All of the organizations, companies, and platforms involved in the match process can get very confusing very quickly. In this episode, Kaitlin and Molly, along with guests, Elizabeth Gignac, Angie Carrick, and Thomas Sandoval, try to condense and describe all of these entities to hopefully clear up some of that confusion.
Away Rotations:
Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO):
- VSLO, formerly VSAS, is an AAMC application designed to make it easier for medical students to apply for senior electives at U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals.
- With VSLO, the applicant only needs one application for all participating institutions, reducing paperwork, miscommunication, and time.
- Each site has the option of inserting its own criteria, costs, and supplemental documents.
- Most places will ask for:
- Updated CV
- Immunization record – AAMC has a standardized form that comes out yearly.
- Usually, application submission opens in mid-March/early April of your 3rd year.
- You will need a token number to access the application that will be given to you by your school.
- Another platform designed to help you apply to away rotations.
- Works very similarly to VSLO.
Some residency programs don’t use either of these application sites and will have a separate application specific to that program that can be found on the individual program website.
Researching Programs:
These tools do not advise you where to apply or predict whether or not you will match to a residency program.
- Emergency Medicine Residency Association (EMRA) is a student and resident organization that represents EM physicians-in-training.
- EMRA Match is a collaboration between EMRA, CDEM, CORD, and ACEP that was created as an alternative to commercial residency directories that have attempted to rank programs.
- Their goal is to provide students with ready access to easily filterable information that will help them determine which programs will be the best fit for them.
- Free resource
- Search engine to research programs
- If you are an AMA member you can access the member-only residency calculator and dashboard where you can save, compare, and rank programs.
- Combines data from 6 organizations (NRMP, NBME, NBOME, ERAS, GME survey, and ACGME)
- A research tool that allows you to research individual residency programs in several specialties and explore program characteristics across many areas of interest.
- Free resource
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME):
- The ACGME is the organization that accredits all EM residency programs.
- They have a search engine on the site that allows you to see when programs are up for reaccreditation and any issues.
Applying to Residency:
Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS):
- Centralized online application service you’ll use to deliver your application, along with supporting documents, to residency programs.
- Dean’s letters, SLOEs, and LORs all get uploaded to this system
- Fees associated with submission – varies based on how many programs you apply to
- Opens in June and should be submitted by the end of September of your 4th year.
- Start your application early and revisit it often.
- In order for residency programs to start reviewing your application you have to have 1 SLOE from academic EM faculty submitted, so try to have that submitted by September as well.
Council of Residency Directors (CORD):
- CORD is the organization that provides resources, develops best practices for emergency medicine training programs, and offers professional development for leaders in emergency medicine education through the CORD Community.
- They publish joint statements with other EM organizations with recommendations for the match each year.
- EMRA/CORD student advising guide is a great online resource!
Standard Letter of Evaluation (SLOE):
- SLOE for academic EM faculty
- “Academic EM faculty” is a faculty member at an EM residency program.
- Holds the most weight
- SLOE for non-academic EM faculty
- Written by an EM physician who is not faculty affiliated with an EM residency program.
- SLOE from an EM sub-specialty rotation
- This is a letter designed to be written by an Emergency Physician that you worked with during an EM subspecialty like Ultrasound, EMS, Peds EM, Toxicology, Research, etc.
- O-SLOE
- For off-service rotations
Interviewing:
Platforms residency programs use to send interview invites (check for these in your spam folder):
- ERAS
- Interview Broker
- Thalamus
Matching:
National Residency Matching Program (NRMP):
- This is where you submit your rank list for the match.
- Opens in September with the deadline to register being the end of January.
- There is a fee associated with registering
- Submit your rank list between Feb 1 – Feb 28 of your 4th year.
Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP):
- You will find out on the Monday of match week whether or not you matched
- You will only participate in the SOAP if you don’t match
- Programs only participate if they have open spots
- SOAP process will start the Tuesday of match week
- No additional fees
Take-Home Points:
- There are many different EM organizations with free resources for students.
- It is important to be aware of all of the different platforms you may encounter during the match process.
- In order to match you must apply through ERAS and register for the NRMP match to submit a rank list.
- This process can be confusing, so don’t hesitate to ask questions early and often.
Post by Shannon Caliri, DO PGY-3
About Our Guest:
Chair of Simulation & Clinical Education, Chair of Emergency Medicine, Campbell University – School of Osteopathic Medicine
Associate Dean of Pre-Clerkship Education, Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Thomas Sandoval, OMS IV
4th-year EM Bound Medical Student, Campbell University – School of Osteopathic Medicine
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