ERAS Activity Inclusion and Detail

[alicealicealice]

Hello! The search function wasn't too helpful...I was a non trad hence had several other jobs (including one for many years not directly related to medicine but an interesting conversation starter that I talk about in my PS) in addition to numerous volunteer and paid teaching activities in the 4-5 years between undergrad and med school. I figured it was important if nothing else than to account for my time. I was planning on including these on my ERAS app.
1) Im assuming that the descriptions should be as brief as possible, correct? Meaning they don't want me to wax poetic about my experience and BS about the skills it gave me, just say what I did in a sentence or too.
2) There are sections for average hours/week, supervisor, and reason for leaving. Is it mandatory to fill these in for all experiences? Im sure no one cares about my supervisor's name for non medical jobs that I had or some non-eventful reason for moving on (ie. got a better paying job elsewhere, moved cities, matriculating to medical school etc).
3) In general, Im looking for my app to be inlcusive but as short and sweet as possible, with the goal of these things to be possible conversation starters versus detailed or exhaustive descriptions...is this overall the right mindset?

Just for background, Im applying into IM from a top 10 school with good grades/board scores, aiming for major programs mostly in the northeast. Thank you very much in advance for any advice.
Edit: also, I have a good amount of research experience/pubs+the usual med school activities, so I don't think it would come across as padding (hopefully instead as a way to differentiate myself somewhat), but if you believe differently please let me know!

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[mcl]

Hello! The search function wasn't too helpful...I was a non trad hence had several other jobs (including one for many years not directly related to medicine but an interesting conversation starter that I talk about in my PS) in addition to numerous volunteer and paid teaching activities in the 4-5 years between undergrad and med school. I figured it was important if nothing else than to account for my time. I was planning on including these on my ERAS app.
1) Im assuming that the descriptions should be as brief as possible, correct? Meaning they don't want me to wax poetic about my experience and BS about the skills it gave me, just say what I did in a sentence or too.
2) There are sections for average hours/week, supervisor, and reason for leaving. Is it mandatory to fill these in for all experiences? Im sure no one cares about my supervisor's name for non medical jobs that I had or some non-eventful reason for moving on (ie. got a better paying job elsewhere, moved cities, matriculating to medical school etc).
3) In general, Im looking for my app to be inlcusive but as short and sweet as possible, with the goal of these things to be possible conversation starters versus detailed or exhaustive descriptions...is this overall the right mindset?

Just for background, Im applying into IM from a top 10 school with good grades/board scores, aiming for major programs mostly in the northeast. Thank you very much in advance for any advice.
Edit: also, I have a good amount of research experience/pubs+the usual med school activities, so I don't think it would come across as padding (hopefully instead as a way to differentiate myself somewhat), but if you believe differently please let me know!

I think you have good instincts and agree with your plan. You need to account for your time. If you're looking for an academic program, the teaching experience will be a plus. I may be odd, but I do like to see the "reason for leaving" for jobs that aren't obviously time limited--but ultimately that kind of information isn't going to make or break your application.

 

[alicealicealice]

Thank you! In terms of reason for leaving, I could see the argument for major jobs...do you feel the same way about part time volunteer commitments?

 

[mcl]

Thank you! In terms of reason for leaving, I could see the argument for major jobs...do you feel the same way about part time volunteer commitments?

No--I don't think volunteer activities generally require a reason for leaving.

 

[JuliaJulia]

How many 'Experiences' do people generally have on their ERAS?