Class of 2024 | How many of you are planning to use ChatGPT to apply to residency?

[bGMx]

I was showing a program director the power of ChatGPT, specifically how much it can simplify her administrative work, and then of course we talked about ERAS 2024. Thoughts?

I foresee this making it all the more difficult. Some/many people will match without ever having written original content. Others will match after having ChatGPT summarize their lengthy personal statements ("ChatGPT, can you shorten this 5 page document to one page. I want this in the tone of a medical student who is excited to match to UCSF for good reasons.").

I'm excited to see where this goes.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Depends on what type of attestation all applicants must sign about their applications having minimal generative AI usage or whatever language...

 

[ChordaEpiphany]

ChatGPT is dry and overly formal, even when you tell it to be excited, witty, or lighthearted. It's more work to refine the prompt than to just write a decent personal statement. It's good for taking scraps and turning it into something readable. An attending asked me to present a patient 5 minutes after seeing them today. I put my (de-identified) scribbles into ChatGPT along with a template and it gave me the information organized the way my attending likes it. As good as it is at creating something from nothing, I'd never expect ChatGPT to take something mediocre and make it great.

Definitely use ChatGPT to shorten your manuscript abstract from 167 words to 150 words without losing content. Use it to sharpen up the methods section. Use it to quickly put together progress notes from the scribbles you wrote while talking to a patient. Use it to reorganize your resume. Don't use it to write your personal statement. If ChatGPT writes better than you, your personal statement was one for the recycle bin anyway.

 

[MDapplicant578124]

If ChatGPT writes better than you, your personal statement was one for the recycle bin anyway.

I feel attacked

 

[bGMx]

ChatGPT is dry and overly formal, even when you tell it to be excited, witty, or lighthearted. It's more work to refine the prompt than to just write a decent personal statement. It's good for taking scraps and turning it into something readable. An attending asked me to present a patient 5 minutes after seeing them today. I put my (de-identified) scribbles into ChatGPT along with a template and it gave me the information organized the way my attending likes it. As good as it is at creating something from nothing, I'd never expect ChatGPT to take something mediocre and make it great.

Definitely use ChatGPT to shorten your manuscript abstract from 167 words to 150 words without losing content. Use it to sharpen up the methods section. Use it to quickly put together progress notes from the scribbles you wrote while talking to a patient. Use it to reorganize your resume. Don't use it to write your personal statement. If ChatGPT writes better than you, your personal statement was one for the recycle bin anyway.

I think you may be having a different experience; if you prompt it to be less formal, it will be less formal. ChatGPT4 is very good at this from what my friend has said.
Maybe it won't write your initial draft of a PS, but if you write a draft and then use it to edit it and shorten your PS, then write a new PS statement after consulting chatGPT... did you technically write your PS? I think so... given that ChatGPT is a tool and not an author.

 

[Sidus1011]

I can see the utility of it for checking the overall formatting and flow, but it just seems rather dull. Isn't the personal statement supposed to emphasize why you want to go into a specialty? If you can't write a compelling reason behind it, ChatGPT will not be able to do that for you. Especially since you will eventually be asked about points in your application later in interviews.

 

[bGMx]

I think this is probably more effective for typing up individualized personal statements:

ChatGPT, what is unique and interesting about Residency X?
Can you type up a personal statement for Residency X that uses my personal statement? Make it convincing.
Make it more casual.
Make it less than 1000 words.

ChatGPT, what is unique and interesting about Residency Y?
Can you type up a personal statement for Residency Y that uses my personal statement? Make it convincing.
Make it more casual.
Make it less than 1000 words.

etc.

 

[Rachapkis]

In the not too distant future, I suspect it will be your ability to devise AI inputs--not your ability to write--that will matter most. Exciting, scary, and dismaying all at the same time. Good luck medical school class of 2024.

 

[mrbreakfast]

If ChatGPT writes better than you, your personal statement was one for the recycle bin anyway.

Quoting this for emphasis.

I have no doubt many applicants will use chatGPT, or whatever other programs the future may hold, because the average med student writes at a 12th grade/college freshman level, such that a program primarily used to write technical documents could more eloquently biography the student's life than can they themselves.

 

[bGMx]

Quoting this for emphasis.

I have no doubt many applicants will use chatGPT, or whatever other programs the future may hold, because the average med student writes at a 12th grade/college freshman level, such that a program primarily used to write technical documents could more eloquently biography the student's life than can they themselves.

I think this is true. Half of the personal statements I wrote so far with ChatGPT for specialties I'm not even interested in seem generically stellar. At the least, they are inoffensive. They won't exclude you. So if you have an above average application, then ChatGPT personal statements are even more effective.

 

[Dantes]

Most personal statements are already unremarkable and just serve to make sure there's no red flags. I could see how using this as a tool during the editing process could be helpful and a time saver.

 

[PathNeuroIMorFM]

ChatGPT is dry and overly formal,

I wouldn't say dry or formal, I would say "fluff". ChatGPT is literally all fluff and no substance.

If I ask it to write a sonnet, it will be very technically correct. It will have 14 lines, 10 syllables each, with a rhyme scheme that reads in iambic pentameter. A perfect sonnet, by definition. But when you read it, it is the most basic and uncreative fluff piece ever compared to one written by a human with a heartbeat.

Same goes for an application. I think you can use it to write you experiences section (esp if using bullet points) and you can use it to check your grammar. That's not cheating and that's not a dumb way to use the software. The experiences section is meant to be a soulless description. But if you're using it to write a personal statement, you're just asking for the most gray and forgetful statement imaginable. For some people, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe their writing sucks so much or they feel the statement is not worth the effort. I think that's completely fair.

 

[Cognovi]

How it creative it can be kind of depends on your input. There's a back and forth. It's a tool. You have to insert the concrete details and it'll come up with the transitions around it. Here's a sonnet it wrote for me based on key words from your name/profile.

In the hallowed halls of Princeton, ‘neath her ivy-clad embrace,
Lie the sages and the students, in their diligent chase.
Clown College jesters might jest, their joy in laughter's sound,
Yet they find common ground, where knowledge is profound.

In the realm of neurons, where mysteries abide,
Pathology unfolds the truth that symptoms often hide.
Here, the student doctors tread, where science and art meet,
In the human body's rhythm, they find life’s drumbeat.

The cadence of the heartbeat, the whispers of the mind,
In this dance, they search and oftentimes they find.
The cure, the balm, the salve to human plight,
In the velvet cloak of darkness, they kindle healing light.

A jest, a thought, a scalpel's touch, all paths to wisdom blend,
In Princeton’s arms or on the stage, all seek the healer’s end.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

Most personal statements are already unremarkable and just serve to make sure there's no red flags. I could see how using this as a tool during the editing process could be helpful and a time saver.

This as well. I have heard of many programs who don't even read personal statements... This is obviously highly variable on the specialty and program, but just goes to show that the importance of the PS is not the be-all and end-all of the application. How many program directors do you think sit there and say "wow, this guy's PS is the best I've ever read. He is getting an interview just because of his beautifully crafted PS". I'd go out on a limb and say none. I don't think the PS holds much weight aside from just getting a glimpse into who you are as a person. Without the other aspects of your application it is essentially meaningless. A mediocre PS with an above average student holds a lot more weight than an exceptional PS with a below average student. The interview is where you find out if this above average student is a robot or if they are a down to earth person you'd want to be around for the next 4-5 years.

 

[bGMx]

For anyone who is considering training chatGPT3 to write like them. I have yet to try this exactly but I've done similar with good results.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

For anyone who is considering training chatGPT3 to write like them. I have yet to try this exactly but I've done similar with good results.

game changer! ERAS is getting finished in a few hours

 

[Tenk]

Well it sure as hell is going to be used to write your letters of recommendation going forward so why not?

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

Well it sure as hell is going to be used to write your letters of recommendation going forward so why not?

work smarter not harder

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

The interview is where you find out if this above average student is a robot or if they are a down to earth person you'd want to be around for the next 4-5 years.

And, IMO, the ones that come across as a real person and not a robot in that interview will more than likely have written their own PS.

 

[Cornfed101]

Yeah I gave it inputs of my experiences I wanted included in my PS and it gave a decent first draft. It is a lot easier to edit a draft then to fabricate one from scratch

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

Yeah I gave it inputs of my experiences I wanted included in my PS and it gave a decent first draft. It is a lot easier to edit a draft then to fabricate one from scratch

I feel the same. Getting those first few sentences going is the hardest part about any writing.

 

[bGMx]

I suspect those who don't use chat GPT may be at a disadvantage, as they will lose productivity time.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

For anyone who is considering training chatGPT3 to write like them. I have yet to try this exactly but I've done similar with good results.

I don't have a twitter and can't see the rest of the tweet. What does he say to train it to write like you

 

[Boca Calor]

It’s cheating.

Moreover, it’s terrible at writing interesting or human prose.

And anyone who actually cares to read your statement will be able to tell immediately.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

It’s cheating.

Moreover, it’s terrible at writing interesting or human prose.

And anyone who actually cares to read your statement will be able to tell immediately.

doubtful

 

[ChordaEpiphany]

It’s cheating.

Is it though? Cheating is getting your English professor Aunt to write your college essay. Using a universally available tool that will be available in its current or better form for the rest of your life is just adapting to the times.

 

[DrZoidbergDO]

Is it though? Cheating is getting your English professor Aunt to write your college essay. Using a universally available tool that will be available in its current or better form for the rest of your life is just adapting to the times.

I'm sure there were people that said spell check was cheating lol

 

[Boca Calor]

I'm sure there were people that said spell check was cheating lol

I’m sure a smart guy like you understands the difference between a tool which does quality assurance on an existing product (spell check, proof reader, editing) and one which creates an entirely new product de novo (chat gpt, having mommy write my essay.)

Proofreading and copy editing has never been considered cheating, it’s just good practice. Likewise, having another entity generate thoughts and language you pass off as your own has ALWAYS been considered cheating.

This is not a thought experiment—every major university in the US considers using AI to generate essays as plagiarism.

Will you get caught? Probably not. But why would you want to risk it, especially over something that isn’t even generating good or interesting language?

 

[bGMx]

It’s cheating.

Moreover, it’s terrible at writing interesting or human prose.

And anyone who actually cares to read your statement will be able to tell immediately.

I think using large language models is closer to learning how to use a computer or a musical instrument. Depending on the specifics of how you prompt ChatGPT results in different outputs. Frankly, prompting GPT and its analogues to pretend to be you is a skillset. Getting it to write a personal statement in your tone and with your personal experiences may actually be more work than writing the personal statement itself, but once you have done that successfully you can then have it write your personal statements, CV, experiences, op-ed articles, research discussions, etc. So you become more efficient.

It's akin to being committed to using a pencil to write vs. using voice-to-chat with regards to writing your patient notes. I imagine nobody except the old guard believes that somehow using voice-to-chat technology is cheating. It's more efficient.

Regarding ERAS AI disclaimer; yes, I think it would now be foolish to have AI write your personal statement (I think it's fine to use it as a tool to brainstorm). I think ERAS is way behind the times. Colleges are behind the times as well. ChatGPT is better at teaching me than most of my college courses. No wonder they don't want it to be used and consider it "plagiarism". What would you rather? Spending 6 hours a day listening to lectures that don't help you learn, or spending 1 hour a day with essentially a high-tech tutor attending to your learning needs, and then using the other 5 hours you have now saved to live the life you want to live? I don't see there being any real gains that are made by spending weeks-months writing about yourself versus 1-2 hours (or if you have optimized chat GPT by training it on your own written work, 5 minutes).

 

[deleted1095841]

Asking ChatGPT a simple prompt will lead to writing at the level of a high school student. Making ChatGPT write a good essay, by feeding it content and asking progressively more sophisticated prompts, is harder than actually writing a good essay yourself.