
5. Photo- convocation photo uploaded by student affairs, can be replaced by student
6. Curriculum vitae (CV)- uploaded by student
7. Immunization forms- uploaded by student
8. STEP score report- uploaded by student
9. Proof of personal health insurance- uploaded by student only if you need to upload card, verification that we
require all students to have insurance is done by student affairs
10. Background check- uploaded by student, download from Castlebranch
11. BLS card- uploaded by student if proof of card needed, otherwise student affairs verifies completion every two
years
12. Mask fit- student uploads
13. OSHA and HIPAA verification- done by student affairs see above screen shot, student affairs verify the dates on
your application
14. ACLS verification- student needs to take care of and upload
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Sample VSAS Institutional Information
If the school
requires a letter of
recommendation,
you can upload it
under the
supplemental
documents section.
If it requires a
“school official” to
upload it, then
please contact
Student Affairs.
Some schools may
also require essays
or personal
statements.
FEES: The cost through VSAS is
$35.00 for the first school and then
$10.00 for each subsequent school.
There may also be acceptance fees
charged by each school
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ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service)
- Supported Browsers: Latest versions of Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer 10 and 11, NOT
SAFARI
- Tokens: You will be sent one in early May, if you did not and were supposed to, contact
som_eras@wright.edu please use your token ASAP.
- AAMC ID Number: The number assigned to you when you applied to medical school. If you do not
know this number, please contact Student Affairs. If you do not use your original number, you will be
assigned a new one, which can cause tracking problems.
- Application Fee: up to 10 programs $99.00, 11-20 programs $12.00 each, 21-30 programs $16.00 each,
31 or more programs $26.00 each. You will be charged this fee, along with the NBME fee to release
your STEP scores after you apply to programs on September 15th.
- ERAS does not retain documents for reuse in subsequent seasons. ERAS does not set program deadlines
or requirements as they are set by the individual programs.
- Once you certify and submit your application, you cannot make any changes other than the personal
information.
-
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- First we will start on the application: Here is the overview screen. Start this application early and
make sure you have it proofread.
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- The first screen is straightforward biographical information. Program directors will either
interpret grammar, spelling and capitalization errors as a rushed application or a person who
does not pay attention to detail. Proofread and ask someone else to review your application.
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Next: The rest of the Biographical information. Make sure you complete the hobbies and interest section
thoughtfully. List hobbies that show initiative, perseverance and skill. Exclude hobbies that show you
may be easily distracted.
Next is your education section:
After you select yes to
NRMP, the couple’s
match option will open
you
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And then the awards section:
Next up is the training and work section. Unless you are a re-applicant, training is not applicable. For the work
experience enter all clinical and teaching experience as work and all extra-curricular activity and committees
served on as volunteer. Make sure that you include your dates. Skip hours per week unless it is significant.
Make sure you include your supervisor- it makes it more credible. You do not have to include reasons for
leaving. There is a pull down- menu for you to select work, research or volunteer experience.
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Next is the licensure and additional questions section. Watch the additional questions section, because all
should be no except for one yes. Speeding is a minor misdemeanor in Ohio and a few other states. Here is the
statement from the AAMC when I investigated it.
The response from the AAMC:
There are many differences state by state in prosecution trends, the types of offenses considered to be
misdemeanors or felonies, sentencing guidelines, and so on. Some states also have laws that prohibit
employers from considering certain types of background information, and although ERAS collects the
information, many residency programs do not view misdemeanor history for applicants. For clarity, the
questions about criminal history are intended to capture factually what would appear on a criminal history
check; there are no exclusions for certain types of offenses.
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Publications section
After you complete the entire applications and have someone proofread it, you are ready to certify and
submit it. You cannot apply to programs until this is completed. Once you certify and submit, you cannot
reverse this action.
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Letters of Recommendation (LOR)
- See the tips for asking for letters of recommendation on Career Essentials Pilot page. Programs differ on
their LOR requirements, but in general most programs require three LOR with at least two from their
specialty. In addition to this, some specialties require a “chair letter” including: Internal Medicine,
IM/PEDS, OB/GYN, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, and Urology and it is
recommended for general Surgery.
- Make an appointment with your letter writer and provide him/her with your personal statement draft,
ERAS cover sheet and CV. Make sure your letter writers clearly know what specialty they are writing a
letter for or if you want a generic letter that can be used for more than one specialty.
- Choose your letter writers carefully. Ask your letter writer early if you want them to take the time to
write you a good letter. Make sure you ask for your letter in person and ask if they feel that they know
your work well enough to write you a strong letter. If they hesitate, ask someone else.
- You cannot edit an author entry after you finalize it in ERAS. You must create a new author entry into
ERAS and make a new cover sheet.
- ERAS rule: maximum of 4 letters of recommendation per residency program. You may have more
than 4 letters, but only 4 letters can be assigned to each individual program
- You cannot un-assign a letter of recommendation once you assign it to a program.
- For ERAS programs, your letter writer or their designee uploads the letter to
https://www.aamc.org/services/eras/282520/lor_portal.html , for the San Francisco match the Medical
School uploads the letter som_eras@wright.edu. For the Urology match, you send the letters directly to
them.
-
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- The next step is to assign your LORs to your programs.
- Only LORs that have been uploaded can be assigned. Once you assign a LOR to a program you cannot
undo this action. LORs can be assigned to any saved or applied to programs from the LOR page by
choosing ASSIGN in the pull-down menu.
- When assigning LORs, programs with a disabled checkbox already have the maximum of 4 LORs
assigned to them.
-
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Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS
- We strongly encourage you to take Step 2 CK as soon as you finish year 3. There are some residency
programs that will not offer interviews without a score. See Factors important to residency program
directors, handout under overview documents, Career Essentials.
- Take Step 2 CS after completing Dr. Binder’s MS-4 OSCE
- You must pass both CK and CS in order to graduate and receive your diploma
o If you fail, contact Laura Johnson and Student Affairs
o You need to contact someone within five business days if you fail.
- To register for STEP 2 CK and CS you need to go to the NBME website. After the NBME receives your
online application, you will need to be verified by the Office of Student Affairs prior to setting up your
testing dates. Verifications are done after your registration information is received by the Office of
Student Affairs.
- You will receive a scheduling permit of confirmation from the NBME approximately 4-6 weeks after
your application has been processed. At that time, you will contact Prometric, Inc.
(www.prometric.com) to schedule your STEP 2 CK or CS examination test dates.
- You must have your scheduling permit and an unexpired, government-issued form of identification that
includes both your photo and your signature, i.e. driver’s license or passport. The name on your ID must
be an exact match for the name you used to register for the exam.
- If you need accommodations- If you wish to request any accommodations during the test
administration, you must provide additional information required by the NBME Office that
includes specific, current documentation related to the requested accommodation. If you have any
questions about this, please contact the Student Affairs office prior to registering for Step 2.
- Once you have released your USMLE scores, assigned it to a program and paid the transcript fee, ERAS
will send transcript requests to the NBME. Exam transcript requests are usually processed in the same
day.
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USMLE on the ERAS application:
-
- After you submit your ERAS application, you can “mouse over” the USMLE transcript wording on your
ERAS dashboard and it will tell you which scores have been released and if you click on it, it will open
a submenu that shows all of the programs the scores were sent to.
- Program requirements for USMLE score: increasingly residency programs are requiring STEP 2 CK
scores to be back before they invite students for interviews. To be most competitive, take STEP 2 CK
before August 31st and schedule you STEP 2 CS as soon as feasible after your OSCE.
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Transcripts: Your transcript will be uploaded by the Office of Student Affairs and Admissions.
FERPA regulations prohibit sending a copy of the transcript by email and hard copies need to be formally
requested and embossed with a seal. However, you are welcome and encouraged to view your transcript before
it is released to programs on September 15th. If you make an appointment on TTSU, you can view it on the
Dean’s workstation.
The Medical Student Performance Evaluation
(MSPE) or Dean’s Letter
- This letter is a letter of evaluation, not a letter of recommendation. The purpose of the letter is to provide
an honest and objective summary of the student’s personal attributes, experiences and academic
accomplishments based to the greatest degree possible, on verifiable information and summative
evaluations.
- The MSPE contains information about the student’s medical school performance, not pre-medical
- The main categories of the MSPE include: Identifying information, Noteworthy Characteristics,
Academic History, Academic Progress, Summary and Medical School Information.
- The noteworthy characteristics: the purpose of this section is to help residency programs review
applicants holistically to achieve a residency class that brings a diverse set of background
experiences, characteristics and perspectives. (AAMC) You are to provide a maximum of three
characteristics highlighting your most noteworthy characteristics. This section should be in a
bulleted list with each bullet containing no more than two sentences. Significant hardships and
challenges can be included. This is the section you, the student, will contribute. Think about your
“brand” and consider what characteristics most effectively demonstrate this brand.
- The MSPE does not specify which specialty you are applying to
- You will be able to review your MSPE and make any corrections in factual information before it is
uploaded. The narrative assessments from your preclinical and clinical courses are not edited for content
by either the Office of Student Affairs or by the student.
- The MSPE process happens in September and students should respond quickly when contacted to
review your MSPE since 100 of them need to be done at the same time. MSPEs may not be loaded into
ERAS until late on September, 30th.
- It is an LCME requirement that MSPEs cannot be released before October 1st.
Applying for more than one specialty:
Every student must carefully consider their competiveness for their chosen specialty. The more people that
you get advice from the better. Some people give more conservative advice others tell you “to take a chance”.
You need to listen to all of these opinions. It is a risk to apply to more than one specialty. If one specialty
discovers that you have applied to another specialty they may take your application less seriously. On the other
hand, if you have a dream specialty and you would rather apply to a second specialty than take a chance on the
SOAP, it may be worth it. To apply to two specialties, you complete one ERAS application, you write a
personal statement for each specialty and you assign specialty specific letters of recommendation to each
specialty. You then apply to programs in both specialties and interview in both specialties. At the end, you can
rank both specialties and leave it up to the algorithm to determine what you will be doing.
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Interviewing
- The majority of interviews are scheduled from October through January.
- Try not to schedule your top choice interviews first.
- Treat EVERYONE with respect, you never know who will be on your interview selection committee.
- Review your C.V., ERAS application and personal statement before you go on the interview.
- Prepare your list of questions before you go on the interview, for additional questions see the interview
folder on Career Essentials Pilot page.
- Be on time- if you arrive to the city early, investigate the transportation options and go to the hospital
the day before your interview to find your way around.
- Get the names and pronunciation of your interviewers from the residency coordinator.
- After your interview, write down your perceptions, the answers to the questions you asked and rank the
programs.
- Hiring decisions are made in the first 30 seconds of the interview- the rest of the interview is to
confirm that decision.
- Practice interviewing before your interview. Schedule a mock interview. The interviewers will not
remember so much what you said, but how they felt about you when you interviewed. Do a mock
interview and get an independent opinion on how you are perceived. If you cannot do a mock interview,
ask and answer questions with your webcam taping and then play it back and see what you think.
- Bring copies of your C.V., personal statements and copies of any publications with you when you
interview.
- Think about your “brand” before you go. What are the top five things you want the interviewer to know
about you?
- Make sure you answer every question with integrity and in a professional manner.
- Make sure you dress as a professional future physician, not as a medical student.
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- Research your programs: check to see if there are any WSU-BSOM graduates there, research some of
the latest issues in the specialty you are interested in, determine the priorities of the program you are
interested in (leadership, community involvement, research, teaching, etc), know what is unique about
the program, research the community, city and the faculty.
- Responding to the interview offer- respond as quickly as possible, some programs make more offers
than they have slots, confirm the time and location the week before the interview, make every effort to
attend the dinner the night before
- Canceling the interview- do it in a professional way, give at least a week’s notice (preferably two
weeks) unless it is an emergency, DO NOT NO SHOW OR CANCEL THE NIGHT BEFORE.
Feature
Rating
Comments
Education
Program Philosophy
Accreditation
Overall curriculum
Rotations/electives
Rounds (educational vs. work)
Conferences
Number & Variety of Patients
Hospital Library
Resident Evaluations
Board Certification of graduates
Attending Physicians/Teaching Faculty
Number of full-time vs. part-time
Research vs. teaching responsibilities
Clinical vs. teaching skills
Availability/approachability
Preceptors in clinic
Subspecialties represented
Instruction in patient counseling/education
Hospital (s)
Community or university hospital
Staff physician’s support of program
Availability of consultative services
Other residency programs
Type(s) of patients
Hospital staff (nursing, lab, path, etc.)
Current House Officers
Number per year
Medical schools of origin
Personality
Dependability
Honesty
Cooperation/ get along together
Compatibility/ can I work with them?
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The Medical Student’s Guide to Residency Selection 2008-2009, American Academy of Family Physicians, Division of Medical Education.
Feature
Rating
Comments
Work Load
Average number of patients (rotation, clinic)
Supervision – senior, house officer, attending
Call schedule
Rounds
Teaching/conference responsibility
“Scut work”
Time for conferences
Clinic responsibilities
Benefits
Salary
Professional dues
Meals
Insurance (malpractice, health, etc.)
Vacation
Paternity/Maternity/sick leave
Outside conferences/books
Moonlighting permitted
Surrounding Community
Size and type (urban/suburban/rural)
Geographic location
Climate and weather
Environmental quality
Socioeconomic/ethnic/religious diversity
Safety (from crime)
Cost of living (housing/food/utilities)
Housing (availability and quality)
Economy (industry/growth/recession)
Employment opportunities (for spouse)
Child care and public school systems
Culture (music/drama/arts/movies)
Entertainment – restaurants/area attractions
Recreation – parks/sport/fitness facilities
Program’s Strengths
Program’s Weaknesses:
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- Evaluate each program after you interview there. You will not remember the answers to your questions
at each program after you have been to a few interviews.
- Things to not do! – talk badly about other people, programs, faculty or applicants; try to hide something
in your record; lie or overstate; be rude to anyone; make excuses; not attend any event on the interview
day.
Communication
- There is a message center in My ERAS.
- All new messages will be bolded.
- Students cannot initiate messages with programs they have applied to.
- Program directors may contact you by MyERAS message center, by email, telephone or regular mail.
- Check your email regularly.
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The Personal Statement
- Use your personal statement to introduce yourself to your interviewers.
- Write a focused essay, about four paragraphs in length, that covers the basics:
o The first paragraph should introduce you to the reader.
o The second paragraph should let them know how you decided on the specialty.
o The third paragraph should use your research, extracurricular and work experiences to show why
this is the right specialty for you as well as what you will contribute to the community. Make
sure you use numbers whenever possible to demonstrate the depth of your involvement.
o The fourth paragraph should be about your long-term goals. Conclude by tying everything back
to your specialty of choice.
- If you have a “red flag”: take full responsibility, provide plausible explanations, and assure them it will
not happen again.
- Use your own words, do not rely on quotes.
- Do not regurgitate your C.V.in your personal statement.
- Your personal statement must be in plain text. You may not use HTML, bold, italics, underline, or text
color.
- Your personal statement should be around 500 words and less than one page. Vary your sentence
structure and do not start every sentence with “I”.
- Read your personal statement out loud or better yet, ask someone else to read it out loud to you. It is
much easier to hear whether it flows well this way.
- Have your personal statement checked for grammar and structure by someone, but also have it checked
by someone in the specialty you are applying to make sure it fits with the culture of that specialty.
- Do not plagiarize your personal statement or any part of it.
- You may edit your personal statement even after it has been assigned to programs, but there is no
guarantee they will download the updated version.
Every personal statement, your photo, USMLE scores and your letters of recommendation must all be assigned
to programs. Uploading your photo and personal statement and having your letters of recommendation uploaded
puts them in the software, but does not give the program access. The MSPE, the application and the transcript
are automatically sent to the programs. If you add programs after September 15th, you will need to assign the
documents to these programs. It is not automatic.
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National Residency Match Program(NRMP): this is a separate registration from ERAS. Go to
www.nrmp.org starting on September 15th at noon and register for the match. You will need your AAMC user
name and password. Once you have your NRMP number, go back to the ERAS registration and enter your
NRMP number into your ERAS application in the biographical information. You may only register for the
match if you are on-cycle and available to start residency on July of that match Season. If you do not register by
November 30th, there is a $50.00 late fee. You will submit your rank order in February. Make sure that you rank
every program you are willing to go to and none of the programs you are not. You are contractually obligated to
go to the program you match at. The NRMP algorithm is to the student’s advantage. Rank your programs in the
order that you would want to go to them, do not try to “game the system”.
Searching for Programs: You can search for programs on FRIEDA https://www.ama-assn.org/life-
career/search-ama-residency-fellowship-database. This site is run by the AMA and program directors can
submit the information they would like applicants to see. You can go to ACGME to search for programs and
check accreditation status https://www.acgme.org/. You can also go to Careers in Medicine where they are
developing an ever-increasing database of programs. https://www.aamc.org/cim/.
Military Scholarship Students: Military branches have a selection/match process, see
http://www.militarygme.org. This is handled by the Joint Services Graduate Medical Education Selection
Board. Army and Navy use ERAS and the Air Force has its own system. Service specific decisions regarding
any possible deferment to NRMP. You will apply in early summer and find out in mid-December. MSPE will
be sent on October 1st. If you are deferred to a civilian residency you will continue in the NRMP for the March
match. Remember the November 30th deadline. HPSP students should talk with Dr. Toussaint to review the
process.
San Francisco Match: for second year positions in Ophthalmology and a few Plastic Surgery programs. For
this match, you will submit: the application, undergraduate college transcripts, medical school transcript and
MSPE, USMLE scores (you will need to request these from the NBME), 3-4 letters of recommendation, and
your list of programs. The San Francisco match mails your application to your programs. The application
deadlines can vary by program. If you successfully match, you will match for a PGY 1 position in the regular
match. If you are unsuccessful, you can match in an alternate specialty in the regular match.
Urology Match: The only specialty with its own match system. Most urology programs now use ERAS. This is
an early match like the San Francisco Match.
If you require more detailed information, please check the appropriate folder on Career Essentials Pilot page.
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Abbreviations and Terms
AAMC: Association of American Medical Colleges
ERAS: Electronic Residency Application Service: AAMC system for applying to most residency programs
NRMP: National Residency Matching Program: ERAS applicants and Programs rank each other
SF Match: San Francisco Match- Application service for some Ophthalmology and Plastic Surgery Programs
Advanced residency positions: starts 1-2 years after the match and require a preliminary year first. The
following programs offer advanced positions, some may also offer categorical: Anesthesiology, Child
Neurology, Dermatology, Neurology, Ophthalmology, PM&R, Plastic Surgery, Radiation Oncology, Radiology
and Urology.
Career Advisor: a person who is available to work with medical students on the application process. C.V.
review should be done prior to the M3 year. Planning first three blocks of M4 year and plans for away rotations
should be completed by Jan-Feb of M3 year. Personal Statement and plans for LORs should be completed by
end of June in M3 year. Help with the ERAS application available from June-Sept. Mock interview practice
available anytime. Please schedule 1 hour for this.
Categorical Residency Position: A categorical position is one which offers full residency training required for
board certification in that specialty. Training is 3-5 years in length.
Early Match: Ophthalmology, Urology and all programs run by the military are early math. Ophthalmology
uses the San Francisco match. Urology applicants match is run by the American Urological Association and the
application is through ERAS. Ophthalmology applications are due in July and Urology applications are due in
September.
Match Day: Held on the Friday of the 3rd week in March. When all US seniors find out where they matched.
MSPE: A letter of evaluation which describes the students’ performance in medical school. It is released to
residency programs on October 1st.
Physician Match: training in specialty programs reserved for physicians with prior graduate medical education
and who can enter advanced training in the year of the match.
Preliminary Residency Positions: offer 1-2 years of training before entry into an advanced residency program.
Many Internal Medicine and Surgery training programs offer a Preliminary Residency position.
Rank Order Lists: A ranked order of programs submitted by applicants to the NRMP before the deadline (last
week in February).
Primary Care Categorical: offered by some Medicine and Pediatrics programs.
Standard Letter of Evaluation (SLOE): Required by Emergency Medicine and Plastic Surgery.
SOAP (Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program): begins on the Monday of Match week, administered by
the NRMP. Students who have not matched submit applications to mini-matches held on a daily basis.
Specialty Advisor: an advisor in the specialty of your choice. Should review competitiveness data with you,
read your personal statement and review your residency program list.
Transitional Residency Positions: an alternative to a preliminary year. Offers experiences in Surgery,
Medicine, Pediatrics and other specialties. Gives a broader exposure than a Preliminary year.
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Useful Links
Wright State dates https://medicine.wright.edu/student-life/career-advising/applying-for-residency
Careers in Medicine https://www.aamc.org/cim/
ERAS http://www.aamc.org/eras
FREIDA https://www.ama-assn.org/life-career/search-ama-residency-fellowship-database
NRMP (National Residency Matching Program) www.nrmp.org
AUA (American Urological Association) www.auanet.org
San Francisco Match www.sfmatch.org
USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam) www.usmle.org
NBME (National Board of Medical Examiners) www.nbme.org
Military Match www.militarygme.org
Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/vsas
VSAS tutorials: https://students-residents.aamc.org/attending-medical-school/article/vsas-guides-and-tutorials/
ACGME: https://www.acgme.org/
Recommended reading:
Katta, R., & Desai, S. P. (2016). The successful match 2017: Rules for success in the residency
match. Md2B.
