Emergency Medicine 2014-2015 Residency Cycle

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whatisstudying said:
How important is it to have time off during the October-November time period (DO student, so that's interview season)? Will most interviews be single day events that I can just take a day off my rotation?

I'm still unsure how many interviews I plan to accept - I have an unofficial promise to match from my top choice program, with positive responses from my #2 program as well.
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First rule: Everything a program tells you in the courting period is a lie to affect your rank list. There is no promise aside from the actual letter on match day.
 
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OR4life said:
can someone tell me the proper format to finalize a letter slot for a SLOE on ERAS
under name do I put: XUniversity - SLOE
or do i put the name of the PD? and should I check any of the boxes about chair this or that, I mean I think the department chair definitely plays a role in writing the letter?
-confused
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The first one is (likely) correct. I asked the person who writes our departmental SLOEs this exact question, he said for name put something like "UX Departmental SLOE". Not dept chair, that's meant more for Medicinos who specifically need an IM chair's letter to make their package complete.
 
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Pons Asinorum said:
The first one is (likely) correct. I asked the person who writes our departmental SLOEs this exact question, he said for name put something like "UX Departmental SLOE". Not dept chair, that's meant more for Medicinos who specifically need an IM chair's letter to make their package complete.
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Thanks
 
Ok so I labeled all my SLOEs as: _______ (Dept Chair).

Does it matter? I can't change them now (already submitted). They will still know it's a sloe right?
 
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SoyMilk said:
Ok so I labeled all my SLOEs as: _______ (Dept Chair).

Does it matter? I can't change them now (already submitted). They will still know it's a sloe right?
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Yes. Do you know what a SLOE actually consists of? It can't be confused with a typical LOR.
 
EMCandidate said:
Hi all, not sure if this is the appropriate location for this, but my other half and I are both applying to EM this year and we're having trouble deciding how many programs to apply to. Wondering if anyone has any advice to contribute.

Both of us have senior AOA, step 1 >235, step 2 >260, lots of extracurriculars at an average medical school. Honors for majority of clerkships. One has lots of publications (not in EM) from a prior research career. The other has some EM and other non-EM research (no journal article publications, just conferences), but worked EMS prior to med school. We are both personable and have good interview skills. EM rotations are ongoing, so no grades yet, but they seem to be going very well. SLOEs are in the works, but other letters are strong.

Most of the programs we are looking at are in the west, but we are also looking around the country. Ideally we would love to find exceptional training, outdoor access, and affordable cost of living.

We're aware of the NRMP match data, but looking for advice on applying that to a couples match in an increasingly competitive specialty.

Thanks for any advice you can give!
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I replied to this same post in a different forum, just copying here...

My wife and I also couples matched, although she's not EM too. We applied to 48, got about 35 interviews at the same programs, went on 15, matched #1. Your applications sound competitive so you may be able to apply to less.

My advice for students is to not try and save money on the initial application fees if you're unsure about how many programs to apply to. There is no magic number. An extra couple hundred dollars may seen like a lot now, but it's better to apply wide and then be very selective in the interviews you actually accept. If you don't apply to enough programs and for some reason don't get interviews where it's easy to travel, you may spend $$$ flying into some little airport to get those extra interviews to make you feel more secure come ROL due day... make sense?

EM is becoming more competitive, especially in areas with nice weather (west coast) and among the programs with good reputations (there are many).

Bottom line... you only want to do this once, and since you are couples matching into the same competitive field, I'd consider applying pretty wide. Best of luck.
 
Letter of Rec Question

I currently Have 4 letters. I have a SLOE from the clerkship director at my school, a sloe from the EM doc I worked with at my Home institution (so basically 2 sloes from my home institution), a letter of rec from another em doc at my home institution(not a sloe) and a sloe from an away rotation, I would like to upload all 4 but most programs only want three, also I suspect the sloe from my away rotation does not say anything special and probably ranks me as average, should I use the away rotation sloe if I could only pick 3?
 
EMdoc!! said:
Letter of Rec Question

I currently Have 4 letters. I have a SLOE from the clerkship director at my school, a sloe from the EM doc I worked with at my Home institution (so basically 2 sloes from my home institution), a letter of rec from another em doc at my home institution(not a sloe) and a sloe from an away rotation, I would like to upload all 4 but most programs only want three, also I suspect the sloe from my away rotation does not say anything special and probably ranks me as average, should I use the away rotation sloe if I could only pick 3?
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Does it allow you to send 4 letter of recommendation to all the programs? Where did you see that "most programs only want three" ? I was planning on sending 4 to all of them.
 
JuliaJulia said:
Does it allow you to send 4 letter of recommendation to all the programs? Where did you see that "most programs only want three" ? I was planning on sending 4 to all of them.
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You can upload 4 letters. There is no program that I am aware of that prefers 3 letters to 4. I think Emdoc!! misinterpreted the fact that most programs require 3 letters before your application is complete to mean that programs ONLY want 3 letters. That isn't the case.
 
Thank you! And does anybody know why the U of Texas Southwestern program at Austin has C1 instead of C0 on ERAS? Does this mean anything? thanks in advance.
 
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normtheniner said:
Well this thread is quiet today given the ERAS fiasco.
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Seems fine now. Good luck to everyone applying this year

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the two programs offered at Baylor in ERAS? Can't find any mention of it on their website.
 
hoot504 said:
Seems fine now. Good luck to everyone applying this year

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the two programs offered at Baylor in ERAS? Can't find any mention of it on their website.
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Don't worry about the SACM one, I believe its some Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission program.
Medtraveller43 said:
Anyone heard from any programs yet?
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The only contact I've received is from BIDMC stating that they received my app and are reviewing it.
 
EMdoc!! said:
Letter of Rec Question

I currently Have 4 letters. I have a SLOE from the clerkship director at my school, a sloe from the EM doc I worked with at my Home institution (so basically 2 sloes from my home institution), a letter of rec from another em doc at my home institution(not a sloe) and a sloe from an away rotation, I would like to upload all 4 but most programs only want three, also I suspect the sloe from my away rotation does not say anything special and probably ranks me as average, should I use the away rotation sloe if I could only pick 3?
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That doesn't make sense. A usualy the SLOE is the compiled feedback you get from doing an EM SubI. So basically you have a SLOE from your clerkship director and a regular LOR from an EM doc?
 
SLOE doesn't imply compiled feedbacks. It's fairly pedantic distinction on SDN of SLOE vs LOR. It's just meant to be a standardized evaluation to allow easier comparison of applicants, which can be used by individuals or groups. Specifically, Department/Chair/(A)PD SLOEs are compiled feedbacks of EM SubI. Normal SLOEs are by individuals, and in fact, I would say the supermajority of individual LORs at my institution are SLOEs.
 
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pkwraith said:
SLOE doesn't imply compiled feedbacks. It's fairly pedantic distinction on SDN of SLOE vs LOR. It's just meant to be a standardized evaluation to allow easier comparison of applicants, which can be used by individuals or groups. Specifically, Department/Chair/(A)PD SLOEs are compiled feedbacks of EM SubI. Normal SLOEs are by individuals, and in fact, I would say the supermajority of individual LORs at my institution are SLOEs.
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Which doesn't make a ton of sense, because all of the most valuable information on the SLOe is how you compare in aggregate, how many SLOE's you are pooled with, and whether or not you'll be ranked to match. Not sure how a SLOE from someone who doesn't do the vast bulk of departmental SLOE's can do that.
 
I will have 2 sloe's, 2 reg LORs. I have a third EM rotation that is not done until middle of november. I decided to just have my 4 letters in since the one in November may take time, will that look like a red flag if I am not getting a sloe from an EM rotation that is done that late?
 
Pons Asinorum said:
Which doesn't make a ton of sense, because all of the most valuable information on the SLOe is how you compare in aggregate, how many SLOE's you are pooled with, and whether or not you'll be ranked to match. Not sure how a SLOE from someone who doesn't do the vast bulk of departmental SLOE's can do that.
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It doesn't make a ton of sense for letter writers to choose to follow a standardized format? Or to mark where the applicant falls on the spectrum of the other medical students they have seen or recommended?
 
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pkwraith said:
It doesn't make a ton of sense for letter writers to choose to follow a standardized format? Or to mark where the applicant falls on the spectrum of the other medical students they have seen or recommended?
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I'm just saying that what I've heard from PD's, which makes intuitive sense, is that an individual SLOE is not that different that a regular LOR. When PD's say they value SLOE's above all else, what they're saying is that they value the departmental SLOE that is written by someone who writes tons of SLOEs and has insight into how the program will actually rank the candidate. An individual not tied to the residency selection apparatus, how many SLOE's does he or she write in a year? 5? Plus, since this is a person who was specifically chosen by the candidates themselves, won't they be slightly skewed in their ability to rank this candidate? The departmental SLOE has the candidate ranked against all comers, is not biased by the selection process of asking someone you know likes you to write a letter. PD's understand all this, they know you asked that individual for a letter because you clicked with them. That bias negates the desired objectiveness of the SLOE. Not sure how this doesn't make sense.
 
alabamatiger2 said:
I will have 2 sloe's, 2 reg LORs. I have a third EM rotation that is not done until middle of november. I decided to just have my 4 letters in since the one in November may take time, will that look like a red flag if I am not getting a sloe from an EM rotation that is done that late?
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In the exact same boat, except my next away rotation ends mid-October. Figured it would be better to have 4 letters now. Question is, how do I send out the last SLOE (my 5th letter) later on in the season? I'm pretty sure programs will expect to see it...
 
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Pons Asinorum said:
I'm just saying that what I've heard from PD's, which makes intuitive sense, is that an individual SLOE is not that different that a regular LOR. When PD's say they value SLOE's above all else, what they're saying is that they value the departmental SLOE that is written by someone who writes tons of SLOEs and has insight into how the program will actually rank the candidate. An individual not tied to the residency selection apparatus, how many SLOE's does he or she write in a year? 5? Plus, since this is a person who was specifically chosen by the candidates themselves, won't they be slightly skewed in their ability to rank this candidate? The departmental SLOE has the candidate ranked against all comers, is not biased by the selection process of asking someone you know likes you to write a letter. PD's understand all this, they know you asked that individual for a letter because you clicked with them. That bias negates the desired objectiveness of the SLOE. Not sure how this doesn't make sense.
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You can argue against SLOEs as much as you want. Anything you level against SLOEs applies to a non-standardized LOR, but more. I don't care if a letter write chooses to write a LOR or a SLOE; that is their prerogative. In the end, CORDEM provided the SLOE for any department or individual to use. If a letter writer is comfortable in using the SLOE, they can and they do.

Is a department SLOE more objective than an individual SLOE? Yes. Is there someone arguing against that?
 
pkwraith said:
You can argue against SLOEs as much as you want. Anything you level against SLOEs applies to a non-standardized LOR, but more. I don't care if a letter write chooses to write a LOR or a SLOE; that is their prerogative. In the end, CORDEM provided the SLOE for any department or individual to use. If a letter writer is comfortable in using the SLOE, they can and they do.

Is a department SLOE more objective than an individual SLOE? Yes. Is there someone arguing against that?
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No one is arguing against it, you seem to be arguing that all SLOE's are basically the same. SLOE actually DOES imply compiled feedback. That's the whole point of the thing. I would argue that if you were to if all 4 of your allowed LOR in ERAS are individual SLOEs, as you say not from PD/aPD/clerkship director, and you have no departmental SLOEs, I would argue that you will have a hard time getting interviews, because from the viewpoint of PDs, those are SLOEs in name only and simply a LOR in everything but format. You seem to be arguing that SLOE/LOR is all pedantics and they are just the same thing, just one is in a standardized format. I argue that the value isn't in the standardized format, it is in the SLOE objectively ranking you against a large cohort of other students attempting to match into EM. At this point I think we're just talking past one another.
 
Pons Asinorum said:
No one is arguing against it, you seem to be arguing that all SLOE's are basically the same. SLOE actually DOES imply compiled feedback. That's the whole point of the thing. I would argue that if you were to if all 4 of your allowed LOR in ERAS are individual SLOEs, as you say not from PD/aPD/clerkship director, and you have no departmental SLOEs, I would argue that you will have a hard time getting interviews, because from the viewpoint of PDs, those are SLOEs in name only and simply a LOR in everything but format. You seem to be arguing that SLOE/LOR is all pedantics and they are just the same thing, just one is in a standardized format. I argue that the value isn't in the standardized format, it is in the SLOE objectively ranking you against a large cohort of other students attempting to match into EM. At this point I think we're just talking past one another.
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I would love for you to point out where I said department SLOE and individual SLOE are equivilant, since that seems the position you are arguing against. All deparmental SLOEs are SLOEs. All SLOEs are not departmental letters.

If a person says they got an individual SLOE, they got an individual SLOE. Someone trying to say they did not and continuing to argue about is is the height of pedantry.
 
For purposes of less confusion, can we agree that
SLOE = Compiled Feedback SLOE
iSLOE (Pronounced I Slow) = Individual SLOE.

:p

________
I'm kinda curious. How many of you guys got individual letters? Besides one I got from an IM doc, I honestly only have departmental SLOEs.

Also, will anyone confuse an iSLOE for a SLOE? I've seen the format but do program directors usually specify that the letter is a departmental SLOE if you haven't done so on the title? For all my departmental SLOEs I simply listed the program directors name as the title.
 
To add more fuel to the fire (and honestly I barely read your argument because it was really confusing) I am going to give a personal antidote.

I did a toxicology rotation as a third year and got a sloe from the director of the tox fellowship. He has written sloes in the past, maybe a few a year though, but they are all individual sloes (or iSloes if you prefer :p) because of the nature of the rotation. It was the only sloe I had when I applied to AOA programs, and I've received 15 interviews with it so far...

Therefore, I really feel that individual sloes are possible and can be successful. Both of you had valid arguments, a sloe carries more weight with more people they have evaluated into different subsets (to show that they don't just give everyone a top 1/3). However, I've also heard that the individual comments are one of the most important parts of a sloe. If your comments are strong, and you are in a higher percent, then it will count in your favor and certainly can't hurt. Also, I don't know about all of you, but my EM rotations have left me with very little time with the program director and I've had more time with individual docs and residents. Sure, a composite letter helps overcome this problem, but in my psych rotation last year, the program director wrote a composite evaluation for my school and it was crap. She put in everyone's comments that were glowing beyond belief, and then checked all the boxes at 3 and 4 in a random fashion (5 was the highest) for things that she didn't see me do. Then she gave me a high pass in the end... Evaluations in a format like this are just like when you get a form to fill out and you bs check everything randomly without even really reading it... If the person filling it out has nothing invested in you, and has 10 more forms to fill out afterwards, you may get screwed. The end.
 
DO AZ Emergency Med said:
In DO EM, anyone else DO and been contacted?

Received "received your application" emails... but nothing else yet.
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Do you mean AOA invites? When did you apply for AOA? I personally have 4 invites, which have occurred over the span of 6 weeks probably.

There is another thread specifically for AOA EM.
 
I've heard nothing except the BIDMC message. I only have one non-EM letter in though. My home SLOE will be up today or tomorrow... also should have my away SLOE in by mid Oct (hopefully!)
 
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Hey all. This is my first post on here, but I've trolled these forums occasionally in the past and found them helpful so I figured I'd contribute. So far, I have received the same message from BIDMC (got my hopes up with that email for nothing!) But today I got my first two interview invites! One from Orlando Health (I rotated here as my first away) and a second from the Carolinas Medical Center! Wishing you all the best of luck this interview season!
 
DrDancr said:
Hey all. This is my first post on here, but I've trolled these forums occasionally in the past and found them helpful so I figured I'd contribute. So far, I have received the same message from BIDMC (got my hopes up with that email for nothing!) But today I got my first two interview invites! One from Orlando Health (I rotated here as my first away) and a second from the Carolinas Medical Center! Wishing you all the best of luck this interview season!
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Hi DrDancr,
if you don't mind me asking are you an IMG or AMG ?
 
DrDancr said:
Hey all. This is my first post on here, but I've trolled these forums occasionally in the past and found them helpful so I figured I'd contribute. So far, I have received the same message from BIDMC (got my hopes up with that email for nothing!) But today I got my first two interview invites! One from Orlando Health (I rotated here as my first away) and a second from the Carolinas Medical Center! Wishing you all the best of luck this interview season!
Click to expand...

Are all of your letters in? Also, did you rotate at CMC?
 
Thanks DrDancr. I am an IMG with 2 SLOR from home, 1 US EM LOR and 1 US IM LOR .. I didn't hear anything from any programs so far except BIDMC thank you email.. any IMGs here ?
 
normtheniner said:
Are all of your letters in? Also, did you rotate at CMC?
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I have 2 SLOEs in and 1 IM letter. I just finished my last away today, so just waiting on my 4th letter from that program. I did not rotate at CMC.
 
does anyone know of any em programs that have step 1 cut offs
 
EMdoc!! said:
does anyone know of any em programs that have step 1 cut offs
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FREIDA should have all that information for you. The vast majority of programs don't technically have one; however, there were a small percentage that did. Highest I saw was 220, most were either 200 or 210, so nothing terrible. I can't remember the specific ones, though.
 
Is there a way to see who has looked at your eras application
 
Zebra Hunter said:
FREIDA should have all that information for you. The vast majority of programs don't technically have one; however, there were a small percentage that did. Highest I saw was 220, most were either 200 or 210, so nothing terrible. I can't remember the specific ones, though.
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Be careful about this.

Most of the info on FREIDA is outdated or inaccurate.

Ive personally heard from multiple PDs at EM events (conferences/meetings/symposiums) they they use strict step 1 cutoffs to filter applications. Mostly the more competitive programs in highly desirable locations. For instance, IIRC Cook county and NW use a 230 as of this year. Im sure they use similar cutoffs at some programs on the coasts as well.
 
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If you have a below average step 1 I'd make sure to apply to a wide variety of programs and not just those in good locations.
 
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